Category: Recent Blogs

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 

What is love worth to you? What a question!

Fickle might be an answer for some. It depends on cost versus profit. Too rich for my blood budget. I stay away from investments that will break my bank. No guarantee, unmanageable! I don’t have the time nor the will to give it the attention it demands. Even the phrase, “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” (the poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson), would be, judged by some, poetry for the idiots who do not know any better!

Not everyone has such negative views as to the value of love, but I would suggest we all tend to answer first from what it means to and for me, AND THEN possibly what our love means to others, those who receive or those who wish to receive.

It’s in our DNA! The first Adam sinned and we became the ME MULTITUDE! We learned, followed, and practiced his heartfelt sin of all things ME.

Matthew 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Lust of the eyes??? It looks pleasing!!!

Lust of the flesh??? Good for food!!!

Pride of Life??? ABLE TO MAKE ONE WISE!!! (and happy, and healthy, and happy, and rich, and, and, and_____)

I believe the original sin was and is The greatest sin against LOVE. And I believe, in order to sin and/or continue to sin, we must change both the definition of and the value of LOVE. For, the value of LOVE is only set by and enriched by its definition.

Love is…

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;

Doesn’t describe many of us or our siblings, huh?

But it does begin to describe God and His actions toward His creation, especially the creature made in His image and the one who received His breath of life.

God IS Love! Knowing each and every one of us before we were anything but His thought (Psalm 139), He chose to take us from just a thought to giving the world this gift called you… this gift called me.

KNOWING that not all would agree with the term gift, God KNEW the the plans He has for the gifts He gives and the world He gives them too.Isaiah 55:11 So will My word (each and every creature is His word of love… He spoke and it was so – Genesis) be which goes forth from My mouth (He breathed into us His breath of life); It (this gift of life) will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Love IS God giving and its value is returning to Him in victory.

This weekend was the celebration of God’s ultimate victory over death (the wages of our sin called ME!ME!ME!) True to our earthly nature, some of us have taken this celebration of God’s LOVE, devoured the truth of the victory of The Resurrection (proof of death’s defeat), and degraded the value of God’s gift to bunnies, chocolate, pretty clothes and churches, calling the whole thing “Easter Worship”.

Is this really the value of LOVE?  ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. (Matthew 15:8-9)

I’m here to tell you, if this is the value of your LOVE, it is worthless. If your Love’s definition is a circus, counts me out! Your bunnies of lies  will only propagate, your chocolate will turn bitter with age, your pretty clothes will be nothing but dirty rags when the work of relationship needs doing, and the churches that worship the ways of the world will never provide a safe haven from evil.

I’ll confess… my love can be just as shallow… For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Romans 7:19) 

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

I do not love like God… BUT that is my upward call! I FORGET my way of life and love and I LOOK TO GOD to direct, define, and value LOVE.

I want to love His way and I want to know love like He knows love. (“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8)

What is the value of love? What is its worth to me? It is worth loving the Lord my God with my whole heart, my whole soul, and my whole might… and then (and only then will I be able) to love my neighbor as myself. Deuteronomy 6:5-6

Love is worth it all!

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

And when you’ve PRESENTED the WHOLE of you… you will know the true definition and value of love!

YOU WILL KNOW LOVE! And it will be for eternity!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

Matthew 6:5-8 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.  So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

The other day as I was using my mobile phone, the Holy Spirit called me (actually He was calling me OUT for my growing addiction) and asked me to text Him my “groanings” – Romans 8:26 the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

He got my attention! How do I pray?

If I were honest with myself (“which I always try to be” says the “Boy in the Striped Pajamas”) I am very shallow in my prayer time. Though I may not be using my phone to contact Abba, I tend to use the spiritual lines of communication in much the same way.

Emails are for those times when I don’t necessarily need an immediate answer, because we all know that this form of communication sometimes is known as “snail mail”. Do you believe there are SOME people who have a thousand or more pieces of mail in their inbox? Not that God is likely to be this way, but just in case there are too many prayers in the que, I write these prayers in my journal for future use.

Text messages are my norm. Quick, to the point, with an emoji to highlight the mood I am currently experiencing. I don’t use the one letter method because I am slightly afraid the answer will come back the same way and I won’t be able to translate.

Yep, text messages throughout the day is my normal way to communicate with God. Of course then this requires me to continually check my messages to see if I have received the answer – the answer I am expecting.

