Filed under: Uncategorized — by earlymorningmanna @ 4:18 am
Romans 5:8 ‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God’s love never ceases to amaze me! This past week I have heard some of the most amazing testimonies of how our loving and merciful Father seeks and saves the lost.
I think this quote I read by Simon Tugwell recently expresses Romans 5:8 beautifully.
“Very often we are not looking for God; far from it, we are in full flight from him, in high rebellion against him. And he knows that…He has followed us into our own darkness; there where we thought finally to escape him, we run straight into his arms. So we do not have to erect a false piety for ourselves, to give us the hope of salvation. Our hope is in his determination to save us, and he will not give in.”
Today, I would like to share with you an excerpt from a letter I recently wrote to a friend. I pray it will encourage you.
…I would also encourage you to read James 4 which is a passage that, many times, has helped me. For often, the warring within us, because of our desires, causes strife not just with others, but between the Spirit of God and our minds, wills, emotions and flesh. As I was reading this morning, the following points stood out to me, and since I believe they are steps to obtain freedom, I would like to share them with you?
1. James 4:7 Submit to God Recognize He knows best and surrender to His will.
2. Resist the devil. Oftentimes, in order to resist the devil we have to be able to see how he is operating by asking the Holy Spirit to bring us truth and revelation.
2. Draw close to God. Desire the Lord’s presence and place yourself in His trust and care.
3. Recognize you are a sinner “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) In the purity and Holiness of His presence our sin is revealed.
4. Get your soiled hands clean. Ask God to show you where you have hand your hands (your own ways and motives at work)
5. Purify your hearts. Jesus is the living water. Not only will He satisfy our thirst (Palms 42) ,but He also will cleanse our hearts and minds from all unrighteousness.
6. Pray for double-mindness to be revealed. Ask Questions. “Lord, is my desire truly to serve you? Am I trusting you and leaning (Not) on my own understanding? Am I acknowledging you in all ways, thus, allowing you to direct my paths?”
7. Renounce and repent. As you recognize sin and deception in your life, you will not only grieve over what it has cost you, but also how it has hurt God’s heart. This grieving will cause you to not only renounce your sin, but actually hate the sin and deception you have embraced; thus, empowering you to turn from it (repent).
***Keep in mind that true repentance changes our hearts; not just our actions.
8. Humble yourselves in the site of the Lord let Him lift you up.” True humilty will result if we submit to God, resist the devil, place our care and trust in God, recognize our sinful hearts, and allow God to cleanse and purify us as we renounce and repent. Then, in His time, He will lift us up. First into His arms where our identities, perspectives and desires change and then into the purposes He has ordained for us.
May you receive more freedom as you are surrounded and directed by the Lord’s love today!
I once saw a cartoon that made me think about perseverance. A man was standing up to his head in a hole, shovel in hand, stating that he was giving up because nothing was there. When, in reality, just inches below him rested three treasure chests. If he had just hung in a little bit longer and dug a little bit deeper he would have reaped a great reward.
Boy, can I relate! Since many times, I too, have become discouraged and have wanted to throw in my shovel and bale…just on the brink of my miracle.
So what do we do when we have trusted, believed, and labored with still no results in sight? Do we bale or battle?
Speaking of battle. Have you ever noticed that the battle intensifies just before the breakthrough? I used to believe it was because I was losing my mind but now I realize it is because the enemy is losing his hold on me. When he sees that we are getting close to the treasures of God’s promises , deliverances, and blessings, he tries to back us off by roaring his ugly head and filling our minds with lies (God doesn’t care about you! you will never be free of ______. You are a failure! ect.)
I remember one particularly intense battle when the Lord was bringing up some past hurts in order to bring me freedom. I was literally in such physical and emotional pain I thought I would die. As I kept crying out for freedom from the traumatic memories that were tormenting me, the Lord whispered to my spirit (persevere). And just when I thought I would break, I received my breakthrough… my treasure…a revelation of truth and wave after wave after wave of incredible joy.
Persevere, my brother,
When you think you can’t go on.
Persevere, my sister,
When the night seems, Oh, so long.
When your mind is in torment and your heart’s about to break.
Set your sites on the treasure and realize what’s at stake.
