Side by Side Hand in Hand

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.

 

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come 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. 

Tickling Ears Syndrome… TES… Also known as “making it up as we go”. Also known as Happy Fools RULE!

We certainly don’t live in the age of Truth. We live in the age of Feelings. Everything is measured by HOW that makes ME feel. We are fast approaching the criminalization of upsetting someone. The punishment for such a grievous crime? You will be publicly shamed by the crowd of self appointed “ism” hunters (also known as Social Justice Warriors). You will be locked out of lives who do not want to be influenced (some you call friends/family). You will be locked up in the prison bad people (renamed Deplorable by those who know us so well) who make other people feel bad.

It is indeed a scary world! So scary, I find myself praying the one prayer that   WILL change this world, “Bo Yeshua!”. And He says…

Revelation 22:12-13 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 

How does that make you feel?

John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”  John 6:66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 

Are you the kind of follower of Jesus who withdraw from His difficult statements?  Are they so difficult for you that you no longer walk with Him?

Oh come on! We are ALL tempted! It’s the law of evil to draw us away from The One who defeated evil… Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8)… seeking someone (he especially likes lambs who seem to forget their Shepherd’s voice) to devour.  But here’s the thing! We don’t have to be in NOR STAY IN the slaughter line!

“This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” The temptation is NOT what changes location, the change in location is completely your choice of WHOSE voice you will follow. If you feel that God has left you behind… it was YOU who walked away! God doesn’t leave nor forsake you!

I’m just saying… “BAAAA”…

John 10:24-30 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” 

WHOSE voice will you stake your life on?

So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:67-69)

Do you KNOW the Holy One of God? When you are face to face with His difficult statements, do you come closer still?

John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

If the voices in your head are clamoring for you to RUN AWAY, ask yourself where will you RUN TO. The voice of our enemy wants to kill, steal, and destroy you.

Your own voice wants immediate gratification.

There is ONLY ONE voice who desperately wants you to choose the WAY, the TRUTH, the LIFE.

Will you follow Him or go the way of TES? I’m sure having your ears tickled will make you giggle with delight as you accumulate for yourself teachers in accordance to your own desires, and turn away your ears from the truth and turn aside to myths.

But will TES provide ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ (Jeremiah 29:11)

Will TES lead you into eternity?

John 6:35-40 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” 

Forget the ears… THIS tickles my spirit! If my voices aren’t sending me running to Him, I command them to, “SHUT THE HELL UP!”, as I shout the only prayer that gives me a future and a hope in this world…

Bo Yeshua! Come Lord, COME!

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

Psalm 139:1-6 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

How wonderful?

Psalm 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. 

You SAW me and WROTE me into YOUR BOOK and ORDAINED (“decreed/ordered” Strong’s Concordance) ALL OF THEM.

!Before there was even one of them!

You SEARCHED me and KNEW me. EVERYTHING ABOUT me. The times I lived those days in worthless activity. The times I rose up against Your plan for my days. The times the words on my lips and the thoughts in my mind were beyond nasty, to You and to the saints You provided for my upbringing. The times I walked and laid down with those whom our enemy sent in order to SHOW YOU the sinner YOU created!

And still…

KNOWING IT ALL. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. You have… a word that is past, present, and future… You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me… from the time YOU SAW me until the time YOU SEE me no more (?never?)!  You have To INFINITY AND BEYOND!

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain (be who You plan for me to be) to it.

KNOWING IT ALL… the good, the bad, the ugly that my nature freely chooses… You still CREATED ME and NEVER GIVE UP on me.

!Too wonderful for me!

But are You too GOOD TO BE TRUE?

There is a difference! Thank God, mankind’s perception IS NOT reality. (another blog discussion).

In the darkest days of my life, I believed along with some other idiots in my life, that my beliefs determined truth. I mean, one must “grow up and out of” the myths and fairy tales created in order to control the masses.

Who determines and declares what is or is not real?

Why those who are more intelligent (like me) than the masses (like you). Those who have “studied” the facts that, coincidentally I totally agree with. The “facts” that do not shake my confidence in how great I am. The “facts” that never demand I give up my own kingship and kingdom. The “facts” that allow me to imagine my mind, my judgement, my desires are always and only steeped in the reality I have created.

The “FACTS” that testify I AM IN CONTROL! (Talk about myths and fairy tales…)

I believed!

Until I met and knew The Truth, and He set me free! (John 8:32)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) 

The Way… we did our thing and ended up driven out of Paradise so we would not do the unthinkable and make Hell our only option. Jesus came and fulfilled God’s redemption by paying the price of our sinful way (the wages of sin is death).

