Living Free

2011-10-15T14:11:00.002-05:00

The History of the Palestinians

A little lesson in history: The etymology of the word "Palestinian" in English is derived from the Old French word "Philistin," from Late Latin it is "Philistinus," and from Late Greek, "Philistinoi." They were not an Arab or a Semitic people, but were more closely related to the ancient Greeks and originated in the Aegean region of Asia Minor. Any student of the Bible knows that the Philistines were enemies of Israel.

In the history of the Philistines is also the story of the young Hebrew man, David, son of Jesse, who was incensed that a Philistine warrior was allowed to challenge the one true God. The enemy of Israel had advanced to the Valley of Elah and there challenged the Israelites. They produced a brobdingnagian (gigantic) champion, Goliath of Gath. David volunteered to fight the giant and went out to face him with his slingshot and five smooth stones he had retrieved from a dry river bed. He slipped one of the stones into his sling and smote the Philistine on the forehead. He used the giant's own sword to behead him. Jehovah God gave David the courage and skills not only to face Israel's enemy, but to kill the challenger. The Israelites pursued the Philistines all the way to the city of Ekron.

The Philistines were ultimately defeated, absorbed into the Babylonian/Persian Empire, and by the late fifth century BC, had disappeared.

In 135 BC, Simon bar Kokhba, a Jew, proclaimed himself Prince of Israel, Son of the Star, the Messiah, and led a revolt against the Romans. The Roman governor and two legions of soldiers were defeated. Bar Kokhba controlled the state of Israel from the Fort of Herodium just south of Jerusalem. His coins were inscribed, "Year one--the redemption of Israel."

The Roman emperor, Hadrian, in response razed 985 villages and killed almost 600,000 Jews. Hadrian wiped Jerusalem and Judea off the map and deliberately renamed the area Palaestinia after the Jews' ancient enemy, the Philistines.

So, spread the word. Wanted: Non-Arab Philistines. As soon as all these peace-loving nations can prove that Philistines are back, then let's persuade the Arab League to absorb them as refugees the way Israel did with the Jews and all nations have done. Let them then turn over the territories that have become a nightmare for the Jewish people to the Philistines. You can be certain of one thing: there will probably be some pretty large dudes in the bunch. Goliath was a Philistine, and from what I know about him, he was not what you would call a "happy camper." I expect life will not be too pleasant for mythological Palestinians when they meet the original Philistines.

To fulfill the reality of a Palestinian state, the world must demand that the vast majority of the land occupied by Arabs in Judea and Samaria be returned to Israel. The people that call themselves "Palestinians" must return to the Arab lands from which they came. Then true Palestinians, the proven descendants of the Philistines, could have their land. Since there are none to be found on this planet, perhaps the next Mars rover will find them.

Repost from Mike Evans of the Jerusalem Prayer Team

Seek the Lord Now!

2011-10-10T23:33:00.000-05:00

Hosea 10:10-12

"When I please I will chastise them, and hostile peoples shall be gathered against them when I shall bind and yoke them for their two transgressions [revolt from the Lord their God and the worship of idols]. Ephraim indeed is a heifer broken in and loving to tread out the grain, but I have [heretofore] spared the beauty of her fair neck. I will now set a rider upon Ephraim and make him to draw; Judah shall plow and Jacob shall break his clods. Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you."

The Lord has me reading in Hosea and Colossians lately and I realized they are very similar in nature and content. Both seem to be a call to repentance and turning back to God. When I read these Scriptures in Hosea the Lord unfolded before me a beautiful picture of how He turns our wrong choices into opportunities of discipline in order to bring us to a place of righteousness before Him.

The period of time in which Hosea was called to prophesy is when Israel had separated themselves from Judah and created their own nation with their own king. This was not in God's plan for Israel and He was calling them on their sin.

The interesting thing is God says in verse 10 He will chastise them with hostile peoples that will gather against them and He will bind and yoke them for their sins which were rebellion from Him and worshiping idols. When I read this what I realized was even though God was saying "He" was going to gather nations against them and bind and yoke them, in reality it was their choice that brought these things upon them. They had stepped out from under God's will, protection, and authority over their lives and the result was the consequence of war and bondage. Yes God allowed it, but only because they chose it. We always have the choice to choose life or death.

Verse 11 reinforces this notion as God speaks of Israel being a "heifer broken in and loving to tread out the grain." The picture the Lord showed me, as I read this portion, was of a work horse that only knows how to slave in the heat and sun breaking up the dirt through hard labor and is satisfied to be there, not realizing he was created for so much more. Israel was satisfied in the slavery of their bondage and sin, even loving being there. They were deceived into believing that this was the good life, that this was the best it was going to get. They did not understand how much better it could be as a son with inheritance and authority, but God did. In His mercy He "spared the beauty of her fair neck." This statement stood out to me and the Lord showed me how the heat and sun that came and burned their neck stripped them of their identity and dignity as they worked plowing in the field of their sin. During this time in history a person who worked in the field was a slave or of lower class and you could identify them from the sun burn or tan on the back of their necks. So God is saying He is coming to spare them the humiliation of being known as a slave or servant and He will do this by setting a warrior on the work horse with a sword in his hand so that the work horse can now become who he was created to be, a war horse with authority and power. "I will now set a rider upon Ephraim and make him to draw." Even when we make wrong choices and find ourselves living in the bondage of our sin experiencing the resulting consequences, God says that is not who we were created to be and it is not our inheritance to stay there. He comes and calls us into our inheritance of power and authority over the sin we have chosen and the consequences, giving us the grace to come out of the fields as a mighty warrior.

It is fascinating the next statement God makes appears to not fit at all, but if we understand the true identity of Judah and Jacob we will see clearly how well it does fit. Judah means praise and Jacob represents intercession. "Again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, now will I praise the Lord! So she called his name Judah [praise]; then [for a time] she ceased bearing." Genesis 29:35 (Amplified). Jacob meant supplanter because as he was being born he held onto his brother's heel. "Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand grasped Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob [supplanter]"....Genesis 25:26 (Amplified). This is a perfect example of intercession because when we pray for someone or something we stand in the place or position of that person or situation to see it changed. So what does praise and intercession have to do with a work horse becoming a war horse? Everything! It becomes that war horse through the tools of praise and intercession! God is showing Israel how He will help them become who they were created to be through praise and intercession. As we engage in prayer and intercession we become who God created us to be with power and authority. We no longer have to sweat and labor to break up the clods of dirt in our lives because, "Judah shall plow and Jacob shall break his clods." Our praise will plow through and intercession will break the hard clods of dirt. These are the tools of God's grace and power that we have been given.

