Trusting in God

As I was driving to the doctor this morning with my sweet baby Jack in the back seat and his 101 + temperature, I used the 40 minute trip to pray and talk to God. I have had "things" on my mind these last weeks - Kingdom of Heaven "things". About 3 minutes before reaching the red light, I remember thinking that "I put my trust in God." I know I must have thought this thought at least 5 times repeatedly - one after another. I remember thinking I don't put my trust in me or my trust in others, but my trust in God and what He has revealed and will reveal. Before I knew it, I pulled up to the red light where cars were already waiting. I rolled to a stop behind a black Volvo. My mind was far away, but God brought my eyes to the black car's tag - it read:                                    TRUST IN GOD

I find that when I am most like a child, that is precisely when HE speaks to me.

"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:2-4 KJV

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While I typed this, I had no idea I would use this verse from Matthew 18 at the end. It wasn't until I posted this that I realized the verse has Kingdom of Heaven in it - the same phrase I used earlier in the post. Oh, how God knows the perfect words and ideas, long before we do. Isn't He just wonderful.

Jesus Is Our Steady In This Life

 

 

 

While I held my sick 5 year old's head at 5 a.m. this morning as he attempted to vomit, he moaned with such anguish, but in the midst of his pain and sickness, I heard him ask me to PRAY. So we prayed as he moaned and tried to throw up. As I spoke to the Lord, I was internally thanking Him that Preston, while suffering, thought to call on the Lord. When Preston suffers in this life (and he will), I pray his instinct will always be to pray and to keep his eyes on the Lord. The Lord is our steady in this life. Oh, how I praise the Lord!

Pure as GOLD

"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10 KJV

Yesterday, I heard two separate preachers use this verse in their messages. I find such peace in knowing that the Lord has great plans for His children. Even when we are called to undergo a great trial, He has plans -- HE has plans. Even when we do not understand why we must encounter such an

guish, such sadness, such devastation, HE has plans for GOLD. The blemishes are being washed away - even scrubbed sometimes - if I am being honest. Sometimes, I have sat in utter darkness wondering why and how the Lord could allow this pain to exist, but at His appointed time, He shows me that HE has plans for GOLD.

Wash away my imperfections, Lord -- that is my heart's cry to Him. Show me where I fall short and help me to stand. What a model Jesus was to us in so many ways. What courageous words He spoke before His crucifixion: "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). Are we not to follow in His footsteps? Hasn't He called us to forsake all and follow Him?

The journey won't be easy; otherwise, He wouldn't have said "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way" (Matthew 7: 14 KJV). There will be anguish; there will be suffering, but remember friends, HE HAS PLANS FOR GOLD.

Pregnant and Scared: What Should I Do?

He Has A Work For ALL Believers!

I feel a stirring in my spirit tonight- The Lord is present in my home, and it makes me want to shout His praises! Glory to Him - He is worthy.

I was upstairs feeding Jack his bedtime bottle and thinking about doing a particular work for the Lord that came to mind on my drive home tonight. I thought, "I can't do it unless God very specifically reveals to me that I am to do it." I don't ever want to step out on what Joy thinks is right - without it being what He says is right. I flipped my Bible open while holding Jack in my other arm and looked at the underlined passage in Deuteronomy, and do you know that passage was absolutely precisely what entered my mind on my drive home!

This past Saturday I was also feeding Jack on the couch and praying to the Lord at the same time - pouring out the desires of my heart to Him -- all pertaining to the type of servant I want to be for Him, and the Lord moved my eyes to the wall on the opposite side of the room, and do you know there was a perfect, distinct cross on the wall made by the sun shining through my window pane! I praise His Holy name!

I don't type this to have attention drawn to me, but for attention drawn to HIM! He's alive and has work for all believers! Let us humble ourselves in His presence. Let us step outside of ourselves and do the work He has called us to do!

Hurricane Sandy Devastation & Elections

Grace: Power to Stand - Not Permission to Fall

Satan's Subtle War on Men - Destruction of the Family

It's just harmless entertainment, right? ...

I took my son to the doctor's office this morning (ear infection), and while in the waiting room, the television was on a Disney channel. I rarely watch television these last few years, but the show on Disney caught my attention. I don't remember the name of the show, but it involved a family: father, mother, two teenagers (male and female), a 3-5 year old girl, and an infant boy. I couldn't help but notice that the father appeared to have the lowest level of intelligence, even when compared to the young children. All of his answers were deemed ridiculous by the wife and teenage kids. Most of his actions were "childish." The teenage daughter answered most questions with sarcasm and cynicism.
In all honesty, it really saddened me to realize that many kids are growing up watching shows like that one. Fathers appear to lack intelligence, and the joke is on "dad" because he just doesn't have the intelligence that the wife or the teenagers have. How very sad. This form of entertainment works against God's plan for men and for families. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The father is to train up his children in the way they are to go so that when they are old, they will not depart from God.