The Truth… we cannot redeem ourselves because there is none without sin, and because sin is anything less than perfectly righteous. I am a “good” person… you may be but you will never be good enough to defeat death – for yourself or anyone else. ONLY God (Perfect Righteousness) could defeat death and pay our price.

Romans 5:6-8 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

The Life… But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

I once was lost… many will tell you (some even in my own family) I am still lost in a world of fantasy of my own making.

I will tell you that I use to believe as they do. IF there was a god, I wanted NOTHING TO DO with someone who treated me and my world so badly by allowing such wicked things to happen.

But now I’m found… Jesus stood at my door and knocked… I opened it. I sat down with Him and asked Him all my hard questions.

“What have YOU done for me lately?”

“I paid your bill that is due immediately upon leaving this earth!”

“What bill? I’m a GOOD GIRL!”

“Except that time you weren’t!”

“Why me? You know I will be a handful, I demand my own way a lot! I throw tantrums when told no! I bargain even when I know I’ve lost!”

“I knew you before I created you. I knew you after I created you. And I will know you forever and a day!”

But, why me? I never loved You before, I fear I will never love You enough!”

“But God… so loved you and the world… He gave Me,  His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Me, shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

“And I… CAME!”

All those myths and fairytales and imaginations (which I DID BELIEVE IN), had one thing in common. They were mine! I set them up on my altar to honor me. None of them EVER came to my rescue. None of them EVER proved their reality (they couldn’t because they were only a player in my perception), I made them up as I needed them. None of them EVER knocked on my door to dine with me (which would’ve been eating in front of a mirror). All of them came to make me feel good/better about myself because I or someone else had let the truth about me slip and judgement came flooding in.

Jesus came… not to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17)

O men of little faith, your belief has never, does not now, nor never will determine REALITY. The most we can say about it is… “IT IS WHAT IT IS!”.

Our God IS (the Great I AM) whether you or I believe He is or not.

But if you believe… and receive Him for ALL He is… But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. You will be changed!

It’s…  !Too Wonderful for Me!

All I have left to say is…

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. 

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

 

 

 

Psalm 103:1-2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;

I had such a wonderful day yesterday! An afternoon spent in fellowship with my Bestie – Barb, in the midst of our BEST Bestie – Jesus, because “where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am in their midst.” (Matthew 18:19)

It doesn’t matter where we meet or how often we have our playdate, regardless of the issues surrounding our lives on this sometimes chaotic planet, His name and His work in our lives and the lives of our families will always become THE TOPIC. When we swerve into “other” areas, there is a voice in each of our ears, turning us back to the ONLY TOPIC worth our time and attention… Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

After lunch and coffee (our preferred playground for our playdates), I stopped next door to bring home dinner for me and my other bestie – my Best Hubby! As I was waiting for my order, I was asked what made me so happy today.

Do you ever wish you could go back and give a different answer?

Questions like this tend to stop me from thinking. Literally, my mind tends to go blank and words don’t surface until the moment has come and gone. LATER, the list of should’ve, could’ve, wish I would’ve said, begins to dull this child’s glow from the spectacular playground time.

I think I mumbled something about having a wonderful life that I do not deserve… AND I DO (have a wonderful life I do not deserve)… but why, why, why didn’t I tell the story ( I Love to Tell the Story)?

The story of just coming from the Church of Bestie Fellowship. The story where we were covered in love, and grace, and mercy, and Holy Spirit fruit, and Holy Ground dancing with our Savior?

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Am I bragging? Not about me! It wasn’t my wonderful life that made me glow with happy, it was the pouring out of God from His throne room, covering us with Himself.

It’s ALL about Him! No, definitely not bragging… WORSHIPPING!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; 

Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; 

Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with          lovingkindness and compassion; 

Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. (Psalm 103:3-5)

The Lord performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. 

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 

He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:8-10)

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. 

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 

Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. 

For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. (Psalm 103:12-14)

As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer. 

But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them. (Psalm 103:17-18)

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. 

This is the playground song my bestie and I sang and danced to. At the end of the day, both of us were smiling with a happiness that transcends enjoying a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Today, as I answer the question, “What makes me so happy that I glow with happiness?”, my answer is…

EVERY DAY and EVERY MOMENT that “I kneel; as an act of adoration” (*Strong’s Concordance – definition of the primitive root “bless” when speaking of blessing God), surrounds me with the sweet, sweet perfume of the incense I lift up to Him in testimony to the redemption and sanctification He is working in my life and the lives of those He loves.

Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will. Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; (Psalm 103:20-22)

Bless the Lord, O my soul! 

Thanks Barb, for going to church with me. I love you to the moon and back!

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

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? 

Do I really want to know?

He has told you… who, me?

I’d rather know what He requires of YOU! It’s much easier that way. I have thousands of ideas of how YOU can make God happy.

Me? I’d rather He just go ahead and make me happy.

Just the other day, one of our politicians claimed the “moral high ground”, thereby placing all other points and opinions as inappropriate and/or without merit. Though the dictionary(on my computer) defines “moral” as – “concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character”, it is only a descriptive adjective unless you live it as a noun – “a person’s standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do”.

What was telling about the politician’s claim was what triggered it. Someone was calling out the claims being made by refuting them with the facts of life – the noun – so to speak.

Is what I am speaking a representation of what I DO and BELIEVE and HAVE PROOF OF its goodness and reliability, or is it just more of “Do as I say not as I do!”?

He has told you, O man, what is good… I have listened and taken a poll! I have listened and added just a touch of sugar to make the medicine go down. I have listened and run with glee to deliver the message to YOU.

Or more likely, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that, I was listening to the clamor of my world”.

My world! Or better stated… MY world!

The politician was not saying anything I don’t say to describe myself far more often than is good and acceptable and TRUE. I, like most of mankind, live the adjective – concern for the “principles for proper conduct”, rather than LIVING the noun – living what is and avoiding what is not acceptable for my own behavior and beliefs.

Because of mankind’s sin of disobeying God’s command, we all know good and evil (we all ate the fruit and are no longer innocent). Because of gift of our freedom to choose between them, everyone of us has an inner battle of WHO do we serve!

We can claim to serve God BUT… what does the Lord require of you but to DO justice, to LOVE kindness, and to WALK HUMBLY with your God…

We think we are fulfilling His requirements and serving Him fully  when we point out those not doing justice. As we are pointing our finger, does our other fingers point at our own example of “DOING JUSTICE”. According to my handy dandy dictionary, am I a shining example of “just behavior or treatment”? When I am speaking to or about my fellow human, does my words and actions exemplify “concern for justice, peace, and genuine respect this person and people in general, or do I bang the gavel of my superior judgement? 

We think we are fulfilling His requirements and serving Him fully  when we point out those not loving kindness. When I huff and puff about those in need not getting their rightful goods and services, do I take from my largess and give to the one God has placed before me? Do I LOVE being kind? Do I seek to see the possible opportunities for the kindness I love?

We think we are fulfilling His requirements and serving Him fully  when we point out those not walking humbly with your God. Somehow we become the expert spokesperson and believe it is our sacred duty to proclaim, protect and defend God’s will on this earth. All the while, busily evading personal contact, correction and communion with the One we call our Father.

In my youth (hey, compared to Methuselah’s 969 years, I’m VERY youthful!) I have spent a great deal of time  anxiously wondering WHAT I should be doing “for” God. I have taken tests to reveal the areas of giftedness “so that” I could make myself ready for God’s big reveal of the world wide ministry He has written on my life. I have sought the counsel of the self-help books written by His world famous ministry stars. I have…

But just the other day God said.to.me,“I require you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with Me, your God!”

Whoa! How did I not know this before? I’ll get right on that!

Then He told me there was just one thing more I needed to know for my complete success at meeting His requirements… “by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” 

The next time I am meeting out justice, or showing my love for kindness, or walking humbly, it would be good to remember there is this principle called reciprocity (much like gravity – it just happens)…

Luke 6:37-38 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

Did you notice? They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. They… either judging or not judging – condemning or not condemning – pardoning or not pardoning – giving or not giving… whichever you choose… will be poured into your lap (pressed down, shaken, and running over). And that, my friends is the very core of why God REQUIRES the good stuff from us, He knows what evil brings when we choose to serve it.

You’ve heard me say it before! God is good all the time and all the time God is good!!!!!!! (From the movie “God’s Not Dead”)

Think about it!

What does the Lord require of you?

Like the 1970 song of the Jackson 5… ABC, easy as 123, simple as do re mi… DO justice – LOVE kindness – WALK HUMBLY with God…

Just.do.it!

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

“Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;

Then man, encouraged by evil, took the steps toward changing reality into his very own perception, “This could be seen as making us equal to God.”