Once the ground has been plowed and the clods broken up in our lives then we can sow the seeds of righteousness and reap a harvest of mercy and loving-kindness. "Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness." Just as God showed His mercy and loving kindness toward Israel so will He show us the same. The call to Israel comes forth in the last part of verse 12 when He says, "Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you." Just as it was time for Israel to seek the Lord so I feel the Lord is speaking the same to us. Through praise and intercession break up your uncultivated ground so He can teach you righteousness and give you the gift of righteousness, grace, mercy, loving kindness, and the fullness of His salvation for you to walk in. We are His sons and daughters with an inheritance of power and authority so we do not have to live in the bondage of being a slave to our sin and the consequences of it. Break up the uncultivated ground in your heart and minds and seek the Lord today!

Thank You God!

2011-07-18T12:19:00.001-05:00

I am not sure how to start this post as I have so much to say and it all seems not adequate enough for what my heart is feeling. My journey with the Lord started in the womb as I was created to love Him. The expression of that love grew as I grew and began to understand this nearness and oneness with Him I thought was a normal part of life. My heart opened up to Him fully at age five and at age six through the act of baptism I solidified my relationship with Him to those around me. It was as natural as breathing for me to become one in heart and spirit with Him. At the age of 13, at a time when I began to grow into adulthood and felt the pressures of being a teenager I again solidified to those around me my relationship with Him. Throughout my teenage and young adult years I tried to do what I felt He was telling me to do and I consistently felt His leading and His heart for me. He was always there during the good times and the hard times to comfort me and pull me out of the pit I continued to find myself in. Although those times were special and His presence was very real I felt there was something missing. I would read my Bible and encounter men and women of God who were overcomers. Who consistently walked in miracles, healings, and encounters with God. Who had faith that moved mountains and brought peace and restoration to their lives. I did not see that happening in my life, even though I knew God’s love and His presence. The yearning in my heart for more grew and grew and I could not be satisfied with life as it was. It was then God gave me an understanding of the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changed my life forever. He showed me that although I had the Holy Spirit living inside of me, He did not have all of me. If I gave Him control of all of me, then I would begin to live the life I wanted. The act of giving all of me to the Holy Spirit was an easy one; the act of living it out was another story. I had lived independently for so long, making all of my decisions out of places of the hurt and pain of my experiences. Although I used the principles I found within the Bible to place boundaries on my decisions, those decisions were still mine and not His. It was hard for me to go to Him first trusting He had my best interest in mind. However each time I did the results were amazing. I continued to fight Him on certain issues but He was always faithful to allow me to make mistakes and run back to Him to fix it, and He always did. I am not sure why He did, but it spoke to my heart and eventually I learned He was safe. My life has not been an easy one, I feel I have been through hell and back many times, but He has always been there going to hell and back with me, restoring me back to life and wholeness.

How do you say thank you to a God who has healed you, delivered you, restored you, protected you, defended you, comforted you, empowered you, put up with you, befriended you, parented you, unconditionally loved you, favored you, held you, gave life to you, and always believes in you.

Words are not enough!

I want to begin to blog about God’s goodness and all the things He has done for me over the years. My heart is over flowing with thankfulness and I want to express that thankfulness as best as I can. Feel free to add the ways in which you are thankful to the comments.

Hebrews 11 – The Faith Chapter

2011-04-28T12:22:00.000-05:00

Hebrews 11 has been described as the Faith Hall of Fame or the Faith Chapter because it is filled with many who have believed God and stood on His promises no matter what they had to encounter. The verses talk of men and women “who by faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouth of lions, extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devouring of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts” (11:33-35a) It also talks of “women receiving again their dead by resurrection, and others tortured to death with clubs refusing to accept release offered on the terms of denying their faith. Of men and women who had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment, being stoned to death, tempted by offers to renounce their faith, sawn asunder, slaughtered by the sword, wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats destitute, oppressed, and cruelly treated roaming over the desolate places and the mountains living in caves, caverns, and holes in the earth” (11:35b-38). These were amazing individuals and yet there are those today who endure the same affliction and suffering as well as believe God’s promises to be true.

The author of Hebrews, a pastor encouraging his congregation not to give up and lose faith in God, appears to have revealed two types of faith in the list above. A faith that created activation and a faith that stood strong. In verses 33-35a, he talks of those who’s faith activated God to move on their behalf subduing kingdoms, administering justice, and closing the mouths of lions. While in verses 35b-38, he talks of those who had the faith to stand alongside of Jesus and suffer as He did for their belief in Him. As Christians it is important that we employ both types of faith, the kind that moves mountains and the kind that stands up for what is true.

This pastor saw his congregation wavering in the light of the suffering they were encountering and reminded them of those who had gone before them and the hope they found in believing God. Today, many things are happening in our country, our perfect and easy world appears to be crumbling around us. Life is getting harder and we all are feeling the effects. There is uneasiness in the world that is creating as sense of fear and anxiety. Our generation has not had to face the effects of war and devastation that other generations have had to endure. Life has been easy for us and we have been blessed. I feel most people wonder more about the unknown and whether they will be as strong as those who lived before them to endure whatever may occur.

I imagine this pastor’s congregation was experiencing some of the same fears. They had lived in relative peace for several years but things had begun to change and they were beginning to feel the effects of those changes. This sermon appears to have been written sometime around 64 A.D. during the rule of Nero in Rome. Nero was not a very popular ruler and the people of Rome were angry at him because they believed he was responsible for starting a fire that destroyed a large part of their city. Although he made a concerted effort to rebuild the city the people still believed he started the fire for his own political gain without any thought to their lives. So, Nero, in order to take the attention off himself, made scapegoats out of the Christians, spreading rumors that blamed them for the fire. Their friends, neighbors, and church members were being rounded up and taken before the magistrate in order to be tried and convicted. The Roman people who were already angry found it easy to take their anger out on the Christians who they already thought to be inferior. The pastor seems to have brought this message at just the right time as it wasn’t long before Christians were being tortured and killed by their neighbors and friends not for the fire but because it became the popular and accepted thing to do. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be a small house-church when all of Rome and its government were against those who called themselves Christian. The catacombs then became the Christians’ new homes and martyrdom became common place among the Christian population.

As we look at the list of men and women here it is hard not to admire them for their courage, boldness, and faith to stand and believe in the midst of so much hardship. We are a nation founded upon God and His Word and we have a hope that cannot be shaken. Haggai 2:6 -7 speaks of the shaking that is going to come to the nations in order that the Lord’s house will be filled with splendor. God wants the nations to come to Him and in order for that to happen things must be shaken. In Hebrews 13:26-27, the pastor reminds his congregation that this shaking must take place “in order that what cannot be shaken may remain and continue.” This is our hope, our faith to move the mountains in our lives, our faith in God to stand no matter what the hardship, and our belief that God is in control of the shaking in order to bring the fullness of His kingdom here on earth.

The Fear of the Lord

2011-02-22T10:35:00.004-06:00

There have been many times as a single mom of three teenage daughters that I have felt overwhelmed by the circumstances of life. Loneliness is a constant when you are trying to provide for your family, make all the decisions and feel there is no one to turn to who can help or understand. I do go to God, because I know He is powerful and I want to live under the fear of the Lord; but there have been many times where I have wondered if He really heard me or if He really knew how I was feeling. When the car breaks down, the child support doesn’t get deposited causing checks to bounce, one of the kids comes home with a zero because she did not turn in her homework, there is no food in the pantry, and the toilet overflows all in one week, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and wonder if I can take one more thing.