As the Holy Spirit spoke about communing with God, I realized, I need massive training in prayer!

Starting with…

When you pray, Go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 

Sounds like FaceTime, but as the Holy Spirit reminded me, there is no distance here. It is FACE TO FACE time! It is eye to eye time! It is heart to heart time! What is the reward? Certainly it is the answer to your prayers but it more than that, it is the answer to God’s prayer. Intimate, “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23) time. Making memories time, like those moments when my babies would crawl up on my lap and try to get all the way inside me. 

I know, I know, some of us pray for AN ANSWER (or what is the use of praying?) and I am sometimes the loudest beggar in this playpen of life. However, I am reminded of all those times in childhood when I missed and/or ruined a potentially wonderful time with my parents by demanding my own way. When all was said and done, the THING I was sure would make my life PERFECT IN EVERY WAY, became nothing but a cold, gray, useless thing, that now needed space in the backpack I carried, known as “My Life, My Way”.

But God… being our perfect Abba, knows that finding Him IS LIFE and He wants to be found!

Jeremiah 29:11-13 ‘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. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.’

 

When we pray is when we search for ABBA with all our heart!

So, now that we found ABBA (right there… in our inner room… NOT necessarily a closet), HOW do we pray? Definitely not for the purpose of impressing others – they love to stand and pray– nor going on and on and on – they suppose that they will be heard for their many words – just secret words out of a heart in need. A heart in need of the greatest thing we all seem to lack on this earth… the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. In this world there are so many things to pray for, for ourselves and others. There are so many things that cause nothing but anxiety, it causes me to be anxious in determining WHAT to ask for first!

So many things… I’m thinking there is only one that I have found answers every one of my prayers. Not to be repetitious but I am planning to pray this over and over, for me and for you..

Ephesians 1:18-19 I pray that the eyes of my/your heart may be enlightened, so that I/you will 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 (in other words – the answer to this prayer will always be “Yes and Yes”)

I know you know the Holy Spirit didn’t really ask me to text my groanings (they are too deep for me to know them anyway), but, He did train me up in the way I should go on praying! I also know it’s only the beginning (I’m just a baby!) but I’m ok with that as long as He remains my Trainer! If I don’t know the right words or prayers to speak… the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

The one thing I always try to remember when I find myself less than the good (perfect) girl I want to be, and, when I’m am being honest with myself, I try to remember God’s eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in His book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:16) God saw me and you, chose me and you, made me and you, LOVES me and you, with all of His heart!

God so wants to bless us, He directed Moses to direct Aaron (“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them’) to pray for this very thing…

Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord  lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’

God ordered this, “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.” (Numbers 6:27)

And since I and you are coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, I and you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)

Since I want to practice the training I am receiving from the Holy Spirit…

I invoke Abba’s name upon you (without emoji) with His blessing… The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.’

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

1 Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

Am I always ready?

To make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account?

For the hope that is in me…

I would like to claim YES, I am ALWAYS ready. But alas, the I in me, knows it would be a fib. I, the one who writes this blog, is not a quick thinker. I love, love, love to have fellowship with my brother and sister hearts who sanctify Christ as Lord of our hearts. I am ALWAYS ready for a sibling love fest!

But a defense… an account… a face to face, live, question/answer session with anyone who asks me about the who/what/where/when and how for the hope that is in me? I am hardly ever ready! I am “Moses Ready”. Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10)

After all these years, it is still very embarrassing when I have to confess I’m NOT ready for prime time! Just like Moses, my first thought when I receive direction from God, is all about me. All about the me that I am right now! All about the me that just needs a little tweaking by God to make me who He’s always known me to be. 

Just a little tweaking… get ready, Mary! No, not GET ready…

BE READY!

Sanctify (set apart as or declare holy; consecrate – “New Oxford American Dictionary”) Christ as Lord in your heart! Not just a little piece – your WHOLE heart!

Then… when you are asked to give an account for the hope that is in you… make a defense (1. the action of defending from or resisting attack – 2. the case presented by or on the behalf of the party being accused – “New Oxford American Dictionary”).

Always ready to… WHAT!?

I have always been under the impression that this verse is evangelism 101. Always be ready to spread the gospel, the good news of great joy, to people who have come to hear you tell it! But the word here is about being taken to court as the defendant. You’re on the witness stand,

“Mary, tell the court WHY Christ is the Lord of your heart. What is the this hope you hold for your future?”