First step… Perceive the truth… Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 2:1)

Second Step… Give your eyewitness account… 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.’” (Genesis 3:2-3)

Third Step… Let the presumption of  withholding something of benefit sway your free will… 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 good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

Fourth Step… Chose you this day whom you will obey… 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)

Fifth Step… Run and hide when you find out you were not only WRONG, you are NAKEDLY WRONG… Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:7-8)

Eve’s perception (she SAW and therefore she knew) convinced her that the reality of God’s Words (even though He SPOKE and REALITY happened) would not happen if she freely chose to overrule them with a practical, amazingly beautiful, wise reason for disobeying.

What she perceived was NOT what really happened… What happened was the words God spoke became real, just as He said they would!

Maybe we could give her the benefit of the doubt because she didn’t really know what death meant. After all she lived in Paradise and did not yet know evil – only good.

Yet when their eyes were opened and they KNEW they were naked – no longer dressed in heaven’s innocence.  What did they do? Covered themselves and hid from their Creator who had only shown them and showered them with good. Good was the REALITY of Paradise, and yet, concern for themselves kept them from acknowledging what they had done had far reaching consequences to the garden and all of creation they had been commissioned to fill, subdue, and rule over the earth and all of it’s inhabitants.

When reality didn’t give them the standard of living they had become accustomed to, they avoided the Reality Maker.

They didn’t “perceive” of  confessing their complete idiocy, sincerely acknowledging God’s complete rightness, and vowing to obey only the God of ALL GOODNESS!

Besides independently designing their own covering of their nakedness, and believing they could just avoid the Maker of haven and earth, they stuck by me! Me! ME!

Genesis 3:12-13 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Blaming everyone and everything… even God – especially God (the woman YOU gave me – the serpent YOU created) with little regard for the fact that they ATE.

And they did it… wait for it… Side by Side and Hand in Hand!

THEY DID IT – THEY ATE! No matter how pretty the perception of the why’s and how’s and who was counseling them, perception is not nor becomes  reality. (And may I just say, my prayer on December 2, 2019, I pray our Side by Side perception never become the Hand in Hand encouragement for ourselves and others, replacing  God and His Word as our One True Reality.)

Perception is the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses, it doesn’t guarantee the quality. Reality on the other hand is the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them. (Definitions taken from the dictionary provided on this Apple computer)

Adam and Eve “perceived” the tree and by God’s Word it was “real”. Adam and Eve “perceived” the tree was perfect for their circumstances (food, beauty, wisdom) but they failed to “perceive” the fruit’s reality (loss of knowing only goodness) or the real consequences of such knowledge, It looked good to them therefore they judged their perception as the REAL DEAL and God’s warning as not their problem!

The difference between the serpent and them? He did know the reality of evil. He did know his plan for Adam and Eve. He did know his desire for God and God’s kingdom. Could Adam and Eve ever “perceive” an entity that swore an oath to steal, kill, and destroy all things from the good hand of God?

Could Adam and Eve ever “perceive” that they would not only question the character and motive of God, whom they walked with in the cool of the evening, the God they were created to look like Him, the God who trusted them with His most holy gift of free will – the ability to choose their own actions. Would they ever “perceive” that upon questioning the character and motive of said God, they would use their free will to disobey without regard to or for God’s desires.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked…the eyes of both of them, no longer saw only what they wanted to see, they knew the truth… they KNEW REALITY and it wasn’t even close to their perception!

If we knew the reality of evil, I believe we would run for our lives! If we knew the reality of our nakedness, I believe we would seek, with everything in us, the One who has defeated evil. If we knew the reality of the lies told and by whom, for the express purpose of keeping us from knowing reality, I believe we would choose to know the truth and to be set free.

Side by Side and Hand in Hand we can seek REALITY… Jesus *said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)

Side by Side and Hand in Hand we must open the door to REALITY… Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.’” (Revelations 3:20-22)

Side by Side and Hand in Hand…

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says!

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

Numbers 6:23-26 “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.”

When I was making my list and checking it twice (yes, this is Santa’s job and yes, I substitute for him sometimes), I knew there was not a gift I could buy or make that would qualify for “Best Christmas Gift Ever”. 

“If you want the BEST GIFT”,  the Holy Spirit whispered, “There is a gift you can pray over them. It comes from God Himself  (Numbers 6:22) sent to all those He loves and calls to be His people (can we say EVERYONE… He does not wish for ANY TO PERISH).”

I know there are those out there who do not want any religious stuff for Christmas (I was told!). To those people I just want to say, “I love you to the moon and back! So I will pray, NOT from a religious spirit, but from my heart that cries out to the only True God who lives (Immanuel – God with Us) within me.”