I remember a particularly hard time when I was working part time at Kohl’s making $7 an hour. I had started school in order to get a degree where I could get a better job and was taking a full load of classes. For reasons beyond my control the child support I had been receiving was cut about $300 and I was trying to raise three children and having trouble making ends meet. The children had been provided with TennCare and so family and friends were encouraging me to file for food stamps also. This was hard for me because I was always taught that we should allow God to take care of us and that it was not the role of government to meet our needs. I felt if I went to the government for help I was not allowing God to take care of me. I felt I would not be living under the fear of the Lord. However, I got so desperate I went ahead and applied for the food stamps all the while wondering if God knew how desperate we really were. God seem to be ignoring my circumstance and it felt as if He really did not know what I was going through.

Do you ever feel that way? Are there times when there is not enough money to go around. Is peace something you use to have with your spouse? Does it seem the kids are always sick or coming down with something? Do you ever look to the ceiling and say, “Are you there? Do you know that I can’t pay my mortgage this month? Do you hear me?” Is the future a scary place for you to think about? Do you have trouble recognizing or feeling God’s presence in your life?

I’m reminded of the movie the Pursuit of Happiness that starred Will Smith. The movie was based on a true story, if anybody ever felt overwhelmed at the circumstances of their life this man must have. I want you to take a look at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z95wF2Cdye4&feature=PlayList&p=2AFA59EA4F67E6F6&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=35

Maybe your circumstances are not as overwhelming as his, or occurring to the same degree, but we all have those times when we do have to deal with life and all it brings and the questions bombard our minds as to whether God really cares.

What would you give to know there is a solution to your problems? To know that you don’t have to worry about the future or even five minutes down the road or to be able to help others find solutions and not worry about tomorrow. Would that make your life easier and happier? What if I told you I found the secret to living life in peace without worry or stress, would you like to know what it is?

If I could sum up Psalm 34 into one sentence it would be, the fear of the Lord creates hope. Hope is the very thing we need when we are feeling overwhelmed. Did you see the promises found in this chapter? God promises that He is always there for us, He knows what is going on with us, and He helps us when we are in trouble. Yea, you say those are good promises, but how can I really know He will do that for me, especially when I don’t see it happening or feel Him near me.

I think we can look at Psalm 34 as a type of recipe for us to follow to help us understand and benefit from the statement “the fear of the Lord creates hope”. This recipe gives us clear and concise instructions to follow and promises good results all along the way. It is one of those portions of Scripture that clearly says if we do this then God will do that. The focus of Psalm 34 seems to be the fear of the Lord.

So what is the fear of the Lord? For some the fear of the Lord can sound a little scary, giving the impression that God wants them to be afraid of Him; but that is not what it is at all. It actually has nothing to do with being afraid. Yes, it is a place of awe, reverence, and understanding that He is greater than us, but it is so much more than that. It is a place of intimacy and relationship with God. He wants to be near us, to be in close relationship with us.

With a closer look at the chapter we can see the first few verses are all about worshiping and praising God. David was a man after God’s own heart, he knew how to praise God and he did it with all his might. So for David to begin a Psalm that focuses on the fear of the Lord with worship tells me that praise is a large part of the fear of the Lord. As we go on down through this chapter we will see it is more about relationship and obedience than fear.

In verse 4, the amplified version states that David sought and required of the Lord, “out of necessity and on the authority of His Word.” David would not have been able to understand his place with God as a son and feel confident in approaching the Throne of God for his needs unless he had a close relationship with Him. David started this chapter with worship because it is out of worship and praises that relationship and obedience can grow. In Psalm 73:25, Asaph also talks about this relationship with God, when he says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides you.” I believe Asaph was saying nothing makes him happy and can satisfy him here on earth like God, he had nothing else. Also in Matthew 7:7 it shows us how we as God’s children should approach His throne with our needs. “Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.” When you continue to ask of Him, seek Him, and knock on His door, which I equate to reminding Him of His promises, it builds relationship with Him. That is what He wants, because it is out of relationship that we come to know who He really is and want to obey Him, and it is out of obedience that we truly step into who we were created to be in the first place, imitators of Christ.

Starting in verse 11 and going through verse 22 of Psalm 34, David, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, teaches us what it means to live by the statement “the fear of the Lord creates hope”. Within these verses I found 10 different ingredients for our recipe that will help us produce hope in the midst of our circumstances. By applying these 10 things to our lives we can know hope and find ourselves living under the fear of the Lord. So let’s take a look at the 10 things I found.

1. In verse 13, we see our first ingredient. David instructs us not to speak evil and deceitful things. This is very self explanatory but did you know that it also includes not speaking evil about yourself? When we say things like I will never be good enough to do that, or I always fail, we are speaking evil of ourselves. Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it (for death or life).” Also Deut. 30:19 says “I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life that you and your descendants may live.” God gives us the choice to live or die, to have blessings or cursings invade our lives, and to impact the future lives of our descendants with the same. It is up to us to choose and the principalities of heaven both angelic and demonic are waiting for our choice. In the first part of Deut, it says “I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you”, it is your choice; do you want blessings or cursings? What will you choose?

2. The next ingredient is found in verse 14, as David says stay away from evil and do good. Another self explanatory passage. We all know the difference between good and evil and how to live morally within our community; but I think again this also has to do with ourselves. There are things we allow to creep into our lives and call good that in reality are evil. We have to be very vigilant in seeking God’s idea of good and rejecting everything else.

3. Verse 14, gives us another ingredient for our recipe. David says to pursue peace. This means to crave it, go after it! I like the way the amplified version spells it out in I Peter 3:11b – “…. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]”

4. In verse 15, we see David telling us not to compromise in doing right and what we believe is right. The amplified version states, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the (uncompromisingly) righteous.” When I think of the eyes of the Lord looking at me, I think of intimacy, you know like when a man and woman who love each other look into each other’s eyes and seem to be oblivious to everything else going on around them. I want Jesus to look at me that way, so that leads me to want to never compromise what I know to be right.

5. Also in verse 15, David says for us to “cry out to the Lord believing He will hear us”. Although this part of the verse also implies not compromising so that the Lord will hear us; I also believe an important underlying aspect is knowing, believing, and trusting that when we cry out to Him, He will hear us. Because He says He will hear, we can know He will hear. Sometimes just knowing He is there and hears my cry is all I need. I don’t always have to have an answer; there are times when just knowing someone is hearing me is enough.