There was a time when the father was revered in the family and his position was deemed one of stability. I hope to teach my boys how important their dad is to them and to me. I hope to teach them that daddies always pray. I hope to teach them that respecting their dad is of utmost importance, for if they cannot respect their dad, they will most likely initially struggle in their relationship with their Father, God.
Satan will use anything to destroy Godly foundations. I have observed Satan strike the family using many techniques, but at the top of the list, he has sought to destroy the important role of a man as a follower of Christ, a husband, and a father.
May God help us to see through the world's deceptive ways.

Overcoming Trials & Overcoming Satan

Allow the Holy Spirit to Lead You

With God's Permission

Isaiah 41:10

Waiting for HIM

                    Originally Written in May 2012

     Just before falling into a deep sleep the other night, I was awakened by these ideas.  Even when my exhaustion had set in, God was attempting to teach me.  Years ago, the story of the man with a Legion of devils disturbed me.  I would always skip over those verses in Luke chapter 8.  There was just something so innately evil in that man's bondage that I couldn't bear to read about his anguish.  The Bible tells us that the man had been possessed of those devils for a "long time" (Luke 8:27 KJV).  
     
     This man was fighting a battle within himself -  His enemy was a Legion of devils who sought to destroy him and perhaps others in the process.  Can you imagine the hopelessness this man must have endured for such a long time?  Some of us can imagine this anguish more than others, but I believe compassion can be felt by all. We are told that he wore no clothes and lived in tombs.  If I stop just in that information, I am deeply saddened by his imprisonment.    I think how he must have appeared to others.  I think how others must have shunned him- how they must have feared this peculiar man.  "He was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil  into the wilderness" (verse 29).  Can't you see the fear woven within each link of the chain that attempts to bind him.  Are you as intimidated as I once was by the apparent strength of those demons to drive him into the wilderness -  a place void of the living.  A place for sadness to reign.  A place for the Devil to carry out his ultimate plan of destruction.   
        
     In these verses, the Bible doesn't reveal that there were any attempts made by the people to help the oppressed man   - only attempts to control or maintain what was already existent, for "he was KEPT bound with chains."  How this man must have endured such misery in believing that there was none to help.  Who would reach out a hand of love to someone who appeared to be lost - who appeared to be forsaken?  Oh, he must have spent so much time in this wilderness of depression and hopelessness abused by spirits who were driven by evil.  

     Some distance away, there was a group of men on a boat who were battling a storm that had enough strength to destroy them.  All on the boat were fighting their own fear -- all except for One of them. I hadn't placed the stories together until this moment.  Jesus was on His way to the man possessed with a Legion of devils when a storm threatened to destroy the boat.  Could it be that Satan knew the oppressed man was moments away from being set free?  Satan made one last pathetic effort to throw even God Himself off course. The father of lies had perhaps convinced himself that he could stop the Almighty. How foolish of Satan.  My how Satan wants those who are lost to stay in the wilderness.   While on the boat, Jesus calmed the storm.  I believe He knew who awaited him on land.  "And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is against Galilee.  And when he [Jesus] went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time" (verses 26-27).

       "When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, ' What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high:  I beseech [beg] thee, torment me not.' " (28).  What seemed to have enough power to keep a man bound for years is in the presence of God powerless.  He "cried out", "fell down", and begged for mercy in God's presence.  I can see in verse 28 a man who believes that the Son of God would have nothing to do with him.  I can also see a mass of demons who know what Jesus can do to them, and they fear Him.  They knew that in the presence of Jesus they could NOT remain in this man.  They didn't even ask to remain in him; instead, they beg Jesus to allow them to incarnate a herd of swine.  Does this speak to you as it does to me?  In the presence of God, evil CANNOT abide - it cannot stay, it cannot grow, it cannot continue to be the parasite any longer.  

     "Then they [the people] went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid" (verse 35).  What peace this man must have felt at the feet of Jesus.  He showed this man and He has shown me - True peace awaits all of us only at the feet of Jesus.  No matter your burden, anguish, fear, disappointment -- no matter what evil befalls you, no matter what is seeking to destroy you - none of these can stand in the presence of God.  When God passes by you while you are in the wilderness - and He will pass by you when you are in the wilderness; this I know for certain -  fall at His feet and watch what miracles He will perform.