DEFEND your hope! In the world’s court which is not a court of love. It is a court of hate… John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 

We are at war! If truth be told, THIS is what I (and many of our dearly beloved) are not ready for. We sit in our pews with the masks of “happy! happy!” on, thinking that this is the life  Jesus died to give us.

Yeah, I’m always ready for The Good Life!

Unfortunately… I’m almost never ready to RUMBLE! See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

In this world of hate, there is a great need for an account for the hope that is in you, just know, though it is fighting the good fight, it is a battle against evil, who wishes to devour goodness.

Therefore, Suit Up! take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:13) 

Stand Firm! Having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:14-17)

Speak the Word which is Christ Who dwells within! For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:9-12)

Yet, with gentleness and reverence! When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

I’ll admit, it’s not a testimony of peace and harmony and pretty pictures and health and wealth and happy happy. If that is the HOPE that is in you, I strongly suggest you not try to defend yourself and/or the god of such hope. If that is the promise you base your defense on, join the world. For the time will come (it’s here and it’s now) when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

But if your testimony is Christ is Lord no matter the who/what/when/where/how… if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

You will ALWAYS be ready to give an account of the hope that is in you!

You will be Ready to Rumble!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

 

Romans 8:28-30 And we know (true even if we don’t know) that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Predestined… God has a plan! (For God so loved the world)

Called… God has a desire! (that the world might be saved through Him)

Justified… Not judged! (For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world)

Glorified… God has a goal! (but that the world might be saved through Him.)

How can we NOT KNOW?

I’ve been wondering this lately and definitely walking a fine line between judging and trying to understand why some “get it” and some don’t.

What makes the difference in a soul that sings with joy when God is in the room (where two or more are gathered in His name – there He is) and the soul that only wishes to escape His presence in their life? If God wishes for none to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9) and will take all the time needed (not slow but patient), how can there be anyone who perishes for lack of knowing God?

1 Corinthians 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 

Does not accept, all sounds foolish, CANNOT understand!

A natural man. A man/woman who only have eyes for the things that make sense to them. A person who might attempt to hear the testimony of God but decides in the end it is only foolishness, wishful thinking, fairy tales, myths in the making, because after all NONE of it has caused him/her to believe.

But God… said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; (Genesis 1:26)

And He… formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

Without judging, sometime between the time God saw their unformed substance; and wrote in His book all the days that were ordained for them, when as yet there was not one of them (Psalm 139:16) and when they became an adult, and did away with childish things (1 Corinthians 13:11)

They chose whom they would serve… even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:21) 

The REASON a natural man/women/child, CANNOT know God! It’s not just rebellion, or a mindset that needs changing. It is a stone cold heart! Romans 1:22-23 Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 

I am devastated by this! I can speak words of Scripture all day long. I can tell my testimony every day until I am no more. I can (AND DO) pray that if not me, that God will send His workers into the harvest.

But this one… the one who’s soil CANNOT fix their knowledge of God…(Matthew 13:3-9  “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.) Nor their hearing fix their understanding of God… He who has ears, let him hear.” 

THIS ONE has to be a God fix! Ezekiel 36:26-27 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 

Maybe we all, everyone of us, must have God’s fix first!

Maybe someone was devastated when my heart of stone was revealed!

Maybe, as encouragers, as evangelists, as preachers, as neighbors, we should all be devastated and seek God first for a new heart in those we wish to “Go and make disciples”.

It certainly is a fine line between loving and judging, but Scripture says… If we confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved; 

For it is with the heart a person believes… What kind of heart are we working with? A heart in the process of turning to stone, one finding a reason/excuse to close ourselves off from God’s Spirit?

Check the heart! Do you/they KNOW… it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13) Do you/they LOVE His presence? And with the mouth he confesses (Romans 10:9-10)… We speak of who and what we know!

Check the Testimony! Do you/they KNOW… that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Check the works! We will be able to tell… For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)

I pray each of us will do the heart check… Come On… Pray THE BEST PRAYER EVER with me…

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. 

And then WE WILL KNOW the ones, those He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

To God be THE GLORY!! God is good all the time and all the time God is good!!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

 

1 John 4:15-18 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 

Love is… patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Love is not… about LIKEY LIKEY! Likey Likey, being ALL ABOUT YOU ME!

It is the “Selfie” of the soul. It is everyone and everything that my “I”(no, not EYE although it is the first to see the potential) approves as useful and/or pleasant to behold.