6. The sixth ingredient is found in verse 17. David tells us to cry out to the Lord, but this time we cry to Him knowing He will deliver us. This is another place of trusting that no matter what our circumstances look like He is delivering us from ALL our troubles and distresses. Verse 12 of Psalm 34 gives the indication that living a long and good life comes from living under the fear of the Lord. In I Peter 3:10, this verse is repeated. In the amplified version the first part of the verse says, “him who wants to enjoy life and see good days (good – whether apparent or not).” This statement is very important in that Peter is saying we may not always see things as being good for us, but God knows they really are. We want to enjoy life and see good days, but sometimes our perception of what good is can be very different than God’s perception of good. This is where trusting Him to deliver us becomes the issue.

7. The next ingredient is found in verse 18. This scripture has a lot to say but I think the main point that David is trying to make is we need to be repentant over our sin. When we humbly recognize our sin and confess it, the Lord draws close to us. If you want to know the presence of the Lord in your life, you must be willing to come into agreement with God about the sin in your life and confess it. The closeness of His presence is an amazing thing to experience after doing some internal house cleaning.

8. Verse 19 tells us that if we are consistently doing what is right without wavering (amplified version) that any evil that comes against us the Lord will deliver us from them all. So the ingredient we can use from this verse is to be consistent in our walk.

9. The ninth ingredient comes out of verse 22, when David tells us to take refuge in the Lord. Verse 8 goes right along with this and the amplified version says “Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.” I think it is interesting that the amplified expounds on the word blessed using the term envied because as we can also see in Romans 11:11, Israel will come to God because they will be jealous of what we have. This is what it says, “So I ask, Have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their false step and transgression salvation [has come] to the Gentiles, so as to arouse Israel [to see and feel what they forfeited] and so to make them jealous.” So taking refuge in the Lord not only blesses our lives but can influence the lives of God’s chosen people as well. So there are purposes beyond just our life for our obedience and relationship with God.

10. The last ingredient that I found for our recipe is also in verse 22. David tells us to trust in the Lord. He says that if we trust, the Lord will redeem our lives and we will not be condemned or held guilty. When I think of redemption here, I feel it is talking about all the times we have messed up and walked away from our destiny. David is saying no matter how far away we find ourselves God won’t condemn us or cause us to feel guilty. As we trust in Him he will continue to redeem all those places and bring us back on track to what we were created for.

As we have seen, it is as if these verses provide for us an umbrella of protection from the evil in the world. Living under the fear of the Lord, and living in relationship and obedience to Him releases all the promises in His Word over our lives and brings us life. This is a simple yet profound chapter in that it specifically states for us how living under the fear of the Lord provides for every one of our needs, problems, or worries to be met within the promises of God. If we follow the recipe He has laid out for us we can be sure of the manifestation of His promises and a decrease in needs, problems, or worries we will face in life. Our recipe is laid out and we have all the ingredients we need. The next step will be to put all the ingredients together, and live our lives based on the belief that the fear of the Lord creates hope.

So, what does this mean for our daily life as we face fears, disappointment, sorrow, or frustration? Remember how I told you that I got so desperate that I applied for food stamps. Well let me tell you the rest of the story. I did not get the food stamps, but out of the blue the case worker ask me if I had any doctor bills that I had not told her about, because if I did I might qualify for TennCare for myself. I did not have insurance and really did not think I needed it, but I figured it was worth a try. So I told her I had an orthodontist bill for one of my children. When she figured it in, I was $5 over the amount needed to be able to receive TennCare. So, although I did not get food stamps that day I left with medical insurance coverage for myself for a year. The best part about that is within that year I had to be taken to the emergency room several times with pain in my stomach and eventually had to have my gallbladder taken out, all of which was paid for 100% by the insurance. I like to say it was paid for by God not the government because He knew it was coming and took care of it even before I knew I needed it. God also provided for my daughter and I to go to Africa later that year for which I needed insurance and it was again already available and covered before I ever knew I would need it. I think God is just waiting for us to cooperate with Him so He can bless us and so we won’t have to worry or be anxious over circumstances. So how are you going to cooperate with God?

If you look back at the 10 ingredients in our recipe there is always a promise that goes along with each ingredient that seems to take care of any problem we might have. Let’s look at a few of them. Verse 15 and 17 says when you cry to him His eyes see you, His ears hear you, and He will deliver you from all your distresses and troubles. Verse 18 speaks of His salvation when you are crushed down from sin and the circumstances of life. Again in verse 19 He delivers you from every place the enemy would try to come against you. Also, if you look at some of the other verses within the chapter you see His deliverance from all fear in verse 4; His protection for you in verse 7; and His provision for you in verses 9 and 10. So, by following these simple ingredients you can form your life based on the belief that “the fear of the Lord creates hope.”

Through worship, prayer, faith, relationship and obedience you can know the fear of the Lord and His provision, protection, and peace that come with it. The fear of the Lord is not just words that are vague and hard to understand. The fear of the Lord is practical, tangible love acted out between God and you. Are you ready to apply the recipe of God’s Word of your life? I challenge you to take these ingredients and put them to the test, and experience the peace that living by the belief that “the fear of the Lord creates hope” can bring.

If we were to live our lives based on the belief that “the fear of the Lord creates hope”, what would our lives look like? I Peter 3:11b tells us that it looks like peace which is harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts. What does peace look like to you? Is that something you would want for your life? What about for your city, region, or nation?

Can you imagine a world where every Christian lived with that kind of peace, fully trusting in the faithfulness of God and His promises, reverently and worshipfully fearing the Lord; living out their lives based on the belief that “the fear of the Lord creates hope?” It is hard to imagine what that would look like, but I think this next video gives us some idea. By the way the events in this video are actually taking place in the world right now. Take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbddQNQ91SA

What you do within your own life today can have a lasting impact on the world in the future. It starts with you today, will you pick up the recipe of His Word and apply these ingredients to your life and experience the same change in your life that the world is experiencing today? It is your choice, will you live your life from the belief that “the fear of the Lord creates hope?”

Grace

2011-02-16T14:57:00.001-06:00

The grace of the Lord is a mysterious thing. I feel as though it has been extended to me in abundance throughout my lifetime. I have seen it expressed as favor, restitution, redemption, and freedom, as well as many other things. For some reason beyond my comprehension God has pour out His grace on my life in ways I never dreamed He would or could do. It has taught me so much about His nature and His love. I do not know where I would be without Him. His grace IS sufficient!

God’s grace for me has been one of salvation, redemption, healing, restoration, and provision. Grace encompasses so much and has been a part of my life for so long that it has become a personal friend and help. I believe grace is not only given to us for salvation but is also a mantle we can wear no matter what we are facing. It has been my experience in life that “I can do all things through Christ….because His grace is sufficient” to me. I know for my own life it has always been there even from day one especially for healing and protection.

I have always been pretty stubborn, I know a portion of it comes from my Irish/Scottish/ Indian/German lineage, but also I feel it is from feeling the need to take care and look out for myself at a young age. Whether this need was just perceived or real is hard to say, but it was there and it felt very real. As an infant it became quickly apparent to my mother that I was not a healthy baby. I say mother because I don’t have very many memories of my father, as a child, he just was not there, and he left all together when I was four. According to her, as I have no memory of this, I almost died several times because my throat would begin to close up and I would just quit breathing. The doctors soon found out I had many allergies to the point that out of 80 foods I could only eat 8. I was also allergic to animals, dust, grass, and many other things.

