Life of Victory

Sun that melts ice on a spring day,
Is the same sun that hardens clay.
The rain that causes flowers to grow,
That same rain makes rivers overflow.

The sun and rain fall without favor,
From this, we learn of our Savior
His justice and mercy are equal to all
No matter how big, or how small.

Everyone’s life has different seasons,
At different times, for different reasons.
Some days have sun, others rain
But God loves us all the same.

They serve a purpose, each of these times,
This is the way God chooses to refine.
He refines our character so we can be
People living a life of victory.

My Prayer

Every thought, word and deed I do
May it bring honor and glory to You
For all I am or ever will be
Is what You form me to be.

For I am limited in this body of mine
Limited by ability, space and time
There is nothing that limits You
Only what I allow You to do

My prayer is that I open my heart
To the Holy Spirit to do Your part
For me to work on what I’m shown
So in my life, Your glory is known.

I want my life to be one of worship to You
One that I live faithful and true
In humble surrender and offering
All I have and know is the sacrifice I bring.
To you, my Lord and King.

Growing Pains

Growing pains
they are so hard,
But such a necessary part
of life

In one year
Seems ten I’ve grown
I sometimes feel
so all alone
in strife.

But in my loneliest
times
Is when I always
find
The face of Christ

The arms of Jesus
reach for me
Everyday, but I best see
in darkness

The Pit

You were there when I was numb
When I was lost.
When I didn’t know where to find…..
me.

I didn’t know where to look.
Going through the motions
seemed so hard.
My struggles just brought
me deeper in the pit.

But, no pit is deeper
than the arm of God.
And You were there.
You met me in my pit,
and sat with me awhile.
And we cried together.
We mourned my losses:
-of hope
-of the future
that “my mind” had planned,
and realized that You directed my path.

Your plans are better than mine,
Your thoughts are higher than mine.
And I put my hand in Yours,
and You are bringing me out of that pit.
And I know there is glorious sunshine at the end.

However long it takes
However many rocks are in my path,
we will go hand in hand
and I will trust You
and follow You completely.
For You know me
and even though You know,
You love me!

Are You a Dead Sea Christian?

The Dead Sea received its name because no life can exist in its waters. The Jordan River is the source of fresh water for it, but as soon as the water reaches the Dead Sea, it can’t go any further, so it becomes stagnant. The fresh part of the water evaporates rapidly in the hot desert climate and all the salt; minerals, etc. are left behind. The dry air absorbs the water evaporating and creates a natural sunscreen. This can happen in our Christian walk. If all we do is take in without ever giving out, then we are going to become stale Christians. All the blessings and knowledge we receive from God are going to evaporate. We do not want to be a “son”-screen, and screen out Jesus from the rest of the world. We want to share Jesus with the rest of the world. But, the more we allow ourselves and our spiritual life to become stale, the more we are being a son-screen rather than a witness to others.

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” Luke 11:23 NKJV

Many of us take in mercy, grace, forgiveness, love and all the blessings both material and spiritual from God and never give any of it away. We are intended to be vessels, to pour out to others what we receive from God.

“Freely you have received freely give.” Matthew 10:8b NKJV

This shows itself in many ways. We are material vessels for God by giving tithes, offerings, gifts, food, clothes and many other material things to others. God wants us to be resources for Him on this earth. We are to be Jesus in the skin to people.

“Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom. For the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 NKJV

Spiritually we can be vessels for God, by giving time, encouragement, love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and other forms of support. This includes forgiving the people we encounter on a daily basis. Not just our friends, family and coworkers, but the people that cut us off in traffic, or are slow in front of us in line. Giving mercy, grace and love to others can be part of our daily lives. A kind word, a smile, letting someone go ahead of you, these are all little ways that we can bless others. Sometimes all people need is to be listened to, or noticed and given time.

“And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 AMP

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew 6:14 NKJV

The things we learn in the Scriptures we are to share with others, to help lead people to the Lord. We are to do Kingdom business here on earth, sharing what we have whether it is knowledge, love or material items.