Likey is my word for all those things/people that I claim to love, yet have no intention of serving – only being served.

You won’t find LIKEY in the dictionary (in fact as I type, spellcheck wants to correct my obviously unintentional mistakes… so many red lines!) and I really REALLY don’t care. There are so many words in our language today that have been skewered to the point of having no meaning or incapable of making any sense. Overuse of a word can depreciate its impact but using a word with no regard for true context, DESTROYS the meaning, the value, the impact, and thus becomes impossible for others to translate into meaningful communication. Which, if the truth were told, might be the ultimate goal of evil… divide/isolate/easily take captive and/or destroy (hmmm – sounds familiar in our present day politics).

Please don’t misunderstand. The words that have been abused and skewered have not become BAD words. The words themselves remain the same even when they are misconstrued. Love and like do not change simply because I and my fellow citizens may be experiencing our own consequences for attempting to build the _”Mary”_ version of (feel free to fill in the blank with a name of someone who MIGHT be in a similar process of renovating or reconstructing) the tower of Babel (see Genesis 11).

Whether or not I have been doing my own tower maintenance, this week, God “woke” (!rabbit trail! stay on point, Mary) me to the true usage of love. It seems that, Not only do I apply it using my own definition (which is so full of anything and everything), I apply it as a bun to wrap around my “nothing burger”!

Yes, I have read the Scriptures and have been trained up in God’s school of Love. I KNOW God IS LOVE! But knowing and doing are the two sides, forever bonded together, of Free Will (freedom to choose), the gift of an Image Bearer of God. I choose to know and I choose to do. But… may I share a little secret with you? I am NOT yet PERFECT! And this may be even more shocking… neither are you!

I use this disclaimer, not as an excuse, but as a reminder that  being “woke” by God is not about being perfect and in need of a deserved stoning (though He is the only one without sin that has the right to throw the stones). God is not in the business of punishing the imperfect, He is in the business of perfecting the imperfect whom He created to be perfect (whom we were for a minute in Paradise). A process He does not expect to be finished this side of His Kingdom.

No matter how many times, or how many ways, or how many  tests are necessary, God does and will, train me up using His definition… His intentions… His Word spelled L-O-V-E.

God is love!

The one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this…

Love is perfected with us!

Certainly not my tower of Likey Likey babel! We love, because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) 

We are inhabited by God… 1 Corinthians 6:17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Still free to choose to know and do…but just so you know… you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16) 

God doesn’t make us be play nice… or take away His love from us when we don’t know and do TRUE love. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 

I have to be wiling to DELETE my likey likey version – you know the one that is all about me me me me me – and constantly PUBLISH God’s version all over my “selfie space”.

How do I do this?

1 John 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 

It’s not about me… it’s all about God in me!

Just REMEMBER… you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:20 )

Never fear love… but always obey!  1 John 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. 

Just Do It… but do it with love!!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

 

2 Corinthians 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 

Speculations and Lofty Things… I sometimes have to giggle at myself when I put on my “It’s All About Me” self and look into my magical mirror.

“How did I get so perfect?” Perfect enough to see all of the flaws I DO NOT have! But, then again, I’m looking for YOUR flaws to compare with my flawlessness.

Paul knew this about me… 1 Corinthians 4:3-4 But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, He knew it about all humans – even the important ones… or by any human court; He especially knew it about himself… in fact, I do not even examine myself. 

I don’t always giggle… because,”BOY!HEH!”, I can STILL be seriously excellent at KNOWING IT ALL!  For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted;

Speculations and Lofty Things… Who DO we think we are?

 

Psychologists would probably diagnose  me as having a Narcissistic (an excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one’s physical appearance – according to dictionary) Personality. As, I believe most of us in this world today would deserve the same diagnosis.

When Jesus came into my life, He diagnosed my problem as the same SIN nature as and from those whom I inherited it, Adam and Eve. Sin, the core and basis of all narcissism… Lust of the flesh… Lust of the eyes… Pride of Life… (When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate (Genesis 3:6-8). Adam and Eve, the first man/woman created represented all men/women/children to come. They were the first from whom all the rest of us descended. They were the prototype.

Adam and Eve, who had access and full permission to enjoy the perfect garden that existed to abundantly sustain all of creation, chose to eat from from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and their eyes were open. One of only two trees that were NOT to be consumed by humans… the Tree of Life (eternal life) and the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil (God and false god – i.e Satan – an angel who decided he could be God).

