His Mysterious Ways...

The woman sat across from me, tears welling up in her eyes. With quivering lips, she told me of sorrows that had happened to her in her childhood, years before, and how much she had struggled to make sense of life and God through the pain and heartache. As she spoke, she raised her eyes to look at me. What she said next totally blew me away.

"Remember that debt I owed you a few years ago?" she asked. When I acknowledged that I did, she continued, "The day you told me to forget it and to figure we are squared away is the very first time I understood what Jesus had done in forgiving my sin and canceling my debt. God took what you did and made a spiritual lesson out of it for me."

I was stunned. And then I was thrilled to know that the One who never changes, the One who knew us as little girls giggling and going to school together, the One who saw when sorrows happened to us both, the One who brought us both out of the miry clay and set our feet upon a Rock, that One worked mysteriously on a day when I had no clue what was happening, except a nudging in my heart to cancel the monetary debt she owed me.

But He had something bigger in mind.

I am blessed to call Him my Daddy Father.

Amen.

Wonderful Peace...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is.”

 

Amy Carmichael

 

 

About 10 years ago, I was distressed over many things in life

that were not 'right'. My sister gave me a wall hanging with

this Scripture from Psalm 46:

 

"Be still and know that I am God."

 

It has been with me all these years and has

helped me to walk in His presence in

simplicity, learning to trust and not try to control

and 'make' things happen that only He can.

 

When I was a young child, and on into my teenaged years,

I carried a lot of sorrow and struggled with hurt and confusion.

One of our old records had the following song on it.

I can still hear the words and feel the stirring in my soul

to know the God of the peace that they sang of.

 

Today, I KNOW Him. And I know that peace.

Thank you Jesus!

 

 

The Pure Word...



Trusting Jesus...

 

Recently I had the privilege of sitting with a friend from school days

whom I have not known very well in my adult years.

 

We had a sweet time of fellowship and I was so blessed

to hear her testimony of true Jesus and Joseph-like forgiveness

over terrible wrongs done to her in her childhood.

 

On the way home, I was listening to this song.

And my heart echoed the words

"how I've proved Him o'er and o'er".

 

Truly He is who He says He is.

And does what He said He would do.

 

To all who seek Him with all their heart.

 

I am so glad that I got to visit with this friend

and find new courage to go on with Him.

 

My heart is deeply grateful to the One who never changes.

Who sees the children suffering in every part of the world.

And knows their every need.

 

I am so grateful to Him for providing a new life

to all who come and leave their old one with Him.

Of Character...

alfalfa flowers from the Farmer's field
photo credit: Angela Zimmeraman, the Farmer's daughter

 

 

You

can't develop character by

reading books.

 

 

 

You develop

 it

from conflict.

 

Leonard Ravenhill

Thanksgiving on Thursday...

coneflowers from my garden
photo credit: Angela Zimmerman

Recently I came across this song and was really struck by the line:

"when my search for understanding clouds your way"...

and I thought of it: how many, many times I have had to simply walk by faith and not by sight when things made no sense at all. And God came through in ways I could never have imagined possible!

So today, I thank the Lord on high that He is the all-wise Father who truly does not withhold any good thing from them who walk uprightly, who truly does care, and who truly does know what is best for me.

"My heart will sing to You because of Your great love
A love so rich so pure, a love beyond compare
The wilderness, the barren place
Become as blessing in the warmth of Your embrace.

When earthly wisdom dims the light of knowing You
Or if my search for understanding clouds Your way,
To You I'll fly, my hiding place
Where revelation is beholding face to face.

May my heart sing Your praise forever
May my voice lift Your name my God
May my soul know no other pleasure
Than Your love, than Your love. "

 

Robin Mark 

 

 

Resurrection Power...

I really enjoyed this sermon the other day. Do we really know the full resurrection power of Christ in our lives? I was challenged. I was convicted. And I was encouraged to trust my whole life completely to Christ. He made extraordinary claims that are only possible if I bury myself in death with Him, so that He can live in me. It is a blessing to sing, and to mean the song "Christ liveth in me/Christ liveth in me/Oh, what a salvation this/That Christ liveth in me." Hallelujah!