Clearly, I was not born to live for very long in this world and have felt like a stranger from as early as I can remember. Many nights my mother would sit up with me all night elevating my head so I could breathe. She has told me that one night after being up with me every night for two weeks, she was so tired she could not stay awake and she kept waking up to me gasping for air. She was so desperate and exhausted she was sobbing and she told God she could not do it anymore and she thanked Him for giving me to her for the short time she had me. She said she knew I would not last through the night, as my breathing had gotten so bad and she knew she could not stay awake. She said right then she gave me back to God and expected me to die sometime during the night. Obviously I did not die, and the Lord graciously allowed me to live for a reason.

A few years ago Jesus was taking me through a time of healing and showed me eight other times in my lifetime where I came very close to death. Not only did I have severe allergies as an infant, but I fell out of a car when I was five. I had chronic bladder and kidney infections as a child, and I had an ovarian cyst to burst when I was 14 which led to a 2 ½ ounce pool of blood gathering behind my bladder. Unfortunately it was not found until it had gangrene in it and the doctors were amazed that it had not already poisoned my body. I was in a car accident when I was 16 where the car literally dropped, not rolled, down a 15 foot embankment. I had another car accident when I was 17 as another car pulled out in front of me and I slammed into them. After a failed marriage in my thirties I became so depressed that I came very close to killing myself. Then a few years ago after having severe pain and not being able to keep anything on my stomach for almost a month, I had surgery to take out my gallbladder. After removing it the doctor said my gallbladder was so bad it had already began to petrify and was as hard as a rock. It had also begun to poison my body and he could not believe I was not worse. Once God had reminded me of all these incidents He took me back to each one and showed me where I believed lies about Him. He wanted to show me that He was there at every incident and His grace was protecting me from the hand of the enemy.

I am not sure the enemy really knows my purpose here on earth but I think he has an idea. I figure as long as I don’t know the full extent of my purpose neither does he and that means if God, who knows everything, is on my side, I will always be one step ahead of the enemy, walking in whatever God has for me, and I will always be protected from anything the enemy wants to throw at my life until my purpose here on earth is complete and God calls me home to Him. I feel very thankful for the grace of God that has been very evident within my life.

Encounters With God - Part 2

2011-02-09T15:59:00.001-06:00

So far this year I have had five significant encounters with God. Through worship, intercession, and soaking He has spoken to me, showed me His heart, and led me in intercession to help birth His purposes here on earth. The unusual thing about this is last year I probably only had about five significant encounters with God all year long. So why is this year different? Well, it could be many reasons and I won’t presume to know the thoughts of God, however, I can say I am pursuing Him more this year than I have in the past. He does say in James 4:8 that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. So maybe that has a little to do with it. All I know is I will continue to pursue Him and expect Him to do the same.

In the last post I talked about an encounter I had on January 23^rd where Jesus showed up with a flaming sword and cut me down the middle in order to divide between my soul and my spirit while Hebrews 11:6 was flashing before my eyes and pounding in my ears. After much thought and discussion with Him I feel I understand the correlation between the two verses He was trying to bring to light in my vision.

Hebrews 4:12 (amplified) says, “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”

Hebrews 11:6 (amplified) says, “But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].”

These two verses at first glance seem to not be related at all, however, these were the two God gave me while in the midst of my vision. So further research must be in order to fully grasp what God was trying to convey to me.

Obviously the sword that penetrated and cut me in half was the Word of God not only symbolically in the form of a sword but also in the person of Jesus as the wielder of that sword. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”; John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

As the sword cut through me I heard God say, “I am dividing between your soul and your spirit” and Hebrews 11:6. He “spoke” both references of Scripture at the same moment. Hebrews 4:12 says, “the Word that God speaks is alive….” As God was cutting me in two He was speaking both Hebrews 4:12 and Hebrews 11:6 over me. So it would appear that it was the Words of these verses that were dividing between my soul and spirit causing my flesh to be lowered enough for me to have a glimpse of God’s heart.

So what is it in Hebrews 11:6 that is alive and active and penetrates to the very thoughts and purposes of my heart? Is it faith in God, belief that He exists?

Remember I kept feeling my worship was not good enough, that it was somehow dirty, and all about me and not Him. I did not feel I was able to please Him or be satisfactory to Him in my worship. I never felt condemnation in this revelation, but it was more a matter of fact. That the truth that He is so big, so great, there was no way my worship could ever compare.

Jeff, my pastor, has said time and time again it takes God to get us to God. We can’t know Him or draw near to Him unless He comes to us first. This is what He was doing in me, giving me the faith I needed to be satisfactory to Him, so He could show me a glimpse of His heart. I had to have enough belief in who He is in order to draw near to Him, but in my own state of imperfection and unbelief I cannot do that and be as close as He wants me to be with Him. So in that moment He gave it to me.

As I seek Him out and discover who He is the more capacity I have to hold the amount of faith it takes to satisfy His holiness and the more He is drawn to me. Then one day He steps in front of me and says I love you so much that I am going to help you in your pursuit of me by giving you a little more faith so you can get a glimpse of my heart, and then you will seek me even more. The more I come to know God the more I realize there is so much more to know. I can’t help but continue my journey of discovery of Him because it satisfies the deepest places inside of me.

Encounters With God

2011-02-08T18:06:00.001-06:00

At church on Sunday, January 23, 2011, during worship I had an encounter with God. I felt His presence very heavy and was trying to worship but I just could not seem to get the words out. It somehow felt as if the words of the songs weren’t good enough. The heaviness increased and I asked God what was going on and over and over again I heard Him say, “I am dividing between your soul and your spirit” and the Scripture reference of Hebrews 11:6 seemed to be flashing before my eyes and pounding in my ears. Just then the heaviness turned into a burning on the inside of me.

I thought Hebrews 11:6 might have been the Scripture that talks about the Word of God being a sword that divides between soul and spirit as I knew it was located in the book of Hebrews. So I reached for the closest Bible and looked it up. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes near to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” At the time putting together this Scripture with what God was saying was too difficult; however I have since gained revelation on what He was trying to say to me and I will write about that a little later.

All the while the burning continued and was increasing to the point that I was feeling very uncomfortable. So I ask God why it felt as though my insides were burning up. Just then I saw Jesus standing in front of me with a flaming sword in His hands. He then held the sword up in front of me and brought it down on me cutting me in half. At that moment I felt as if I were going to completely burn up from the inside out. I instantly received what seemed to be a five second glimpse of the spirit realm and God’s heart.