Well, we might ask, “WHY WERE THESE TREES THERE, if we weren’t suppose to enjoy them?” Why tempt us poor little innocent victims? If something is so dangerous for someone you claim to love, why would God allow it in His kingdom? I’m just saying… maybe judging God a little????? Because I certainly WON”T BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for just weeds in HIS garden!

Who do we think we are?

Interestingly enough, before Eve considered disobeying the rules of Paradise, Satan led them to question the goodness of God and lied to them about the consequences of choosing to make up their own rules.

Hello… I was wondering… Genesis 2:1-3:5 “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

He said/she said… The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”

!!SURELY not… The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing (note that this isn’t just knowing about – this is being fully aware of who, what, where, when, how, why –  in other words – knowing = in control of) good and evil.” 

Just one little apple… the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise

Who wouldn’t want to be all they could be? She took from its fruit and ate. She never intended to make Satan her god or replace her Creator God, she just wanted her full share of the god-pie with a little help from her partner – Adam.

And thus, mankind’s nature changed from God-centered to ME-centered and the world no longer had The Perfect and His Perfect Image Bearers, to sustain and care for it.

The world is now in the hands of Satan to seek, kill, and destroy, God’s now IMPERFECT image bearers who falsely believe we still hold the keys (knowledge is power) to the kingdom.

Knowledge is power…They KNEW God! They knew God in ways you and I can only imagine. They walked with Him… and talked with Him. They learned from Him and ruled His creation with Him. They had full access and full permission to enjoy all the fruits of God’s Paradise EXCEPT for two trees, both of which were they were fully informed/trained/warned about. They were created in the IMAGE OF GOD (just as we are) and given the gift that no other creature (not even the angels) was given – the gift of FREE WILL… the ability to decide and choose the path and therefore whom we wish to follow (i.e. love and cherish).

True, before their sin they did not “know” evil. They did not know evil hated them. They did not intimately know the difference between good and evil. They did not know the consequences of being spiritually separated from the The Image they bear.

They did not know they would no longer be able to go out and come in… the keys to God’s Kingdom remain with God.

Adam and Eve found out who they were, apart from the goodness of The Perfect… the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked (no place to keep the keys)… they hid, rather than seeking Their Perfect God, they attempted to excuse (the woman YOU gave me!), cover themselves (with vegetation), and bully (he/she DID IT!) their way back into their former position of royalty in creation.

Who do we think we are?

Do we think WE ARE NAKED! We will one day be clothed again in perfection but until that day, along with the image of God, we bear the imperfection that still chooses wrongly. The perfect gift of free will, groans within us as we battle against an enemy who wishes to steal, kill and destroy us. Though God had EVERY RIGHT to revoke our ability and freedom to choose between good and evil (for that really is the only choice), He did not. He still willingly allows us to CHOOSE whom we love and therefor whom we serve.

Whom we serve and love is the essence of who we are. NOT who we THINK we are, but WHO WE ARE.

Choose you this day whom you will serve… Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. 

Until heaven comes… take every thought captive… if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

Who Do I Think I Am?

This one thing I know take every thought captive to it…

As long as I remain hidden in Christ, I am no longer naked! 

Still imperfect… but… not naked!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

Ephesians 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. 

WHO is the REAL ME?  Alien? Sinner? Slave? Enemy? All of the above?

Romans 7:21-23 the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 

It’s  true! I once WAS LOST… It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. (1 Timothy 1:15)

But now… I’m FOUND!

1 Peter 2:9-10 you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

Who is the REAL ME?… Saint? Holy Temple? Chosen Race? Royal Priest?

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

A NEW creature! I was only just getting a handle on the old junk in my trunk! I knew (and loved) this sinner for my predictability, my spontaneity, my lack of obsessive perfection. Quite frankly, as long as I was handling my own “destiny”, I posed no threat to those who feared I might compete with their settled doctrines of life.