The Full Resurrection Power of Christ

by Keith Daniel

God's Handwriting...

stargazer lily from my garden
photo credit: Angela Zimmerman

A poem that has blessed me so very, very much. It often comes to mind on days when the world is crashing around me and I am broken hearted over the many evils and sorrows therein. GOD is always the answer.

"He writes in characters too grand

For our short sight to understand;

We catch but broken strokes, and try

To fathom all the mystery

Of withered hopes, of death, of life,

The endless war, the useless strife -

But there, with larger clearer sight,

We shall see this - His way was right."

 

John Oxenham

 

All I have to do is follow my Lord. However. Wherever. Whenever He calls me.

That's all.

 

I am comforted and at peace in His hands.

The Greatest of These...

daisy from my garden
photo credit: Angela Zimmerman

 

 

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”

 

Amy Carmichael

 

I've been contemplating this lately in a new way.

Maybe it has something to do with the

Bible study lessons our church is doing on

Love, the Greatest of all.

 

And having read the love chapter (1 Cor. 13) several times lately.

That is quite a description of what God says love is!

It will take me a lifetime of walking that way even

scratch the surface of it but one day,

I will KNOW...

even as He knows me now.

The Pure Word...



Calling in the Night...

Awhile ago, I went through a desert experience that brought me to a place of deep mourning for ground lost in places around me that God intended for us to keep. I had to walk away from the edge of the cliff of phsycobabble, sustained by the merciful hand of my heavenly Father who has always kept His promise to keep me and to preserve my going so that I could honor Him.

In my grief over lost or broken friendships, and in the wake of my newly enlightened eyes that suddenly seemed to see in greater measure the sad state of Christendom today, I was often awakened in the night to fall on my face on the floor weeping before God that these things are so.

It was one of the most precious times in my life that I have ever known. I look back over that wilderness experience and thank the Lord for it, knowing that it was a time of pruning for new growth in my own life, as well as finding closer fellowship with Christ and learning how to love His way, and to wait on Him.

Through this experience, and another one where we were called in the night to go do some work for Him, the following song has become special to me.

Let us labor for the Master~til He comes.

~Marcia

Finishing Well...

It’s sundown,

Lord.

The shadows of my life

stretch back

into the dimness of the

years long spent.

I fear not death,

 for that grim foe

betrays himself at last,

thrusting me forever into life:

Life with you,

unsoiled and free.

But I do fear.

I fear the Dark Specter

may come too soon—

or do I mean, too late?

That I should end

before I finish

or finish, but not well.

That I should stain your honor;

shame your name,

grieve your loving heart.

Few, they tell me, finish well…

Lord, let me get home

 before dark.

The darkness of a spirit

grown mean and small,

 fruit shriveled on the vine,

bitter to the taste of

my companions,

burden to be borne by

those brave few who love me still.

No, Lord.

 Let the fruit grow lush and sweet,

a joy to all who taste;

Spirit—sign of God at work,

stronger, fuller, brighter at the end.

Lord, let me get home before dark.

The darkness of tattered gifts,

rust-locked, half-spent or ill-spent,

A life that once was used of God

now set aside.

Grief for glories gone or

Fretting for a task God never gave.

Mourning in the hollow chambers of memory,

Gazing on the faded banners of victories long gone.

Cannot I run well unto the end?

Lord, let me get home before dark.

-Robertson McQuilkin

 

"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.

 My Father will honor the one who serves me."

 

John 12:26

Thanksgiving on Thursday...

Motherhood has got to be one of the most grueling jobs there are! I haven't had any other job for 17 years, but I wonder if motherhood isn't about the most difficult job there is! (in my humble opinion from where I sit! :-)

Now, mind you, I am not saying at all that I hate motherhood! I fully recognize that God created mothers to be those who bring the next generation into this world and (hopefully with their husband's help) raise them up to be godly assets to the Kingdom of Christ in this world. I fully endorse the sacred calling of motherhood and solemnly take my responsibility in this magnificent task the Lord has placed before me.

However...the reality is that motherhood has brought the selfishness out in me in ways like no other situation ever has in life!

If you are a mother, you know how hard on the flesh it is to be awakened multiple times a night by a crying baby who is fully depending on you to know his/her needs without any words being spoken.

If you are a mother, you know how hard on the flesh it is to have plans for the day (even good plans like sweeping the floor and dusting the hutch) be continually interrupted by a whining, teething tot, a sick 7 year old (oh, and to have to figure out how to care for this one in the midst of it all!), and several who don't feel like getting along with one another and choose this day to have petty arguments that require your 'patient' attention and teaching.