        The story doesn't end with the man's healing.  The people did not rejoice; instead, they were afraid of Jesus.  They feared what He had done and asked Him to leave.  Even when face to face with evidence, there are those who reject Jesus.  When some hear or see a miracle, they explain it away.  An unbelieving man once created the word "coincidence", and so many others have placed their faith in a word created by a man who chose not to sit at the feet of Jesus.  

      As He "went up into the ship," (37) the healed man asked to go with him, but Jesus responded, " 'Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee.' And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him: for they were all waiting for Him" (verses 39-40).  Jesus "returned" to a land where he had been asked to leave - where he had been rejected by the people.  Although  they wanted nothing to do with Him originally, He returned to a people who were now willing to accept Him.  They were "waiting for Him."  He returned to them because He Who Knows All knew that they were "waiting for Him."    If in doubt, know this:  There is a God who will not abandon those who are "waiting for Him."  

      In this earthly life that we live, know that Jesus Christ - the great I AM of the Bible-  will not abandon those who wait for Him. 

Work for Him - There Is Power In The Name of JESUS

1.  Originally Written on June 22, 2012

   .
        May Christians never forget what HE has called us to do. I am humbled when He speaks to me through His Word:
   

   "And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew HIM.
   And RAN through that whole region round about, and began to CARRY about in beds those that were sick, where they heard HE was and withersoever HE entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought HIM that they might touch if it were but the border of HIS garment: and as many as touched HIM were made whole." (Mark 6: 53-56 KJV)

   
   

         Oh, I can hear those feet pounding the hardened earth even as I type this. Beyond the sound of those precious feet running through the region, I can hear FAITH. Yes, that's what I hear. That sound of the left foot striking the earth, then the right foot striking the dirt - It's the sound of FAITH. It's in each step they take.
   

        And I can see the backs bowing to lift the beds for those who are confined to them - chained to them. I can see the tension placed on their arm muscles as they lift the beds and carry the broken to HIM. How the sweat must have poured from their brows as they repeatedly carried one more person to HIM. The bent backs, the tense muscles, the sweat drenched brows -- Now I see it clearly -- It's HOPE. Yes, I see the HOPE of those who are running and who are lifting.
         I can feel what the sick must have undoubtedly felt. Oh those fragile, shaking hands reaching out just to touch the coarse material on their fingertips. Are they thinking of the way the garment feels? No, that can't be it. What do they feel as their fingers touch the material worn by HIM? REDEMPTION. Yes, it's REDEMPTION. Oh the joy of no longer needing to be carried - no longer feeling like a burden to others. The healed walk away by HIS power, HIS healing, HIS REDEMPTION.
   

         After we rise up off of our church pews every Sunday, do we run out of those sacred doors in search of those who believe they can't walk to HIM -- the lame, the depressed, the angry, the broken, the tired, the fearful, the tempted, the imprisoned, the wicked, the innocent, the lonely? Are our feet pounding the earth with urgency? Are our backs bent and our muscles tense from the weight of the afflicted? Are we placing the sick in the shadow of HIS passing? Have we told them about the  REDEEMER? Have we told them that all they must do is reach out and feel HIM. Have we said, "I know you are too weak to get their yourself, so let me carry you"? Have we told them of the promise? Just touch the border of HIS garment, and you will be made whole.
   

        May God help us to do what we have been called to do.
   In HIS Holy name and HIS Holy Power - JESUS

Believers Must ABIDE in Jesus to Have Eternal Life

There are so many verses in the Bible indicating that we must abide in Jesus to inherit eternal life.  When we receive His Truth and His Spirit, we then have power to overcome and endure the trials and tests of this life.  I was just reading 1 John; John is writing to those who believe in Jesus.  Throughout the entire epistle, he admonishes believers to abide in Christ and His commandments.  

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth,

but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth (2:21 KJV).

He goes on to stipulate the importance and necessity of abiding in the Truth:

Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning.

IF that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you,

ye also shall CONTINUE in the Son, and in the Father.

AND this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life (2:24-25 KJV).

While reading this verse just now, I was reminded of Jesus' beautiful words in The Gospel of John chapter 15.  In chapter 15, He teaches believers that abiding in Him AFTER we have professed belief in Him is of utmost importance.  

Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 

except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (John 15: 4 KJV).

Above, He acknowledges that we must choose to abide in Him.  He will not force a believer to stay with Him.  And even in 1 John above, there is clearly a choice.  Although one may know the Truth, one must choose to abide in that Truth.  

 

Abiding in Christ will result in fruit:

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in Him,

the same bringeth forth MUCH FRUIT: for without me 

ye can do nothing.

