There IS Hope...

I love the Biblical accounts of Mary as she was being filled with the Lord...her journey...her obedience...Josephs obedience!  What an awesome testimony and heritage she left for the world...being found righteous in the sight of the God Almighty. God had an Awesome plan laid for Mary and Joseph's life.  He has a plan for each of us as well...each one just as important as Mary and Joseph's, for it is the same.  The call to follow Him...to show His Love and Grace to those around us...to teach our Children about His great Love and Sacrifice...to be Obedient in walking after His ways, with His character and His heart of compassion.

 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."Jeremiah 29:11-13

I am not always obedient, not even in the little things sometimes, but I know that God is merciful, and if I am seeking Him, He will change this heart of mine into a willing and obedient heart, that He may find pleasure in my actions. Meanwhile, I thank the Lord for the 'hope and future' that He has orchestrated for me, and YOU, as followers of Christ. This year, I am being intentional to enjoy the Christmas Season.  I have a wonderful family around me, whether immediate, extended or my family of friends and I am rejoicing before the Lord for the Symphony of people he orchestrates in my life! 

Take time to thank the Lord for being Jesus (Saviour), Emmanuel (God With Us), today.  Even when Life is difficult and despairing, he IS with us. It's WHO and WHY He IS.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Zeal For ALL!

I just read a friend's blog and it has lit a fire in me.  I am so appalled that older, more mature Christians discourage so many!  You heard me...DISCOURAGE!

As believers, we are supposed to be growing in Christ...not becoming complacent and judgemental of those that are diligently seeking after God's will.  The Lord didn't call his disciples to follow him...until they were in their 50s-70s. NO!  The disciples followed him unto death AND old age.  WAKE UP!

We must have mature Christian leadership.  The Bible warns about putting new (not Young in age) Christians in leadership.  It puffs up their ego. 1Timothy 3:6. So who is supposed to be leading? Seasoned, wise, committed Christians...no matter their age!

When we become complacent and unwilling to follow Christ with our WHOLE heart.. we are hardened.  No one wants to hear that. but the scripture warns us not to let our hearts become hard to His voice...

"For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,  Harden not your heart, Psalm 95:7-8; Hebrews 3:15; Hebrews 4:7

"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock." 1Peter 5:1-3

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Titus 2:3-5

If you are in your 50s-?...get a move on!  God's not finished with you...he has SO much he wants to do with you and through you.  Your age is not an excuse for no longer having zeal...that my friend is a CHOICE...Choose you THIS DAY whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15). Will it be your flesh...or God?  Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. Ask and you shall receive...

My final challenge comes from Hebrews 10:22-24

"22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works"

Love to you all...may your hearts be full and zeal return to those sleeping...

Prayer For You

We serve a Powerful, Loving God!  This morning my heart is praying for each of you that reads my blog, and for others that are "fighting the good fight of faith". Have a wonderful and blessed Sunday...seeking His face, His presence and His will, enjoying family and friends, and basking in the richness of His love for each of us...for we ARE His children.

"For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come." Ephesians 1:16-21

Adventures Await

Do you ever wonder, "how am I going to walk this out?"  I do.  I feel a call on my life, a tug at my heart, a simple request to move and I sometimes respond as Moses did..."but God...surely you don't mean me! I ...." filling in the blanks with all my excuses.  But then I draw strength from the Word of God.  

"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."2 Peter 1:3-4


"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:1-6

The Lord never expects us to "go it alone" or without a road map.  This isn't a guessing game. We are not unprepared for the journey in which he has called us, nor are we left without resources to get the job done. 

There are exciting adventures waiting and God is waiting on you, and me to get movin'!

Rahab, The Harlot

Reading in Joshua today.  The Lord let me to read right at the point where Joshua and his army are marching around Jericho.  I just love this story!  How Great and Mighty is the Lord God!  He brought down an entire city with the shouts of mortal man.  Not only that, but what GREAT Faith Joshua had to stand up before an army ready to fight and tell them that they were going to simply march around the city for 6 days, carrying the ark and on the seventh they would do it 7 times...I'm thinking if Colon Powell had said that to the troops of  Desert Storm...they would have sent him to the loony farm!

As I read on, verse 17 spoke to me this morning. "And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent." You see, the Lord gave the entire city to Joshua.  He "accursed" everything in it ALL were destroyed by Joshua's army, save one house...the Harlot's. Rahab was a prostitute...yet God spared her. Why? Because she hid the messengers, or spies from the Israelite army. Because of her actions, God spared her and her household.

What interested me so much is Rahab's occupation.  Today, we still have prostitutes working the streets that we look on with disdain...even hatred.  God loves them, too! He sees their sin, and it is unpalatable to Him, but he also sees a child that is in need of a Savior; someone in need of a safe place to sleep, good food to eat, warm arms to hold them that have no alter plan.  What do you see?

The scripture tells us in Acts 10:34-35 "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, 'Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.'" Are you?  God did NOT condone Rahab's occupation!  He honored her actions toward His people. Rahab continues to dwell with the Israelites for the remainder of her life (Joshua 6:23-25). And then...READ THIS...in Matthew 1:5, she is listed in the genealogy of Christ!  THE SON OF GOD! 

No matter what your circumstances look like. No matter your occupation, or living arrangements...God can and will use you if you surrender to Him.  God blessed Rahab, even in her sin, by sparing her life...but she turned from that life and dwelt among God's people.

For those that are not living sinfully out-loud...your sin is NO different that Rahab's.  Lying, reacting out of anger towards others, living depressed or angry or in bitterness...all measure up to the same sin level as Rahab's sin.  I know...you didn't want to hear that...stepping on my own toes too! Remember, "God is no respecter of persons".  He wants to use us NOW...and in the process of our obedience...he wants to give us a better life..."I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10b. 

Obedience Is a Heart Issue

“The Lord does not give me rules, but he makes His standard very clear. If my
relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with
Him – namely, myself. If I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random
circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of
God.” Oswald Chambers

I read this as a caption on a page yesterday. It touched me profoundly. The book I was reading was about parenting and the different changes in the Seasons of childhood. When I read this quote, I instantly thought about my relationship to my Heavenly Father, but as I read the chapter on transitions,sympathy, discipleship and not moving into legalism as a parent...I began to apply this quote to my children.

Our children need to know that we love them, no matter what. That we can, and do, validate their feelings. (Of course, this does not mean allowing them to get away with wrong actions because we "understand" why they may have acted out!) The point is that even the most compliant child may not be obedient because they love us. It could be that the quiet, compliant and reserved child we perceive as obedient and "good" has a serious heart issue.

If we, as parents, do not hold the hearts of our children, who does? Have you asked yourself that lately? Our hearts desire as parents should be to have our children obey or carry out our wishes when we are not looking because they love, and honor us...not simply because we have a hard swing or a loud bark.

Take time to KNOW your children, relate to them and earn their trust and their hearts....It's worth the investment!