If you are a mother, you know how hard it is on the flesh when night has fallen and you are ready to send your little charges to bed, longing for bed yourself, when someone chooses to have a melt down over problems they are having in their life which require your attentive nurturing.

If you are a mother, you know how hard it is on the flesh when your unconverted children choose to blatantly disobey or please themselves, and you wonder if God really means what He says that 'when they are old they will not depart' from your training in the way they should go.

If you are a mother, you know the exhaustion that comes from just keeping house, all the ironing, washing, cooking, cleaning, caring for husband and children's physical needs let alone all the relationship and training aspects that are part of your job description, leaving you 'panting for rest' some days.

If you are a mother, you know the difficulty of wanting a 'clean' back yard, but need to access the situation of a boy and his anthill experiments that claim more territory around the sandbox than you feel fits with 'clean back yard' status, and be practical about it...for little boys will not be 10 forever.
(and might I add to this, the ever increasing frog population in said backyard as well?!)

If you are a mother, you know the feeling inside of being able to do something quickly and efficiently, but needing to teach young ones how so that they can go out and be properly equipped to bless and help others, and even have homes of their own someday...so you choose relationship and future improvement over present speedy completion of tasks.

If you are a mother, I hope that, like me, you know the joy of whispered "I love you's" and hugs and kisses from little ones who are secure in  your love, even tho you felt a little estranged from them inside at one point that day and  your feelings are trying to catch up, but you chose to love them as Jesus does, which brings peaceful sleep when you lay your head on your pillow at night.

I am blessed to have made happy memories with my children as they have grown from year to year. I am blessed that God woke me up to where I was despising my little ones because I was selfish and unwilling to get wholly involved in the task He gave me in being a mother. I am blessed that He is merciful and restores what is broken when we repent and turn from our wicked ways.

When I was a teenager, and lived in uncomfortable circumstances, I had this parenting thing all figured out. I knew "exactly how to deal with children" to have them magically come out right and all would be rosy and happy.

Well, reality soon hit after I became a mother, and I realized that I had not had a CLUE what motherhood feels like or how hard the devil works to get moms to despise the little ones and to selfishly hold onto their lives instead of laying them down for their families!

I am glad that I also learned that Jesus has power I knew not of when first I became a mother!

 YES, Jesus' way is the best way. BUT there is also an enemy of souls and he is out to wreck homes as often as he can from any angle that he can get his foot inside the door. So daily I must be on my guard to not let him into my life and into my home.

So today, I want to bless the Lord for motherhood (often I wonder whatever He chose me for to do this job!), even though it has been the most difficult job I have ever been given. I bless Him for knowing what is the best way to bring sanctification opportunities to my door (you may not be called to motherhood, but He sure will know how to bring you opportunities to die as well!). I am glad that He has faithfully, lovingly been teaching me how to walk through motherhood, and while I cannot say that I have done things perfectly, I can say that I have a forgiving Father and 3 wonderful, forgiving children.

I'm glad God created motherhood to be a place to nurture children and show them the Way to go in life...

Daily it is my desire to honor the Lord in this task His wisdom  has assigned me.

I am happy to know that when I choose Jesus, my children get to see that and know that He lives.
I want to love Him more.

And I am happy to know that by giving my children a secure, happy childhood where Jesus is presented to them in simplicity and reality everyday, amidst my faults and blunderings at times, I am helping GENERATIONS to know Him and seek Him. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to God for showing me this when my babies were very small. And I am blessed beyond measure that His power is for mothers even today! It as not diminished even a fraction of an ounce since the day He poured it out on mothers in the Upper Room.

I am glad that I can love the children and honor God in loving them.
Please pray that I will be a faithful mother, honestly seeking and following Him in my motherhood.

 

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house;

your children shall be like olive plants round about your table.

 

Psalm 128:3

In the Image of God...

As I drove the other day to the store to order a quilt, this sermon was a blessing to me. I have a high calling in Christ Jesus to let Him grow me into!

The challenge came to me as I listened:

 



What do people know of you?

Do they think of Jesus when they have been with you?