“He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” Luke 9:2 NKJV
“For the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few…” Luke 10:2a NKJV

We can’t give what we don’t have, so first it’s necessary to receive all God has for us and then give it away to others, in this way we empty ourselves so God can pour more into us. It is a divine cycle.

“And there was a man called Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, and he was rich.”  Luke 19:2 AMP

“And when Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus hurry and come down for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down, and he received and welcomed Him joyfully. And when the people saw it, they all muttered among themselves and indignantly complained, He has gone in to be the guest of and lodge with a man who is devoted to sin and preeminently a sinner. So then Zacchaeus stood up and solemnly declared to the Lord, See Lord, half of my goods I give [by way of restoration] to the poor and if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I restore four times as much.” Luke 19:5-8 AMP

Eating in a person’s home was a significant act in biblical times, signifying fellowship and acceptance. Zacchaeus RECEIVED and welcomed Jesus joyfully; and in response promised to give half of his goods to the poor and restore four times the amount to anyone that he had cheated. The law only required that Zacchaeus restore the original amount plus one-fifth. The proof of receiving salvation is not that we do what we must to make things right, but that we gladly do more.

Be an encourager. Be Jesus in the skin to someone today. Give away one of your many blessings to someone else, and just watch how Jesus uses you.

Don’t be a “Dead Sea” Christian.

Fall Leaves

Raking leaves this week it occurred to me how in the Bible many times there is a reference to trees, roots and fruit in the context of believers. I thought about the fig tree Jesus cursed because it had no fruit. “And as He saw one single leafy fig tree above the roadside, He went to it but he found nothing but leaves on it [seeing that in the fig tree the fruit appears at the same time as the leaves]. And He said to it, Never again shall fruit grow on you! And the fig tree withered up at once.” Matt. 21:19 The leaves on the tree led Him to believe something that was not true. The tree was a fake and had to go. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves. You will fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy (sound) tree bears good fruit but the sickly (worthless) tree bears bad (worthless) fruit. A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a bad (diseased) tree bear excellent fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Therefore, you will fully know them by their fruits.“ Matthew 7:15-20

As Christians, we are to bear fruit as well. “Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart]“ Matt 3:8. “…so that now you may belong to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.” Romans 7:4b There are seasons of our lives that we are dormant and not visually growing, but inside of us, there is something going on. In the spring, the buds show up on our branches, the sap starts flowing and we bear fruit. If we are Christians that do all the “things” on the outside that Christians are “supposed” to do and when someone gets close to us, they find there is no fruit beneath our leaves; we are a fake, a hypocrite and should be cursed and thrown into the fire.

I was sitting on the sofa the other day and I heard a huge gust of wind. I looked out the window and saw the leaves off the trees blowing sideways across the yard. I was reminded that just as the leaves on the trees change colors and fall off, so do the things in our lives that God is through with. There are times the Holy Spirit’s wind blows through our lives to make the things that are dead fall off of us. There are things we sometimes insist on hanging on to. Maybe it is something God once anointed us for and now wants us to move on. Yet, we hang on to whatever it is; teaching Sunday School, working in the Nursery, attending prayer meeting, whatever it is. We hang on because it is a good thing and God really used it in our lives and we think we are to keep it. “Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away; and he cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.” John15:2

There are times in our lives that we need to have some trials happen to us to get the fruit producing in our lives again. Jesus told a parable in regards to this: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find [any]. So he said to the vinedresser, See here! For these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue also to use up the ground [to deplete the soil, intercept the sun, and take up room]? But he replied to him, Leave it alone, sire [just] this one more year, till I dig around it and put manure [on the soil]. Then perhaps it will bear fruit after this; but if not you can cut it down and out.” Luke 13:6-9

Sometimes it takes a little “manure” to get the fruit growing again.