Just for disclosure purposes, I did check His naughty and nice list, but discovered that there would be no coal in any stockings this year. 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. Those of us on the naughty list, and those of us who strive to be on the nice list, need Him without question… pressed down, shaken, full and overflowing!

And so I lift up holy hands and pray…

Christmas and All year Through…

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.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, and to all A GOOD NIGHT every night!

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

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God.

There are days that only certain food will satisfy my hunger. Substitutions, though close in ingredients, just won’t do. The craving won’t be satisfied until the image floating before the eyes of my heart, is sitting on the table in front of me, loaded onto my spoon/fork and heading quickly to my mouth. My stomach might be satisfied with anything that hits my stomach but my soul will groan until my tastebuds officially announce the presence and pleasure because  COMFORT has arrived and the pain and suffering of my craving will be replaced with joy of answered prayer. A joy so profound I will delight in sharing my comfort food with all who are in need, even when their definition of comfort food is not close to my recipe.

Enough about food… I’m beginning to “see” broccoli and cheese soup over a baked potato…

In no way am I minimizing grief and affliction! Pain and suffering is brutal to our bodies, our minds, and our souls. They cause a craving, a groaning for even the smallest relief. They make us vulnerable to the temptation to find a solution at all cost. They lie to us about our worth, our safety, and those we put our faith in. In a small way, just like a food craving, we begin to imagine (to see with the eyes of our hearts) the worst case scenarios – starvation to the point of death.

Job, who had more than his share of devastating events happen all at once, handled the worst case senario very well… for a moment…

Job 1:20-22 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. 

He blessed God, he fell to the ground and worshipped God, he spoke truth about God to himself and his circumstances. But as Satan persisted in asking God for proof of Job’s faith and God allowed the testing of Job’s faith, Job, sitting among the ashes (literally) in an attempt to heal his body of the boils covering him from his feet to the crown of his head, began to “see” and “feel the need” to explain what must be happening to him.

Job 2:9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”  Even his friends, when they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky. (Job 2:12)

Though Job never sinned by declaring God to be unable to care for him, nor did he turn his back on God in the midst of his grief and afflictions, he did begin to wonder and speculate about WHY ME, God.

He knew without a doubt that God was in control and could restore him in a heart beat, if He chose to.

As the testing went on past the point of Job’s tolerance for the pain and the “helpful opinions” of friends and family, he began to demand to know God’s reasons, AS IF knowing God’s reasons, would make it all ok. In other words, if Job could only understand, he could then judge God’s actions and delays as reasonable and therefore acceptable for him to suffer through.

Who of us haven’t done the same? Who of us haven’t judged God?

Job 38:1-3 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

Here is my point… What is our comfort? God being in control or God returning us too and keeping us happy, healthy, and wise?

What do your prayers crave? Immediate and complete solutions to your perceived problems? Grief and afflictions taken away before you spend a great deal of time in the ashes with pain and suffering?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction…

He is the God of all comfort and He continually comforts us! He cannot, will not, nor do anything but comfort! God is good all the time and all the time God is good!!!!!!

Just like Job, we begin to swerve into the lane self pity and discouragement  when we focus the eyes of our hearts on our cravings rather than the One Who Supplies our every need. Our pain and groaning magnifies as we put their causes under our microscope and proclaim a time and date stamp for their eradication. We begin to wonder (judge) if God is doing right by us.

And just like Job, when our eyes are refocused on the Comforter, when God shows us Himself,  we can be used to share Him and His comfort with those in need… we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God.

In this world we will have suffering… As Jesus said, “Each day has enough trouble of it’s own” (Matthew 6:34)

But He didn’t say to focus on the solution to them… in fact He didn’t say it was important to seek the solutions even from God.

He said, “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

These things will be added to you NOT because you have done the task of seeking or that you are an excellent taskmaster.

These things will be added to you because you KNOW the Comforter and you KNOW the Comfort He gives and mostly you KNOW He cares for you with a love that is limitless.

If you don’t know this  “Comfort Food” check out Psalm 139…

Psalm 139:1-6 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. 

Intimate COMFORT FOOD!

Psalm 139:13-14 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.

Fearfully and wonderfully made CREATURE COMFORT!

Psalm 139:15-16 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. 

Our Story, ordained FOR COMFORT, written in our Comforter’s Book

Psalm 139:17-18 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. 

Pages and pages of Himself and His love, which is the comfort He DESIRES to give, and the comfort He gives to infinity and beyond .

This is The Comfort Food of Our Faith!

Enjoy to your heart’s contentment!

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