 

Listen to

 

In the Image of God

by Keith Daniel

 

and be inspired to keep being changed from glory to glory

in the Way of the Cross of our Lord.

Showers of Blessing...

There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

 

Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.

 



There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.

 

There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!

 

There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.

 

~Daniel Whittle

 

 

 

As I said in an earlier post, I was struck by the words of the last verse

of this hymn as we sang it in church one Sunday.

 

How many of us actually get it that the promises of God,

the showers of blessing we so desire in our lives,

come after we actually walk with Him and do things

His way? Many of the promises He gives us come

as covenants...

"If you do this," He says, "then I will do this."

 

I have a project for anyone interested in joining me.

How about over the next few weeks, as we come

across these promises,

drop a comment here and tell us about it.

I wonder how many different ones we

could find?

 

May we follow Him ALL the way.

As James 2: says,

"Faith without action is dead."

Who wants dead faith, really?

That is not the Good News I have come to know.

This walk with the Lord requires commitment

and action on our part.

Jesus gives us the power and the life to even be able to

do it, but we have to actually get up and do

what is ours to do.

 

His Way is best.

So lead me on!



Fire, Faith and Hope...

“Give me the Love

that leads the way
The Faith

that nothing can dismay
The Hope

 

no disappointments tire
The Passion that'll burn like fire
Let me not sink to be a clod
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God”  

 

Amy Carmichael

 

"For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness. "

 

Psalm 18:28

The Pure Word...



Of Broken Dreams and Restored Joys...

My friend Marie, and I at Taughannock Falls State Park
photo credit: Wendy Woodburn

The way God works is a mystery. Only He truly knows how and where and when and why He orchestrates events and times, people and places, to correspond with His plan for our lives. Yes, we as human beings often mess things up and I find it amazing what beauty He can create from ashes.

I have messed up many things in my life. I have made decisions that have been totally self-centered and certainly not God-oriented at all. Others in my life have messed up and disappointed me, leaving me robbed of relationship and joy that comes when all is well. And yet my God has chosen to hear the cries of this poor woman and restore unto me the joy of His salvation.

I have experienced loss, but the Lord has given over and above what paltry amount of loss has been mine.

I was thinking of these things this past weekend when my friend, Marie came to visit. I was so blessed to have her in our home, a friend to laugh with, to play games with my children, and to enjoy a quiet picnic at the lake, watching the storm come in and then chasing the raindrops to the shelter of the van.

I have lost. I have lost friends and I have lost dreams. But God has given to me what I could never have dreamed possible!  He has clipped with His pruning shears here and there in my life and I am here to say that it is much better to yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness in the face of that Knife, than to resist and to chafe and to try to run away from it.

He knows what He is doing. Recently, as we sang "There Shall Be Showers of Blessing" in church, I was struck with the words of the last verse:

"There shall be showers of blessing,

If we but trust and obey;

There shall be seasons refreshing,

When we let Him have His way."

So one part of the equation is God's. The other one is ours. He never fails. How often do we? And then we have the audacity to blame Him? Look through the Bible. See how many promises of His come with conditions, like a covenant between Him and man. (more on this in a future blogpost).

Today. I am content that He gives and takes away. I bless His name. And look forward to going to my eternal Home. I encourage God's people to keep going, in spite of loss. Let God work His perfect work in you no matter what the circumstance. He does make things beautiful in His time.

Broken...

artwork on my chalkboard done my little sister-in-Christ, Kristina...

 

 

“It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.”

A W Tozer

 

I think many times we miss growing up in Him to full maturity because we don't let ourselves be broken completely. It is painful, but when we let go of (fill in the blank: home, husband, children, father, mother, dreams, goals, desires, wants, however righteous any of them may be) we can be filled to the fullest with His blessed Holy Spirit and go on to greater responsibility and

a stronger voice for Him, because we will have the 'authority of brokenness' behind us

as a witness and testimony that He truly does live even today.

 

God bless you.

 

"Everyone who falls on that stone (Jesus) will be broken to pieces;

but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

 

Luke 20:18

Thanksgiving on Thursday...