For God, in His faithfulness will bring the victory
Just keep on digging and His riches you will see.
Websters defines perseverance as steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
Galations 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (NKJV)
Sorry, I haven’t written in so long, but a few months back God closed me in and drew me closer to His heart in order to take me through some more healing from my past. It was as if He threw up walls around me and said, “My daughter, we are going to stay right here so I can show you a few things.” And in that place, surrounded by His fortress of love, another layer of my walls of self-protection began to crumble.”
I distinctly remember the day I learned to construct my walls. I was sitting in fourth grade math class listening to a conversation about some poor choices some of my classmates were making, and the fear of doing likewise engulfed me. After all, ” What choices was I going to make? “And… if I chose right, how could I stand in the midst of temptation?”
Unfortunately, as I pondered these and other questions, my warped view of God as an unloving God of judgement only complicated the matter, for not only did I began to view others as possible enemies, I was also terrified that I would be cast aside by the Almighty if, I too, “messed up”. And the weight of the whole terrible dilemma was just too much for my young mind to carry. So as I sat in my desk contemplating how to “stay good” and keep out ” the bad” I came up with a solution and began to build.
Of course, I was unaware of the actual tools and materials I was using at the time, but looking back, I realize that my trowel was pride, the bricks were self-righteousness and the mortar that held them together was judgement and fear. However, in my childish understanding my self-protective chamber spelled out only one word…S-A-F-E.
So after I fully envisioned my walls jutting up endlessly in all four directions I pulled out pencil and paper and wrote a poem describing my newest accomplishment and titled it “My Walls”. How is that for originality?
Anyway, I wish I could say that was the only self-protective masonry project I undertook, but since once you acquire a new skill it is often difficult not to use it, I became apt at exercising mine and continued to construct new layers of walls with every fear, hurt, betrayal, and disappointment that came my way, until eventually I was enclosed in a veritible fortress.
Now, it wasn’t that my desire to stay pure was wrong. It was just that my methodology was messed up, but isn’t that what happens when we have good intentions and wrong understanding? you see, I was so consumed by how I was going to protect “me” that I couldn’t even comprehend surrendering to and trusting the “He” in my life (God.) And as a self-centered focus often opens the door to the enemy, ironically, the very walls I built to protect myself ended up opening a dungeon of pain that I am still being healed of today.
Can anyone else relate or am I the only wall-builder?
I have learned that boundaries have gates that allow us to let the good in and keep out the bad. Even the God-restored walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah 2 had many gates. But instead of having gates, the self-protective walls I built only had a small sliver of a window which let in just enough light to allow me to observe what others were doing? That is why until God began to seriously hammer away at some of my walls in my late 30′s, I truly felt like I was a spectator in life instead of a player.
However, in the Lord’s grace, love and mercy, as He has continued to knock down my layers of walls, the more healing I have received and the more alive and whole I feel.
How about you? Do you feel like you are separated from humanity and just eking out an existence? If so, are you ready to let your walls down so Jesus can come in and bring you healing and wholeness.
I think this song by Tenth Avenue North that I heard recently says it all. I pray it will bless you as it has blessed me.
May the Lord bless you as you open your heart to His healing touch today… Jeannie
Hi, My name is Rebekah, and I am Diane’s daughter. I felt like I was supposed to share something but I wasn’t quite sure what, until today when I found this saved in my drafts while cleaning out my email.
It was supposed to be sent to a old boyfriend who broke up with me over 5 years ago. Why I still had it I have no idea.
The Email Draft
“Last night I couldn’t stop thinking about you. The way you smelled. The way you would look at me. You loved me. Your eyes said it all. So why did you end it? I catch you looking at me sometimes and your look hasn’t changed. I think you still love me. But I’m not sure anymore since you still seem to ignore me. Although I pretend that it doesn’t hurt, it does. I’m sorry, but I won’t say good bye until I know it’s over. For many years I think that it will always be you. So although I’ll let you go, I’ll still hold you close and I won’t give up on you yet. I’ve cried too much.