At this revelation my heart felt as if it was going to explode and I would die right there. I don’t know of any other way to explain it except in physical terms which doesn’t seem adequate enough. My heart felt as if it was going to burst, my whole body felt engulfed in flames, and at the same time I felt my worship of Him was not good enough and would never be good enough, almost dirty in comparison to Him. It did not feel condemning in any way, it just was. It was as if He was accepting it even though it paled in comparison to Him and would never truly be adequate. Somehow I knew it was because He loved that I was attempting it anyway.

As I got that small glimpse of God’s heart it seemed as though my worship was more about me than it was about Him; more about me getting a feeling or knowing that I had met with God; more about what I wanted to get from Him rather than what He wanted from me. So I asked Him how He wanted me to worship Him.

By this time I was visibly being touched, shaking and crying. A lady standing next to me must have noticed and she put her hand on my back so I naturally placed my hand on her back. As soon as I touched her she began crying and I could tell God was touching her as well. It seemed as though she was feeling the same thing I was so I knew He wanted me to worship Him by praying for her to experience Him in the same way I did.

I begin to pray (not out loud, so as to not pull her out of what God was doing in her) for the same sword to cut her in two dividing between soul and spirit so she could get a glimpse of God’s heart for her. As I stood there praying over her she was visibly being touched by God to the point of being overwhelmed. I then felt the Lord telling me to move on to another person, so I did. This continued to happen with person after person until I looked back and they were all so overwhelmed by His presence they were kneeling on the floor. I was amazed at how just one glimpse of His heart could impact lives so distinctly. The more I think I know who God is, the more I realize I don’t know Him at all. Since that morning I have felt a closeness to God that is noticeably different than before. There is also a feeling of awe that I cannot describe that continues to pull me toward Him wanting to know Him even more!

Pain or Perspective

2010-12-06T16:56:00.003-06:00

Pain or Perspective
If you choose pain, you choose to fight, deny, and bury. The choice becomes harder.
If you choose perspective you embrace history, while giving it credit for the better person it can make you, scars and all. The choice then gets easier every time.
We can choose to wrestle with God over the pain or we can do as He told Jacob and remember that we were once slaves in Egypt and not focus on the darkness and the pain but on the fact that God has delivered us out of it and will deliver us again.
Perspective not pain.

Word - July 28th, 2010

2010-12-06T16:33:00.002-06:00

Word from the Lord given July 28, 2010 at a Wednesday night intercessory prayer meeting.

"I put kings on their thrones and I have placed Obama on the throne of the most powerful nation in the world in order to call the church out of their sleep and apathy, out of their state of entitlement and pride. This nation was set apart for me and now they have set themselves apart from me through their arrogance and pride. If they will humble themselves and repent and turn their faces from their selfish endeavors, seek my face and allow me to be a part of their lives again I will visit their nation beginning with their king and I will touch every heart from the head down. My glory will once again be the crown on their heads and the world will know my love through them."

Psalm 78 - Post 3

2010-11-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

The more I meditated on Psalm 78 the more the Lord continued to reveal to me. Don’t you just love it when you read your Bible and it just comes alive! It is amazing. So as I dove further into the verses I noticed there were three verses that stated that the Israelites tempted God. Verse 18, 41, and 56 all talk about the Israelites tempting God, but each one deals with a different way in which they tempted Him. Verse 18 and following show that the temptation came as a result of them asking for food out of their selfish desires; questioning if God was able to furnish food for them in the wilderness. They questioned His ability.

Verse 41 and following talk about the Israelites not remembering the miracles God had done for them and turned their back on Him and thereby tempted God to anger against them. They forgot what He had already done and were not thankful.

Lastly, verse 56 and following reveal it was the Israelites’ idol worship that tempted God moving Him to jealousy. They turned from Him to other sources of provision, protection, comfort, etc…

This sounds a little familiar to me. There appears to be a progression to their downfall with God. Questioning His ability, forgetting what He had already done for them and not being thankful for it, and turning completely away from Him to other sources. The result of their downfall led to verse 60 where God forsook the tabernacle where He had dwelt among men and never returned to it again.

As I thought back on my own life I can remember many times where this progression has been my mode of operation as well. However I don’t think I realized I was tempting God. It is easy to question if God can or wants to do something when you are faced with a major need. Wondering if God will come through seems a very natural, human thing to do. Unfortunately, this questioning can lead us to forgetting what He had already done and not being thankful.

I think for the most part it is also easy for us to turn from letting God take care of our needs to feeling we have to take care of them on our own. I have even gone so far as to say, God expects me to take care of it. So we come to depend on ourselves or others to meet our needs and in turn miss out on what God wanted to do for us or show us. Thinking of this in terms of tempting God seemed a little foreign to me, so I wanted to dig further into this concept.

I remembered that in Deuteronomy 6:16, God said, “You shall not tempt and try the Lord your God as you tempted and tried Him in Massah.” In order to understand how the Israelites tempted and tried God in Massah we need to go back to Exodus 17: 7. This verse states they were trying the patience of the Lord by asking, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Wow! How many times have I ask the Lord, “Are you really there, do you really care? I have known that throughout the Scriptures the Israelites were known for tempting God, but I never realized the things that they did to tempt God were the very things I could be accused of as well.

As I contemplated my own experiences I came to realize this is not uncommon for me. God blesses me by taking care of a need and I am grateful but a week or so later I find myself needing something else and wondering will God come through this time? So I begin to pray and beg God to take care of the need hoping He will come through again. As I stated earlier in a previous post Gary Morgan talked about this when he said we need to quit using prayer as a place to beg God for something we need. Instead we need to be agreeing with heaven about who God is and what He has already done, knowing that because He came through before He will come through again. God doesn’t want us begging, questioning His love or ability. He wants us agreeing and declaring.

So, apparently questioning God’s abilities and desire to help us; forgetting what He has already done for us and not being thankful; and turning away from Him to other sources to meet our needs are ways we can tempt God. Unfortunately according to these verses tempting God in these ways may lead to Him withdrawing His presence. Being a Christian and not feeling and experiencing the presence of God would be like living in the wilderness without water.

If we are thankful and remember who God has been to us in the past we won’t tend to question his ability and desire to be there for us again. We won’t feel the need to beg Him for what we require, because we will know He will come through again no matter the circumstance. We can agree with heaven and declare the goodness of God over every situation. Being confident in the goodness of God and in His ability will keep us from turning away from Him to other sources, as well as keep us from tempting God.

I want the presence of God to be a constant within my life. These verses show me that if I will be intentional in my pursuit of God, remembering what He has done, thanking Him for being there through my worship and obedience, and allow Him to be my source instead of relying on myself, others or other things; He will be that constant I can depend on.