Though I don’t much like the label “sinner”, I do not know what other label describes the difference between Old Mary and the New Mary.  When I became a Jesus Freak, I did indeed choose to… lay aside the old self with its evil practices, and put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created Mary… (Colossians 3:9-11)

I did indeed choose Jesus but beholding new things coming???Sometimes I see in a mirror dimly…

I confess, whenever I read the word “new”, I actually picture a “revised” version. A version that I recognize as ME. A version that I insist upon retaining copyright authority over. A version I insist must not stray TOO FAR from the stunning original! A version that I and others demand an immediate, perfect, and complete representation of the final new Mary creature… when in fact…

This NEW creature is one I have never seen before. A creature I have no idea how to create and one which I will not see fully and complete until we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

Until then we are growing… always growing… into the REAL ME!

What starts with our choice, Romans 10:8-10  “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Causes a new life to be triggered,John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Triggered! As in BABY! As in helpless! As in need of… EVERYTHING!

Here’s the part I want desperately to get! Here’s the part I desperately want all of us to get!

Babies don’t raise babies! Abba raises babies!

You have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15

If I am to Grow into the REAL ME, I need to be raised and cared for by The REAL ABBA!

I need to STOP re-raising my sinner self and BECOME, from cradle to grave to resurrection, Abba’s Love Child!

But the basic nature of a child is to take control of the world they wish to have, from the very first words we speak, “NO! I DO IT MYSELF!”.

Whether we are examining ourselves or others, we seek immediate gratification for our soul which tends to see as Eve saw…the tree is good for food, and that it is a delight to the eyes, and that it is desirable to make one wise (Genesis 3:4)… having “examined it thoroughly”, we do as she did, we take and eat of it,  as well as share it with Adam so we won’t be the only one in trouble when caught doing the wrong thing.

The basic nature of God is reconciliation… 2 Corinthians 5:17-19…God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 

Reconciliation that completely changes us…

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 

Reconciliation that takes possession and creates the REAL ME. For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

The REAL ME (and you, and you, and you) which was made in the Image of God is growing into the Image of God, and will become the spitting Image of God!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

 

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Sometimes it sucks hurts!

Sometimes… We’d rather not, thank you very much!

Sometimes… NO, pretty much always, it requires our full and unconditional commitment just to love for one more minute.

We prefer Hollywood’s version. The drama, YES, it keeps things interesting. The mystery, Yes, it draws us like a magnet. The adventure, Yes, it is the story of pure pleasure. The beauty, YES, it is somewhere over the rainbow. The ending, DEFINITELY YES, the circle of the happily ever after yellow brick road.

Our world tells us, it isn’t love if it isn’t pretty. Our world tells us it isn’t love if we don’t profit from it. Our world tells us it is ALL ABOUT ME!

In our world you might as well be speaking in tongues, because the language of love is rarely translated correctly and is mostly used out of context, which changes if not destroys its meaning. We believe love is those “likey likey” feelings that cause our hormones to trigger our desire to wrap the person, place or thing in our arms and place them/it in our prison of lust (YOU ARE MINE!).

We believe our WANTING TO is the same as DOING SO when we count the ways in which we love.

We believe EVERY big or small attempt to love you should be honored and a medal be bestowed. “I TOLD you I loved you that day in front of the priest! The fact I haven’t told you since just proves it hasn’t changed.”

When all is said and done, I do not believe there is any man, woman, or child on this planet, who can (much less will) “naturally” know and show love. The original sin… the Adam sin… the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life sin, is what comes natural.

Love, TRUE LOVE, is supernatural!

Love is God given! For God so loved the world, that He gave

Love is created by God! “Let us make man in Our image”

Once upon a time, we were created in the image of God. We were whole… perfect in every way. We only knew love. We were unaware of anything but perfect goodness and love. Until we ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, our eyes were opened and we KNEW the opposite of God, we KNEW evil. We ate it up and became aware of our new nature. Naked and afraid!

Because God sent us out of the garden (lest we forget, He did clothe us first and He had trained us in gardening) we believe He doesn’t love us anymore and therefore He is no longer perfect in love. We think God is more like us than we are like Him. We judge Him based upon OUR NATURE not His. We refuse to confess and repent of our foolishness, continuing our eating habits (lust and pride of “life”), which will be an eternal disaster if we remain Evil’s spawn until the eternal wages of sin come due.

It wasn’t from lack of love, that God had to distance Himself from His precious creature, it was His supernatural love that bore the entire pain, grief, and wages of the sin so that we might turn back to Him and again have intimacy with Him. For God so loved the world  that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 

Left up to us, WE WOULD turn our back on those who cause us pain, WE WOULD kill our love in retaliation for that which causes us unhappiness, WE WOULD build impossible conditions to earn small bits of our love back…

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him but we WOULD. Not only judge God for not doing enough for us, we WOULD also create an image of a god we can understand and most importantly control and/or ignore.