You showed me that I was beautiful, and you made me feel like it was just me. You respected me and showed me how to believe in myself and to follow my dreams. You believed in my dreams. You mean so much to me I just don’t want to lose you. You were the best part of my life. “
After I read this today it made me think…
God, how many times have you felt this way about me everytime I have done something and walked away from you? How many times would you want to say to me, “My Child, for infinity I have thought about you. The way you would worship and talk to me said that you loved me from the bottom of your heart. So why did you walk away and turn your back from me? When I look deep into your Heart I think that you still love me but im not sure because you ignore everything I am, pretending not to see my glorious works and blessings. This hurts me more then you will ever know. But I will Never give up on you. You Made me feel Majestic and beautiful when you would talk to me from the most intimate parts of your life. I could show you how to believe in yourself and follow your dreams. I believe in your dreams.”
The other day I downloaded some new exercises to add to my gradually growing repertoire. The one I was particularly looking forward to “trying out” was the Spider-man Crawl since it worked many muscles simultaneously. However, when I laid on the floor and assumed the correct position and tried pull my body forward like Spider-man I realized that I couldn’t “spider” anything. I was unable to move an inch, much less crawl across the room twice as recommended. And since my effort could not over ride my muscles, or lack of them, I ended up going nowhere.
Thursday morning, I went to the hospital and got supplies for my volunteer job. After loading the full supply cart on the elevator and pushing the button to ascend, the elevator didn’t budge. So I waited a few minutes just in case someone was exiting on another floor, and pushed the button again…still no movement. Just as I began to envision myself being stuck inside for an indeterminate amount of time, the doors opened and to my surprise I was staring into the face of the same woman whom I had conversed with in the hallway before boarding. That is when I realized that all along I had been pushing the wrong button. No wonder it had resulted in me going nowhere.
Today, I spent some time with a friend who was celebrating her Birthday. I was still engaged in conversation as I got into my car. When I shifted the gear and noticed I wasn’t moving, my friend leaned forward and suggested that I start the car first. Duh! Being distracted had left me going nowhere.
The above three scenarios made me think about times in my spiritual life when I have found myself going nowhere. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not referring to the times when God has encouraged me to ”Be still” and trust Him, for in those seasons I have come to know Him more. What I “am” talking about are the times when I have become stagnant in my walk with Him.
The times when although He has wanted to take me forward, I have been unable to move because I have neglected building my spiritual muscles through Bible reading and prayer.
The times when although He has wanted to take me higher, I have stayed where I’m at because I kept pushing the same wrong button (repeating the same patterns) while expecting different results.
The times when although He has wanted to start me up, I stayed put because I got distracted by the business of life or by counterfeits that kept me from the best God has for me.
It has been during these stagnant times when I have been kept from going higher in my understanding of the Lord’s love or from moving forward in the plans that He has for me, that I have had to take the initiative to seek His heart and grow. This is where dedication, revelation and focus come into play.
1. Dedication-Doing whatever it takes -(surrender, prayer, worship and Bible reading ) to get my heart right and willing to listen. Psalms 84:2 “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord: My heart and my flesh cry out to the living God.” NKJV
2. Revelation-Understanding from God of where I really am in relation to where I should be and of the patterns I am continually repeating. Psalms 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxieties and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” NKJV
3. Focus-keeping my heart free of distractions (business, fear, loneliness ect.) so I can seek after His Kingdom and His righteousness. Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” NKJV
Thus, preparing my heart, gaining understanding, and seeking the Lord first then releases me to not only grow ..but also to go.
If there is one thing I have learned about God’s economy it’s that although it makes “perfect sense” …to God, it often makes little sense to me…except … sometimes in hind-site. Therefore, since my little finite mind has difficultly understanding the greatness of my God when I am calculating a situation, I often begin not only to question my ability to hear Him, but, at times, I am even tempted to doubt my sanity.
An example of this would be the second job that I am now working. Let me back track a little bit to bring some clarity.
A few months ago the Lord impressed upon my spirit that I was to go that afternoon to a certain building in town and fill out an application. And, although, at first, I was apprehensive, after calling a few friends for prayer, I became excited at the prospect of not only a new opportunity, but the possibility of a full-time position with medical benefits. Certainly, this is God’s answer to how I am going to pay my bills when my child supportends.