If a man abide NOT in me, he is CAST FORTH as a branch, and is WITHERED; and men

gather them, and cast them into the FIRE,

and they are BURNED  (John 15: 5-6 KJV).

There is such power in the name of Jesus!  We are able to bear much fruit not because we possess power, but because He who lives in us possesses power.  We can overcome any sin or temptation by calling out to Jesus.  When we fall to our knees and cry out to Him, He hears and the power of His Spirit shows us and teaches us how to overcome and how to bear fruit for Him.  If we are willfully choosing to follow the sin, we are not abiding in Jesus. 

Jesus is merciful, and may we never forget that.  If we are faithful to repent (to acknowledge our sin and to turn away from our sin), He is just and faithful to forgive us. 

 

This topic is very important to me because I see where so many are misled regarding grace.  God willing, I will write much more on true Grace- as the Lord has shown me these last years.  As we are told in Jude, Grace is not a license to sin, and when preachers teach that false doctrine, so many are deceived.  

Deceptive "Followers" of Christ

Early Morning, August 2, 2012

     God put this on my heart this morning, and I thought "God, do you really want me to put this out there for others to read?" Within minutes, a complete stranger used the exact phrase that God had given me earlier that morning, so I must obey God. God brought Judas to my mind this morning as I sat alone in my living room while my family slept. I find myself weeping and being so burdened for the state of this world. I feel such sadness when people who profess to be Christians are distorting the Word of God. It's God's Word - not mine, not yours - it's HIS. It's sacred. The Bible is the book above all books. It is Holy. It is to be revered. Every word in that Book is perfect. There is no flaw to a single word. It cannot be changed to suit the changing world. When all else burns, The Word will stand. It is because I LOVE EVERY MAN and EVERY WOMAN that I cannot hide or distort the TRUTH of the BIBLE. This is not a game to me. I'm not attempting to upset people. I'm not seeking to "one up" someone else's ideas. No, never. However, I cannot stand before God one day with someone else's blood on my hands (Ezekiel 33:1-11). 

      Judas was one of the twelve disciples. He followed with the others and listened to Jesus. He was with that small group the night Jesus spoke of the bread being His body and the fruit of the vine being His blood. It was a HOLY supper. It was not to be defiled. My eyes brim with tears when I think of the beauty in those moments. However, Jesus would soon be taken, beaten, and crucified. It would be a bloody death. A death filled with agony. The murder of a perfect, sinless man - the perfect lamb.
But it is JUDAS who God asked me to write about. It is Judas who did the unthinkable. Judas had walked with Jesus - listened to Him - and professed to be WITH JESUS. At one point, Judas even states to others that ointment should be given to the poor instead of being used on Jesus' feet (John 12: 4-5). One, not discerning the truth, might look at Judas and think, "Oh, he is concerned for the poor." "Oh, he seems like a 'good' person." Judas' story does not end here.
It is Judas who betrays Christ. Judas, the one who expressed concern for his fellow man - for the poor, betrays the great Saviour in the process. It is Judas, who moments before HIS betrayal of JESUS, sat at the table, ate the bread, and drank the fruit of the vine WITH JESUS.
      It is Judas who loved THIS WORLD more than JESUS -- all the while, traveling with Christ. All the while listening to Jesus' sermons - and perhaps even nodding in agreement on occasion.
Moments before Jesus is taken, the Bible tells us:
"And while he (Jesus) yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called JUDAS, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to KISS him. But Jesus said unto him,' Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?' " (Luke 22: 47 - 48).
In Matthew 26: 49-50 we are told, "And forthwith he (Judas) came to Jesus, and said, 'Hail, master'; and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, "Friend, wherefore art thou come?"
So many, sadly, are betraying Jesus with a kiss. In one breath, they say, "Hail Master", and in the next they are spewing forth the lies of this world - yet all the while, professing to be WITH JESUS.
 

    We should periodically look in the mirror and ask, "Am I Judas?" If we answer that question ourselves, then we have FAILED. If we ask our friends, "Do you think I am Judas?", we have failed. If we ask our preacher, "Do you think I am Judas?", we have failed. It is God who we MUST ask; His answer matters. It can't be the god you have created in your mind who has been molded into the god you believe he should be. And if, by chance, He tells us "Yes, you are Judas", we shouldn't allow our pride or our fear of offending our friends or of offending this world stop us from falling to our knees and pleading for His forgiveness and His help. He WILL be FAITHFUL to forgive and to change hearts.
 