Soon after I was born again, I was introduced to this song. It echoed the testimony of my soul. So long had I thirsted and had tasted water from other streams, only to be disappointed and still thirsty! Once I tasted the Living Water, there was no more turning back for me! It quenches the deepest thirst, and it is a Well that never runs dry!

at Taughannock Falls State Park, Ulysses NY
photo credit: Wendy Woodburn

The other Sunday, our family and some friends enjoyed a hike at one of NY's beautiful parks. When I saw the water rushing over the rocks at the beginning of the trail, I thought of the Living Water and how my soul has been hydrated above and beyond what I could have ever imagined possible these past 12 years.



photo credit: Wendy Woodburn



This month marks 12 years

since I stepped over the Great Divide

 and chose

Jesus,

the fountain of Living Water.

 

I have never once regretted this choice and I am here to say that He is
who He says
He is,
and He does
what He says
He will
do!

I am both
humbled
and
overjoyed
that I would
get to receive this unspeakable gift
in my lifetime!

 

What a Savior!

 





 

Taughannock Falls, Ulysses NY
photo credit: Wendy Woodburn

He who believes
in Me,
 as the Scripture said,

 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water;'

But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive;

for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."

(John 7:37-39)

 

 

Our Inheritance...

paprika yarrow from my herb garden
photo credit: Angela Zimmerman

 

To keep on looking into His eyes without fear or doubt of His love when all around you give way, to in the middle of so much noise and shouting voices hear His voice alone, to stand firm when all around you deny the truth, to silently suffer for His purposes, to totally be commanded by His smallest desire. To know that He is truly with you! this all and much more was paid for by His blood! and is part of the inheritance the true believer has in Christ Jesus his Lord!

 

~Llewellyn van der Merwe

Daughter's Retreat 2013

Two years ago, I was privileged to take part in hosting a Daughter's Retreat, an idea born from my friend, Jenna's passion to bless and encourage daughters to have a vision of homemaking and family life in their father's house. We had a lot of fun sharing together, praying together, and hiking.

This year, my friend Rachael and I decided to do host a retreat. I take such joy in blessing daughters. They are such hardworking ladies and I loved hosting a day for them to be refreshed and revived.

This year the theme was "Love Has Manners". We reflected on how Jesus' love covers all areas of courtesy and is a must in order for us to reflect Him and fulfill the reason we were created: to bring glory to God. Then we discussed practical ways to meet new friends, greet old friends, be a thoughtful hostess/thankful guest, and how to express gratitude for gifts and blessings we receive from friends.

We had games in between sessions of discussion.

a Bible scavenger hunt, women of the Bible quiz, and yard Blitz.

A good time was had by all!

 

 

A lovely fiesta colored lunch table, along with delicious food was

 Rachael's gift to the girls' day.

My heart thrills to see these daughters choosing to grow up in Him,

singing together and filling their places in their homes.

If God tarries, and prospers my dreams, I hope we can do this again next year.

 And the year after that.

And the year after that. :-)

all photo credits go to Wendy Woodburn,

our photographer friend for the day!

(and a friend every day!)

 

 

 

 

"Bind Us Together, Lord"

 

"The older woman should teach the younger..."

May the Lord help us to do just this!

In love, because He has a heart for each

woman to know her place in

His design.



The Pure Word...



The Maze...

I was thinking recently that the highway to eternity seems like a maze. So many twists and turns. So many ways to go down the wrong road. So many temptations to pull us down the wrong road. People saying 'Lo, here is Christ or there is Christ' when they are presenting or representing a false Christ. A panicky feeling arose in my heart as I pondered this and then almost immediately these comforting thoughts came to me, along with the song at the end of this post.

We don't have to fear. Jesus is our perfect Example of how to walk. In fact, He is the Way to eternal life. He is the Way to have abundant life now. He is the Guide, Elder Brother, Prophet, Priest, King and Redeemer. He is the Savior and the Eternal Refuge. He is the Living Water in the desert, the Bread of Life in the wilderness, the Light of Life in the darkness. All I have to do is follow. All I have to do is give up my old life, the one that leads to destruction and eternal damnation, and receive the new one, His life that gives me a guarantee (as long as I keep living this way) of reaching the End Goal: an eternal Home with Him who led me all the way.

Jesus will lead us over every type of terrain we will have to travel...rocky, steep, smooth, slippery, covered in thistles and weeds, shadowed so deeply that fear rises in the heart, sunny, meadows strewn with wildflowers of every hue, enemy lined roadways, and even flooded or fire encompassed ways. He is a friend who sticks closer than any person ever could, although it certainly is a blessing to have the company of the saints on this journey as well.