Crystal Pool

Sunday was hot and we’d been promising my nephews we’d take them swimming to this great pool in Crystal, a suburb near our home. They’d been waiting for this; in fact they had even made up a little chant “Cry-stal Po-ol, Cry-stal po-ol, Cry-stal po-ol”. After church, we went out to eat and then home to get ready for swimming.

They were so excited! It was all they could talk about. We got there and when we paid our admission, they told us the youngest (Elijah-he’s 4) couldn’t go on the water slide alone, but Cam could (he’s 7). This was fine with Elijah, he could go, but had to have one of us with him.

We got through the locker rooms and out to the pool and swam very briefly before Cam was climbing the stairs to the slide. They had a regular slide too for the little kids, one like a backyard swing set type. Elijah went down that one, but wanted someone at the bottom to catch him. He quickly got tired of it and went to the shallow area to splash, play and swim.

Cam was going up the stairs and down the slide over and over. I went down the water slide too and once in a while I would go over and talk to Elijah, play with him and then go back to the slides. My boyfriend, Jim stayed with Elijah and played with him. There were two water slides, so Cam and I were racing to see who could get to the bottom first. We would wave over to Elijah to try to get him to come and join the fun. Elijah was afraid and wouldn’t come to the slide area. My boyfriend eventually coaxed Elijah to come over and watch us slide. They were the judges to see who came out of the chute first, me or Cam because we were still racing. There is a bridge over the bottom end of the chutes and they could see us going by on one of the curves of the slide and then a few seconds later come flying out of the chute. I have to admit–it was really fun!

Well, we got Elijah to want to try it and to his credit he got to the top of the stairs and looked afraid, but said he was ready. My boyfriend and Elijah went down one chute and Cam and I went down the other one. The kids would lay on top of us as we went down. Jim sat up the first time with Elijah because you go slower. Cam and I were at the bottom of the chute, in the pool, waiting for them. When they got to the bottom, we were clapping and cheering and they were all smiles! Elijah couldn’t wait to get up the stairs and go again. We must have went down the slides 30 times. Sometimes I would go with Elijah, most times with Cam and sometimes alone. After a few times Elijah wanted to go faster and faster, Jim would lay on his back with him, going as fast as they could. They even beat Cam and I to the bottom a few times!

I think Elijah is like many Christians are. Jesus says “Come with Me. There’s nothing to fear, I will be with you and hold you through the entire experience. You will discover it’s not as you think and you will find joy.”

We can sit on the sidelines and watch other people serve and obey God, walking with Jesus every step of the way. We see the joy on their face and the thrill that ministry and serving gives them in their lives, and yet we’re afraid to climb the steps. We watch on the side of the pool as the Holy Spirit nudges us. Then we get ready for a risk and go down the small slide. Eventually we go to the bridge and watch as the Holy Spirit nudges us again. We pray, Jesus assures us He will be right there every second of the trip and still we hesitate. Finally we climb the stairs, still afraid we sit on Jesus’ lap and take the trip down the slide. We get to the bottom and what do you think? We loved it, it was not what we thought it would be at all! We found joy and relaxation, in fact serving in a ministry with and for Jesus is thrilling! There is a real satisfaction, and we feel closer to Jesus because we trusted, obeyed and stepped out. Now, we find we can’t wait to serve Him again. We climb those steps and this time, we lay down on Jesus’ chest and take a bigger risk, a larger thrill and more joy! We will never be asked to do anything for Jesus that we can’t handle, and He will never leave us or forsake us.

For God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. (I will) not. (I will) not, (I will) not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let (you) down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not! Hebrews 13:5b

As I was with Moses, so I will be with you, I will not fail you or forsake you. Joshua 1:5

I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to try to stay off the side lines and get in the action. Life with Jesus is more satisfying and rewarding than I ever guessed. Serving Him and serving others brings joy into my life. When another person finds victory in their life or meets Jesus for the first time all of heaven rejoices! Step out and be part of the rejoicing!

You Can’t Stop Me

Last Saturday, I attended a conference sponsored by Women of God. The theme was “In His Presence”. I was within minutes of walking out the door when something happened–my power went out! I checked the circuit breaker box and it was okay, I looked outside to see if my neighbor’s had power, but I couldn’t tell.