     Does God love man? Yes, Yes, YES! He loves us so much. He loves us so much that He became flesh and walked among us. Man was floundering in his sinfulness, and God became man to HELP us. What a magnificent love! While Jesus walked the earth, He lived a perfect, sinless life. He taught the truth and lived the truth. He was brutally killed because of OUR SIN. We, each one of us, deserve to die that kind of death, but only He could. A perfect, pure lamb was needed in order to atone for the sins of man. If we believe in Him, we FOLLOW Him. We serve Him. His Holy Spirit will dwell in us and teach us everyday His truth. His Word will be written in our hearts. "Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put MY LAWS into THEIR HEARTS, and in THEIR MINDS will I write them" (Hebrews 10:15-16).
 

     God also spoke to me this morning this scripture:
Jesus said, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is DAY: the NIGHT cometh, when no man can work" (John 9: 4).
It's getting darker those of you who are true Saints of God, but there is still time to work.
God help all of us to be steadfast and not waiver when we STAND on the Word of God - not the word of man - for my hope is that all will come to the knowledge of the truth. We can overcome SIN if we allow the Spirit to teach us.

I say these things because I love every human being - so much - that I want God's Truth to save them.

God Still Heals!

These Events Occurred In August 2011 Through November 2011 & Were Typed in November 2011

       A uterine hemorrhage, placenta previa, and cyst on my baby's brain -- God has healed ALL of these one by one as only He could. When I first discovered that I was pregnant at the beginning of July, I decided not to go to the doctor right away but, instead, to be patient and wait. Since I had experienced two miscarriages earlier in the year, I wanted to spend the first several weeks in prayer and

in patience. When I did feel like it was time to go, I was 9 weeks pregnant - in August. I distinctly remember sitting on the couch, not really thinking about anything in particular, when in that still, small, and unmistakable voice, I heard God speak to me: He said, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." At the time, I wholeheartedly thanked Him for His message to me. I, however, had no idea until later in the day why He had spoken those words to me.
      Hours later I sat in the ultrasound chair as I watched my baby's precious arms and legs move on the screen -- at nine weeks. I was soon informed that I had a hemorrhage in my uterus and that it was something the doctor would watch closely. It was in that moment that I knew why God had spoken to me earlier in the day. He knew I would hear those words long before I did; He knew that, in the past, I would have frozen in fear; but He also knew that He had spent the last 3 years rebuilding me into a new creature. So I did what He had taught me to do - I walked in faith -- handing all of it to Him to heal me and to teach me. Two weeks later, I watched the screen as the ultrasound tech searched for the hemorrhage, and all glory to God -- it was gone. I weep like a child when I praise Him for His mighty works in my life and for His gentle peace that washed over me then and now.
     I was faced with another trial when the ultrasound technician explained that my placenta was in the wrong location and that the doctor would watch this closely. Again, I trusted in the Lord as He told me several weeks before. Two weeks later, the ultrasound tech informed me that my placenta had moved to the right/safe location. All praises to my Lord again!
     Four weeks ago, another trial presented itself to me. Again, I was told during an ultrasound that my precious boy had a cyst on his brain. I felt overwhelming peace and trust in the Lord while at the doctor's office. I just knew God would use it for His glory and for building faith - not only mine, but my husband's. Although later that evening, the Enemy, Satan, attacked me with colossal flaming darts, my husband and I put on the "whole armour of God" as we are told to do in Ephesians 6. There is a peace that only God can give -- it passes all understanding. It is nothing close to the peace the world attempts to mimic. God's peace surpasses all that is human.
     Yesterday, I found myself watching my precious boy's image on the screen as the technician searched for the cyst. Again, I must praise my God for removing the cyst. The devil had tried his best to destroy my hope throughout the day yesterday. Because he has reared his evil face to me so many times these last years, I knew - through God's teaching - what the devil was trying to do. I knew a miracle was right around the corner; otherwise, Satan wouldn't have been fighting me as much. And right on time, the miracle came, and Satan fled. Although Satan tries to be a domineering and intimidating force, he flees at the name of JESUS! God's children must never forget what we are told in Luke 10:19 - Jesus states, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

 

This is my youngest son at 19 weeks.

He is 5 months here.

 

 

 

 

Please know that no matter your situation, God is always there and wants you to call out to Him.

 

Jesus Will Rescue You

Do the work of an evangelist. -2 Timothy 4:5 KJV

I have started this blog because I know that Jesus will help everyone who calls upon Him.  My prayer is that this blog will help those who are hurting, who are searching for the Truth, who are strangers to the Truth, who are familiar with the Truth, who are in darkness, who are growing in Christ, and all who hunger for guidance in this fallen world.  Jesus is that Truth and that guidance.  He is our help.