Later that afternoon, when I entered the specified facility and saw an empty desk in front of me, I was certain, that at some point, I would be its occupant. So I nonchalantly walked over and stood behind it in an attempt to gain some insight as to what my future employment might involve. That is when I heard in my spirit I need you here.
So with visions of financial security and possible ministry running through my head, I approached a young woman and asked her who worked at the desk. Her unexpected answer made me laugh…and not a HA HA kind of bubbly laughter either…it was more like the kind of laughter that Sarah exhibited in Genesis 18:12 when she was informed by the angel that she was going to give birth to a son in her old age.
Well, to make a long story short, after orientation, a blood test, mandatory shots, and the juggling of the company’s schedules, I am now working my volunteer desk position once a week. And I have to say that I have been tremendously blessed, for not only has my desk become a prayer altar, but my life has also been touched by the amazing people around me.
As I am writing this, I am reminded of a testimony a missionary shared with our congregation quite a few years ago. When God told him to buy a swamp, not only was he ridiculed by the populace but even his church members had a difficult time believing him. Little did any of them know, that a few months later that swamp would be drained as the result of a building project up the road and would become a multimillion dollar property. Yes, God’s economy…give when you don’t have it…work for free..buy a swamp. No, it might not always make sense…but with God in the equation… it always makes a difference!
Let me clarify here, I belive that God’s economy has more to do with hearts and purposes than it does finances. When He calls us to give or do; He is really calling us to trust and love Him as he gives us opportunity to allow Him to pour His love through us to others.
Lord, thank you for reminding me in Isaiah 55:8-9 that your thoughts and ways are much different and higher than mine. When I think security and comfort; you are thinking love and destiny. Lord, You are truly amazing!
I’ll never forget the economics lesson I learned before I went on a mission trip to the Philippines. With a little over a week left before departure I was still in need of $1,500.00. And although I prayed believing for the necessary funds as well as provision for my three teenagers who would be fending for themselves during my absence, I didn’t have any answers or direction.
Then came Sunday morning…,
Isn’t it funny how sometimes one minute we can be bellowing out praises to God from the depths of our hearts and the next we can be at war with Him? Unfortunately, that is what happened with me when I was impressed by the Lord to write a check for $100.00 over my tithe and put it in the offering. It was a serious Dr. Jekyll; Mr. Hyde moment as I was instantly transformed from a worshipper to a worrier. Actually, I was beyond worry…I was just plain angry. “God, don’t you realize. I need more; not less!”
Upon returning home after service I was still having an attitude problem about the extra money I had been led to give, until God, in His faithfulness, called me on the carpet as He spoke into my spirit, Do you want to live by My economy… or yours? Because if you live by your economy, you will never be able to accomplish what I have for you to do.
Hmm… I had to think about that for a minute before answering, “OK, Lord, I want to live by yours.”
Amazingly, before the week was over, not only had I been blessed with more than I had been praying for, but a relative upon discovering I was going on a mission trip, called my daughter and said that he was going to send her money so my kids could eat whatever they wanted while I was abroad; even if that meant steaks.
Although I was feeling secure in having all my needs met as well as having an additional designated amount to gift in the Phillippines, the day before departure God spoke to my heart that I needed to pray for 50 more dollars. However, since I was busy packing and running around doing last minute errands, a lengthy prayer session was not an option so I just threw up my hands and said, “OK. If you want me to have more, than you are just going to have to bring it.” And He did.
At 3.00 in the afternoon I answered a knock at my door to receive an envelope from a friend of mine. She said, “God told me I needed to bring this by today and give it to you.’ You know, I think I was more excited about receiving that last $50.00 than I had been with the almost $1,700 before it.
Anyway, as I gave what was determined in the Philippines, God placed a vision in my heart that would require more than I could make in a lifetime. A vision that only He could bring it to pass. A vision that I received encouragement about the other day when a friend of mine shared a story with me about a woman who was led to rasie $20,000.00 for an orphange. Knowing the impossibity of the situation she told God, “It might as well be a million!” To which He replied, “It might as well be 20.00. ”
Yes, in God’s economy…when in need…give, when in doubt…trust. when lacking understanding…surrender. For whether it be $20 or $2o,000.00, it’s all the same to Him and …it all makes “perfect” sense.