I went to the car to leave and I couldn’t–the garage has an automatic door. I remembered if I pulled the red handle that was hanging down I could manually open the door. I pulled the handle, it disengaged, I tried to pull the door up and it wouldn’t budge. I tried and tried and tried! Finally, I went in the house and called the Power Company to see if they knew about the outage. They knew and said it would be back on sometime between 9:00 and Noon! I found myself sitting down and starting to tell myself I would just get comfortable and stay home. Then it came to me that the last thing the enemy wanted me to do was to go to this event! I figured it was going to be great. I decided nothing was going to keep me from going. I sat down, prayed and started to read my Bible, I was going to get filled with the Word and ready for my day. By 9:05 a.m. the power was on and I was on my way.

I wasn’t very late, worship had just finished. They asked us to introduce ourselves to someone near us. I told the lady I spoke with that I was expecting great and wonderful things from God. I knew something awesome was going to happen and that’s why Satan tried so hard to get me discouraged.

I was right, the conference was really terrific! I learned so much and I was so blessed by the worship and the other women. It was a wonderful day. The speakers were really good; one was a Pastor and a psychotherapist. She spoke mostly about the different coping skills and emotions that are developed by people who have been abused. She believes healing ultimately occurs through strengthening the spirit, a deepening relationship with God and healing the soul. We learned contemplative prayer, which I found to be really helpful. Contemplative prayer is when we place ourselves as the “main character” in a Bible story. I stretched out on the pew and closed my eyes as she read a Bible story. She asked us at different times how we felt, what things looked like, etc. It was a healing thing to do. I believe we’re most open to the Holy Spirit and His work in us when we are creative.

I was reminded how important it is to just sit with Jesus. Since then, I have made it a deliberate action in my day, to spend quiet time with Him. He’s my best friend and I find myself throughout the day talking with Him. He goes to work with me, grocery shopping, walking, to coffee and lunch. He goes everywhere with me. I look forward all day to spending quality alone time with Jesus, I am excited and eagerly anticipating my time with Him. I know and I’m aware of Jesus with me throughout the day, because I have set my mind to be. I’ve asked Jesus to help me to be aware and I’m changing already.

I know spending time with Jesus is not just a feeling, it is a state of my soul, and it transforms me. In His presence I am changed, my soul is refreshed and my heart is softened. Little by little, day by day, I develop the mind, heart and attitude of Jesus. I will start to manifest more and more compassion, love and humbleness, all the fruits of the Spirit will be developed in me. I have learned prayer isn’t always talking, thinking or even trying to listen, prayer can be just being open to receive whatever it is Jesus has for me. There are times He brings things up and we walk through the memory or issue together, that’s how healing happens. There are not words to describe the presence of Jesus, or the transformation He does in my soul.

“He must increase, but I must decrease. (He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.)” John 3:30

I finally got the meaning of this Scripture, and it is so easy! I don’t know why I had such trouble with it. I’ve tried for most of my Christian life to do the things I thought I was supposed to do. For instance: crucify my flesh, seek God’s will, show the fruits of the Spirit, resist the devil, etc. When what I need is to spend time with Jesus. The Holy Spirit impressed upon me this illustration: if I have a glass with dirty water in it and I pour in fresh clean water and continue to pour water in the glass until it overflows; and I pour still more water in it, more and more and more…eventually; the glass has NO dirty water in it, JUST clean water!

“Let this same attitude and purpose and (humble) mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus” Philippians 2:5

“(Not in your own strength) for it is God who is all the while effectually at work in you (energizing and creating in you the power and desire) both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.” Philippians 2:13

All I need to do is focus on filling myself full of Him, not removing the undesirable traits that are in me. The undesirable will go when I am continually filled with Jesus. He will never leave me or forsake me, He will not quit-He will continue to transform me and finish the work He started in me. All I have to do is cooperate!