“Who is like Me? Let Him stand and proclaim it, declare it, and set his proofs in order before Me, since I made and established the people of antiquity. Who has announced from of old the things that are coming? Then let them declare yet future things. Fear not, nor be afraid in the coming violent upheavals; have I not told it to you from of old and declared it? And you are My witnesses! Is there a God besides Me? There is no other Rock; I know not any.” Isaiah 44:7-8 (amplified)

Psalm 78 - Post 2

2010-10-27T16:53:00.001-05:00

For this second post I wanted to dig further into several verses found within Psalm 78. The Lord highlighted particular verses and as I meditated on them certain questions arose. Psalm 78:9 is one verse that Gary Morgan highlighted within his message during the conference and when I read it I knew there was something God was trying to get me to understand in it. That led me to search through other verses as well.

Verse 9 (amplified version): “The children of Ephraim were armed and carrying bows, yet they turned back in the day of battle.”

The question that came to me almost immediately was: Why? Why did they turn back in the day of battle? If they had all the weapons to fight and were trained and ready for battle what made them turn back? Was it fear that they weren’t ready to face the enemy? Or was it a lack of trust in God to be with them and bring them through the battle?

I then realized a correlation with the church today and the perceived fear and lack of trust that the children of Ephraim were experiencing. It appeared as if God was trying to say something about our hearts. He has given us every weapon we need to fight, He has also promised to be with us in the mist of the battle, yet so often we opt to not fight. We give in to the lies of the enemy and let him control how we feel and what we think. What is in our hearts that make us turn back from the battle, listen to the enemy and cower at the thought of him coming against us?

So many verses in the Word tell us a different story. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us…” (Rom. 8:37); “The weapons of our warfare are…mighty before God to overthrow strongholds…” (2 Cor. 10:4); “We can do all things through Christ…” (Phil. 4:13); “I am with you always…” (Matt. 28:20).

It is about agreeing with heaven and declaring the truth using the weapons He has given us to face the fear and put it back in its place. What is your heart focusing on? Is it fear or is it truth? Do you trust God to be there and give you what you need? Do you expect the enemy to come against you, or do you expect the power of God in your life to override any attempt the enemy may make?

Verse 10 (amplified version): “They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk according to His law.”

Okay so the Israelites weren’t keeping the covenant again, so what does this have to do with me? When you put this verse in context with verse 9 it begins to tell a story. It is as if the Psalmist is saying they turned away in battle because they were not keeping the covenant and not obeying God’s law. So what are the conditions of this covenant? It is clear this verse is talking about the covenant God made through Moses with the implementation of the Ten Commandments. This is the Law that they were not walking in.

It appears that there is a relationship between keeping covenant, obeying God and being strong enough to face the enemy head on with the assurance that you will be victorious. But there is more, this verse continues in 11.

Verse 11 (amplified): “And forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them.”

So here is more insight into the reason behind the retreat from the battle. It says they forgot His works and wonders He had shown them. The next several verses recaps all the miracles God did for the Israelites from bringing them out of the slavery of Egypt, parting the Red Sea so they could walk across on dry land, leading them with a cloud by day and fire by night, bringing water out of the rock and feeding them manna in the wilderness. Apparently the Israelites did not have a thankful heart as they forgot what God had done for them. They forgot the terms of the covenant He had made with them as well as the Law He had set before them to follow. Apparently this is what led to their courage failing in battle. If you believe God is not on your side the enemy can look really big and really scary. Because they forgot all God had done for them, they could not see how He would help them defeat the enemy and their courage waned.

It is important that we remember what God has done for us in the past and have a thankful heart so that we do not lose sight of who He is in our lives and the power He possesses over the enemy. A natural progression seems to occur when we are thankful, recognizing and remembering all God has done for us. This progression causes us to trust Him and love Him more and it creates intimacy between us and God. Then when we love and trust God we want to obey Him and follow His Word. So when we are led into battle just as Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit (Luke 4:1-2), we will trust that He has our back, and we will come out victorious (just like Jesus did). We can trust that we have the weapons we need for the battle. We can trust as well that the Word of God is inside us (Psalm 1:2) and that the Lord is on our side (Hebrews 13:6).

Over and over again this Psalm reiterates the fact that Israel would love God, obey Him, and walk in covenant with Him, but would also lose their way, break covenant, forget His faithfulness and love and turn their backs on Him. Each time the central reason for their disobedience and lack of trust appears to be their lack of thankfulness and gratitude remembering what He had already done in their lives.

Let’s make it a point to remember God’s faithfulness toward us, the blessings we enjoy every day, and His love toward us that is unfailing. Let’s also remember by being thankful everyday in our speech, our walk, and our obedience toward Him.

Psalm 78 - Post 1

2010-10-22T10:23:00.003-05:00

We had a special conference at our church a week or so ago and one of the speakers, Gary Morgan encouraged us to read Psalm 78. I felt very impressed by the Lord to do this and once I did I began to see some things I have not seen before. God is so good that way. This blog and maybe one or two to follow is a culmination of what the Lord gave me from these Scriptures.

Psalm 78 in a nutshell gives an account of the back and forth relationship between Israel and God from Genesis up until David became king. The picture is sobering as all God wanted from Israel was their loyalty, trust, and obedience and because of their selfish hearts they would consistently turn away from God. The cycle went something like this: God would bless them, they would enjoy it for a season, and then they would forget that what they were enjoying was God's blessing and want more, so they would either get mad at God for not giving them more or they would go against God's law to get what they wanted. God would then get angry at them for not being thankful, for not trusting Him, and for not obeying His law. In His love and mercy for them He would give them what they wanted even though it was not the best for them. His hand of protection would be lifted as what they selfishly desired was not in His will for them and they would experience the full weight of the consequences of their sin. They would then repent and cry out to God and He would cover them again with His protection blessing them. Unfortunately this cycle went on and on until the Psalmist writes that the Israelites began worshiping idols which produced jealousy in the heart of God. God in His love and mercy gave them what they wanted and took His presence from the tabernacle and placed David on the throne over them.

As I read this I couldn't help to notice the similarity of the heart of Israel and the heart of the church, as well as the heart of Israel and my own heart. Why is it so easy to turn away from God and attempt to do things on our own? Why is it so easy to forget the blessings God has poured down upon us? Why is it so easy when things get hard to quit trusting God? I felt very sobered by this Psalm because I could see where my heart has forgotten the many blessings from God that I live with every day. My heart has continued to seek after its own selfish desires for my life, and it has so many times turned away from trusting God. Forgive me Lord.

I do not want to follow the same cycle the Israelites followed. It seems as though there is a connection between thankfulness, trusting, obeying, and blessing. One of the things Gary Morgan was trying to get across to us was the idea of agreeing with heaven when we pray instead of pleading with God for things we think we need or want. I think this goes along with being thankful for the blessings we have, trusting that God is who He says He is and has proven to be in our lives, and obeying as we hear His voice. We must live in such a way that we believe He already knows what we need, has our best interest at heart, and is continually working on our behalf.

One more time around the mountain!