We create and replace God’s law of love with the lies of lust.

Love is…  patient, kind, is not jealous; does not brag, is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly;  does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Without God, our version is Lust… me – Me – ME… need I say more?! Love Lust must be profitable (mostly to me), dressed to impress, greedily wants all they have to give, demanding the best, always aware of the balance sheet, chooses its battles, issues a silent, never ending  “you owe me” note, does not rejoice in loosing but rejoices in winning every battle… need I go on?!

We do not know nor would we recognize love without Jesus.  1 John 3:16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.With Jesus, there is a Divine Call upon our lives… 1 John 3:23 believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 

The Divine Call of Love.

NOT our way of love lust… His way of love!

Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

The Way of Love is the cross!

Take up your cross… You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.

And follow Jesus… The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40)

Love is not easy, or lightweight, or unnecessary, or conditional, or comes naturally (On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.)

As the Holy Spirit was preparing me for this post today, He began by reminding me to take up my cross.

I of course, initially sought to examine my life for those things and places, and habits that I needed to confess, repent, and be changed because of. My cross was looking pretty heavy!

But it was still all about me… What if the cross I am to pick up, isn’t about me, Jesus carried my cross – He bore my sins – He paid my price. “It is finished!” Sin and its wages are finished but Love is NEVER finished.

What if the cross I must pick up and carry is the CROSS OF LOVE?! What if following Jesus means to love until death do us part and beyond the grave into eternity?

Whoa! It’s supernatural!

Jesus didn’t come for those who loved Him (there was no one who loved Him enough for that). He came because God so loved us!

Whoa! It’s supernatural!

Jesus carried, suffered, and died IN LOVE… and rose STILL IN LOVE.

Will I loose my life for Jesus’ sake? Will I love like Jesus?

Whoa! It’s supernatural! As the Holy Spirit spoke to me about loving someone by picking up the cross of Christ, I cried out, “I CAN’T! I do not know how!”

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

The Holy Spirit gently blew my mind…“You’re right, YOU CAN’T!”

“The good news of great joy has come,” the Holy Spirit said,“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

Whoa! Christ in you, Mary! It’s Supernatural! And Jesus (Who is in the midst of two or more gathered in His name) spoke, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth…

“Now… Should we begin your CROSS training!”

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20) We’ve got all the time in the world to love and be loved!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Just like the little bunny who rolls around banging his/her/its drum, we humans don’t give up until we completely run out of juice. We just keep banging our drums, letting the world peek at the condition of our soul.

The spirit of a person is breath of life that gives us the passion, power and permission to walk upright through the doors of life. But the soul… the soul… is the “smartphone” of all that is called me. It records and remembers all the data. It manages all the appointments and possibilities and opportunities for us to have a rich and abundant story to tell. The soul may seem to be turned off but will come alive at the touch of our world. 

Some of us have an OLD soul that doesn’t move mountains as fast as they once did. Some don’t move at all being convinced that they are landlines who must be tethered to the source that they have placed on the throne of their heart. But all souls listen, seek, respond and replay the music that their souls listen to, that their heart commands them to dance to, and that their spirit moves them to take their place on the dance floor.

Being a creature, we are indeed connected to creation for as long as there is breath in our bodies. Our bodies do have an imperative role as they house all the bells and whistles, the technology we own, the robotics necessary to accomplish any and all dances we have been assigned or have assigned ourselves.

For the most part we keep on Rollin On the River (“Proud Mary” song written by John Fogerty, introduced by Creedence Clearwater Revival and sung by Tina Turner in 1971… according to Wikipedia). Even when we are up against creation itself.

Our world, all of creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now… Romans 8:22, lest we not forget, that our search for perfection, in our lives and in our world, does not exist.  We can and do (even when we refuse to admit it) easily become weary and heavy-laden. The yokes we have chosen (consequences of actions constitute indirect choices and bear the contract signature of your free will) turn from necklaces of privilege to chains of slavery. The burdens we so joyfully claimed as that which we can and will handle, become a two ton weight that threatens to take even the breath of our life.

Matthew 6:34 Each day has MORE THAN enough trouble of its own. Trouble that became the natural condition of an entire creation when it was cracked and broken the moment sin entered its perfect ecology.