I am comforted. I am encouraged. My hand is strengthened in Him. I will walk with Him all my days. My choice has been made. I will forsake all to follow Him. My hope and prayer is that many will run to Him and be safe.

Overcome...

 

“That which you will not overcome,

 will overcome you.”

~ Wayne Weaver

Thanksgiving on Thursday...

lilies from my garden
photo credit: Angela Zimmerman

Saw this quote today by one of my favorite authors:

" ...; the greatest sin is,

' I can manage my life myself

without God.'" 

 ~ Leonard Ravenhill

 

It reminded me again of how subtle the devil is and how, like an angel of light, he is sweeping the churches with psychobabble...mixing the truth of God's word with the religions of others, even the teachings of atheists and God-haters, to produce a change in people that is actually not leading them through the Door of the sheepfold but helping them to climb up by some other way.

 

The ONLY way to God is by acknowledging Jesus Christ. I do this when I own my own sin, not blaming it on anyone else but admitting the error of my ways, repenting (being sorry for and turning from my sins that I committed), calling on the name of the Lord Jesus in faith that HE is the Advocate with the Father for me. Any other way is another way in and will make oh, so eternal a difference in the end.

 

I was close to having strange doctrine in my belief at one time in my life and God mercifully opened my eyes and said "Walk here, not there. I am not over there. I am here on the narrow way. Stay here, and come away from the edge of that cliff. I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself. I need you to learn of Me and follow Me in all things, including and especially the simple message I have for true freedom."

 

And so today, I lift my hands in praise to the One who is merciful and kind. HE never fails. He is always right and if we listen and obey, we will be right there beside him, walking in harmony with Him, growing up in Him with our roots down deep in the Word. I praise the Lord for being a loving Father to me and for knowing that my heart truly desired Him but that I needed guidance over that dangerous terrain. I am perfectly safe in His care. Oh, may I follow Him all the days of my life!

 

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

It's Normal to Fight...

daylilies in the rain in my garden
photo credit: Angela Zimmerman



I have heard many times in the past few years the argument "All couples fight. It's normal to fight," usually in reference to how crazy it is to 'pretend' to never have arguments or fights or that it is a lie to say that it is normal in (the life of a Christian presenting this) for peace and harmony to reign. "After all," they say, "we are just human."

It always bothers me. I get the idea of this and I understand. Yes, humanly speaking it is IMPOSSIBLE to have a harmonious peace and love be the everyday normal. There is no way on earth, outside of Jesus Christ and the supernatural power He gives one who repents, that we can live this way. So yes. We are human. And we fight.

BUT...how about if we lay down our lives? Completely. Totally. How about if we choose to acknowledge God in all our ways? How about if we are buried with Him in death to rise to new life in Him with His nature alive and strong in us?

I fear that we water down the Gospel in ways such as this. And satan laughs.

Do we truly believe that it is possible to go through every single day with not an angry word, no rising of self against our husband/father/mother/brother/sister? If we don't believe that it is possible, and if we are ok with it being normal for petty quarrels, personal protection of 'my rights', and 'being myself' as far as it relates to toeing the line on my own likes/dislikes with no regard for another, we water down the Gospel. This is not God's plan.

God intends that we would be witnesses that Jesus lives. He intends that we would be completely freed from the bondage of sin. This means that in the true life of Christ, the one who stole will steal no more. The one who habitually lied will lie no more. And the one who consistently stood up against her authority will submit and respect him now.

We who are called to live extraordinary lives live such ordinary ones and how then is the Gospel preached? If we are saying that Jesus died to be the Redeemer of mankind and yet live with fighting and selfishness being the norm, what kind of a gospel is that?

How do I know that God intends for us to live like this? Consider these words from the Word of Life:

2 Cor. 2:14-17 (amplified)
"Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph (as trophies of Christ's victory) and thru us spreads and makes evident the fragrance and knowledge of God everywhere. 15 For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ (which exhales) unto God (discernible alike) among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the latter, it is an aroma wafted from death to death (a fatal odor, the smell of doom); to the former it is an aroma from life to life (a vital fragrance; living and fresh). And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things (who is able for such ministry? We?)? 17 For we are not, like so many (like so many hucksters make a trade of) peddling God's Word (shortchanging and adulterating the divine message); but like (men) of sincerity and the purest motive, as (commissioned and sent) by God, we speak (His message) in Christ (the Messiah), in the very sight and presence of God."