Romans 8:20-21 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

We created this mess!

Romans 1:18-21 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

I know, I know, WE DON”T DESERVE this trouble. We didn’t do anything REALLY BAD. IF God exists and IF He truly loved us, He wouldn’t let these bad things happen, especially  to “good” people!

Hello! God is NOT to blame (just like your parents weren’t to blame) when you come up against and get smacked with reality. He didn’t cause the mess (we did), He just lets us wallow in it until we acknowledge, honor and give thanks for all that is evident about Him. (God is good all the time and all the time God is good!…***my favorite movie? “God’s Not Dead”)

Romans 3:23 for ALL have sinned AND fall short of the glory of God

Like the children we are, we DEMAND our way and then COMPLAIN when our way hurts and torments us.  Like the children we are, we like the toys of our sins… until… we are weary and heavy-laden. 

Only then… will we give up our childish attempts. Only then… will we recognize and submit to the fact that independence is impossible. Only then… will our heart begin to doubt the ruler of the throne. Only then… will the spirit be given the freedom to seek the Giver of Life. Only then… will the soul begin to listen, seek, respond and replay the music of heaven.

Jesus is calling…

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Are you tired and heavy laden from carrying your two ton load of sin?

Jesus promises…

“My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”(because He has done/is doing/and will always do the heavy lifting)

Do you hear His music…

“I will give you rest”

Come and Get It!

Romans 8:37-39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

 

 

 

Mark 4:39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 

Last Wednesday, I did not write a post, instead did some maintenance and some very scary but needed updates and fixes to the website.

Mark 4:36-37 Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there *arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. 

It felt like a storm was coming against my boat! Unlike the apostles, who knew the sea as well as, if not better, than their own backyard playground, I know (mostly guessing) just enough to be dangerous. I even hired the experts to help, thinking I would just lie back and sip a cocktail, while they made everything pretty and perfect.

Nope… not done yet. Evidently cleaning the database required throwing everything, except the baby, out and starting with ONE subscriber (me).

***By the way, if you have registered on this site and are not a robot, please register anew, your registration was storm damaged!***

There *arose (in my spirit) a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.

I don’t do well at downsizing, I tend to hoard all the nonessential and misplace all the really important stuff.  So, it isn’t any wonder that I’m freaking out (not the same as being a Jesus Freak!) and wondering if I should begin again or just close the whole blog due to flood damage.

It is a good thing (WONDERFUL THING) that I also took Jesus along with me in my boat! He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.”

I actually heard His words, “HUSH, BE STILL!”

But He wasn’t talking to the computer (boat) nor the programming (the storm) nor the fix necessary to stop the flood (database overload).

He was talking to ME!

Mark 4:40 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 

Thirty Eight years of having Me onboard and you STILL let the storms of life intimidate you? Do you still have no faith? Where is your observance of Who I am? Where is your remembrance of ALL that I have done/am doing/will do in your life? (Malachi 3:16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name.)Are you writing your book, Mary? The book of remembrance of “Jesus and Me”. (Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!) The book of observing ALL He has shown you regarding “WHO HE IS”.

Observe and Remember…

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. 

Yeah! Mary! What’s your spirit soaking in?

Ok! Ok! I get it! It’s time to mitigate the storm damage.

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 

A little soggy, Lord, but wholly Yours!

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, (or technology).

It is all Your’s, Lord! Even the experts cannot will not make it work  as perfectly as You!

Isaiah 55:11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. 

Search me, O God…

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 

Though I know, that I know merely enough to sink the boat, I confess my nature to go with uppity thinking.

Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 

Search me, O God… and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139:23-24)

When all was/is/will be done this week (and next, and next, and next) during the current and future storms, in life, computer drama, or otherwise, Jesus used it as a teachable moment (Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go).

He was neither punishing me nor condemning me when He told me to “HUSH!”  He was telling me of His plans for my life and the tasks He has given me. (I know the plans I have for you…)

He was…

Zephaniah 3:17 Adonai your God is in your midst— a mighty Savior! He will delight over you with joy. He will quiet you with His love. He will dance for joy over you with singing. (from the Tree of Life Version of the Bible)

I heard “Hush, be still!”so that I might sing and dance with Him to the music of storm.

Mark 4:39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.But the music never stoped!

How about you? Is there a little storm scare in your life in need of our Storm Chaser?

Hush, be still! Listen to the music of the storm! He is in the boat with you.

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.