When I read that this morning, I was totally blessed! First of all, this passage confirms the Great Commission that Jesus left as the work we are to do here until He comes. We are to be His witnesses, going and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom to as many as believe. Then we are to disciple them, teaching them to observe all things that He commanded.

We can hardly teach those things if we are not fully immersed in them in our own lives, can we?! So if fighting is the norm in our households and if selfishness is the normal expression from my life, I need a serious "come to Jesus meeting"! Because He fully intends us to be the fragrance of Christ...the smell of life! Fighting and arguing and petty disagreements are certainly not the smell of life!

I am glad that God gave us the Holy Spirit to teach us through His Word what He planned for us. It is no joke or lie that He fully intends to free us from the bondage of living inside our own selfishness. Yes, we will always be tempted while here on earth because it is satan's time to try to get us over to his side of things. BUT...we have the power in Christ Jesus to be His trophies, to always be led in triumph.

And if we don't follow Him in triumph sometime? If we do sin, 1 John says we have an Advocate with the Father. He is gracious and merciful and meets our repentant prayers with forgiveness. Praise God for that. However, my attitude and heart position should be 'not to sin'.

But what I am trying to say today is this: if fighting and squabbling and non-Christlike actions are the NORM in my life, then I am not living the life God planned for me.



Because He planned that I would be fragrant and a trophy of triumph for Jesus.

So it should not be normal for a Christian to live a consistent unChristlike life.

In a baby Christian's life, it is more often the case to stumble then it should be as we grow in years of walking with Christ. It should be that we don't stay 'babes' all our lives, but grow up in Him, in consistent extraordinary life that is His.

THIS is the life I want to live. What about you? It takes a daily belief that He will make all things new just like He promised. And then not be surprised when He comes calling on us with His pruner's knife!

God bless you.
~Marcia

Compromise...

I heard this sermon a few years ago during a time when the Lord was warning me to make Him and His Truth more important than friendships that were encouraging me to compromise. I just listened to it again yesterday and was blessed and encouraged all over again.

We dare not sit under the oak tree to rest right now. We have to keep close to the Cross, walking with firm purpose in the Way that leads to Life and honors the Lord.

Some day there will be no more false voices to pull us away from the truth.
Some day there will be no more sorrow or burdens to bear that make us weary and panting for rest.
Some day there will be no more tide to swim against.
Some day there will be no more reason to cautiously approach life.

Because we will be forever with Jesus in a perfect Home where we can worship and rest eternally!

Compromise

by Mose Stoltzfus

My Father's Business...

Jesus, our Pattern/Perfect Example, said that He must be about His Father's business. He also said that whoever does the will of His Father is His (mother, brother, sister).

This has been a real help to me in my journey with Him. As I pondered this a few years ago, I was inspired to jot down in my journal things I know God specifically has willed for me to do/be. It was something like this:

1. child of God
2. godly wife
3. godly mother
4. servant in the Body
5. daughter

and so on...

Under each number I wrote specific things that I felt were needful for me to move forward in/do at that time. For instance, under (3) I might have written that I felt the need for less distraction that was keeping me from being aware of the needs in my children's lives and/or that I was taking on too much other responsibility and it was causing me to react in less gentle ways than I would like to in my home.

Doing that was a real blessing to me and I appreciated it so much that periodically, I will do it in whatever journal I am currently filling. It is a help to keep me focused and purposeful in my walk with Jesus, and in my work for the Father.

Try it sometime. It is a real blessing plus it's helpful to look back through journals and see what God has been calling you to at various stages in your life. It is also helpful for letting frivolous distractions fall by the wayside as I commit to answering the call of God in my life.

Don't Put Off Til Tomorrow...

 

By delay of repentance, sin strengthens, and the heart hardens.

The longer ice freezeth, the harder it is to be broken.

~ Thomas Watson

Better to be broken while the ice is still thin,
 than to let it harden and be crushed to pieces.


'Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil,
unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God
But encourage one another day after day,
as long as it is still called "Today,"
 so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
For we have become partakers of Christ,
 if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.'

Hebrews 3:12-14