2009-01-17T11:54:00.003-06:00

It has become very clear to me that I am stubborn! I go through things in life and see God work and mend and break through, yet I don't seem to learn anything from the process, (or at least not enough) and I find myself going through the same things over again only to react in the same way I have before!
One of the ways God speaks very often to me is through my finances. Being a woman there is that sense of security that comes from money and having enough that makes me feel I am taken care of and all will be okay. So if there is something I need to learn about myself or God it always seems to be revealed at a time of financial hardship.
For the most part I have come to the conclusion, after much experience, that God will provide for me and my girls and I really don't have to worry about my needs being taken care of. No matter what my circumstances, He always seems to come through for us and the bills get paid and gas gets put into my car and food is in the pantry. He has also proved faithful to us when there were extra things that we wanted to do or have, maybe that we did not really need but just wanted. So when my finances get tight I tend to look for what God is showing me. I realize very quickly my sense of security is being challenged and I try to listen to those lies in my head to see what pops up. I am always amazed at what I really believe to be true!
Recently, an event took place in my life that created a cut in my finances and caused my sense of security to be challenged, (AGAIN!)but I was truly amazed at myself and the way I reacted to it. Instead of focusing on the same old things, I found myself in a whole new place.
My ex husband, for reasons I don't presume to know, decided not to pay child support for a particular month. The child support I receive from him is a pretty substantial part of the money I use to pay my bills, as I am not working full time now, (receiving offerings for counseling appointments part time) and I am in school full time. Anyway, usually I would be worried about where the money was going to come from to pay my house note and buy food, and this would preoccupy my time so much that it would tend to paralyze me so I could not even think straight or function for days at a time. But not this time! This time I found myself in a place of humbleness and fear before the Lord. Because I realized for the first time, the struggles I was facing were of my own doing. My children and I were reaping the consequences of my disobedience. (Not to say that my ex did not have to pay child support, but this was a spiritual issue for me and I knew it. I knew God would take care of the money issue, I was to deal with the spiritual part and He would take care of the rest)
You see I knew when I married my ex husband, it was not what God wanted. The day I walked down the isle, I specifically heard God tell me not to marry him, but I did anyway, because I did not see any way out and did not feel I had a choice. So I disobeyed God and chose my own way thinking I was doing the "right" thing. The interesting part in all of this is, that no matter how far away I turned from God, or how much I disobeyed Him, He still stayed right there with me, wooing me back to Him. (I am always overwhelmed at how much God loves me!)
I began to realize I had never really repented for disobeying God in that important juncture of my life. I had forgiven my ex for all the mess with the divorce and his treatment over the years toward my children and I, but I had never really taken ownership of the fact that I was the one who started it all in the first place by entering into a covenant with someone who was clearly not God's choice for me.
Don't miss understand me I love my children and would do it all over again just to have them in my life, but my part of this whole mess had to be realized. I never thought my ex was the only one to blame, but at the same time I never understood that I did have a choice and even up to the last moment when I said "I d0" God was offering me a way out! Just like He says He will do in His Word.
So this time I apologized to my ex in a letter and began praying for him in a way that I have never been able to do. I felt my heart melting and knew God was doing some tenderizing. I have always prayed that God would show my ex His love and that He would understand the love of the Father for himself, but this time, I felt God praying through me.
So what did I learn this time, that God still does not have all of me and there are still places I need to repent of and let go so He can work. Will this change my ex, maybe, maybe not, but that is in God's hands and as long as I am growing it won't be an issue for me.
I asked God, "Why do I have to be so stubborn?" Why can't I learn from my mistakes and quit going around the same mountain all the time. What I heard next surprised me. God said "you are not stubborn, there are just many things for you to learn and give over to me and I know this is what will bring it to the surface and expose it. You are learning with each lesson I give and you are growing, but there are many lies you have believed and clung to and where ever there is a lie, I can not work and you can not receive from me."
So, every time I ask God to make me more like Him or help me to receive more from Him I am setting myself up for another lesson! GREAT!
I began to reexamine my life and the experiences I have gone through and you know God was right! He began to show me that every time I have gone through a hard time I have learned something new about myself and about His nature. Then He showed me where I have taken what I have learned and passed it out to others who need to know the nature of God. It is awesome to see that even in the midst of my dysfunction God can still use me to show others who He really is!

My New Adventure WIth God

2008-08-26T19:21:00.008-05:00

A few years ago I felt the Lord tell me I was going to have my own business one day. My first thought was that it would have something to do with the counseling degree I was pursuing at the time, although I was not sure how that would look or work out. I recently completed my BS in Psychology and will be going for my MA in Pastoral Counseling in January. So I am still on track to accomplishing my goals.
However, the other day a friend invited me to a meeting introducing a new business she was starting. I was intrigued and felt that I might do some research on her business. Another friend who went with me to the meeting was also intrigued and decided to do some research on her own. The owner of the business turned out to be someone I have known for years and trust. He was at the meeting and after hearing his story, I was even more intrigued. I ask the Lord to show me if this was for me and I went home and went back to "life as usual". Over the next week I continued to get confirmations that I was suppose to be involved in this business. So after a week I gave in and told the Lord if He would provide the start up money, I would start the business. This seemed impossible because for the second time in 7 years, my main source of income, the child support I receive from my ex-husband was two weeks late and every bill was already late. You see for many years now I have lived on very little income and watched the Lord provide everything we need and we have lacked for nothing. So even though this time it looked impossible I knew it was just another way for God to show up and prove to us that nothing is impossible if it is His will. I learned a long time ago if I keep myself positioned to follow where ever God is leading He will provide what I need to get there. Anyway, over the next few days, not only did I get my child support and was able to pay my bills, but I also got the money to start the business and someone anonymously gave me another $500.
Needless to say, I started the business and I know because God was so instrumental in making it happen that it will be a huge success.
God is so good!
If you want to see my web site you can check it out at www.livingfree.cruisetocash.com

Boundaries

2008-07-24T12:54:00.000-05:00

For a while I have felt the Lord prompting me to do an article on boundaries. I have been reluctant to do this as I wasn’t sure I had a full grasp of boundaries myself. After one of my pastors taught on good lines and bad lines I knew God was saying again to write. So I will attempt to pen those things the Lord has taught me and in the process hope to learn more for myself.

Boundaries have always been a fuzzy thing for me. In some areas I know I have set up good boundaries for myself, like choosing at an early age not to drink or smoke because of the pattern of addictions I saw in my family. In other areas though, it has not been as easy. The way I discipline my children can be difficult and always being consistent can be hard, but I am trying.

Boundaries are an important part of everyday life; they can be as simple as following a daily schedule or keeping a watch on how we speak to others; or as complex as knowing who are the “safe” or “not safe” individuals in our lives or choosing to begin or end a relationship. Knowing where to “draw the line” for ourselves and others in communication and relationships is an important part of coming into the purpose God intended for us. Each one of us is born with a purpose and a destiny to fulfill and the decisions and choices we make determine how quickly we see the realization of that purpose.

I feel this article is timely as it seems as if God is calling all of us to a higher standard of living. He seems to be asking us to lay aside the way we have always done things and seek Him for a better way.

In my desire for setting up good boundaries I can see Father God pointing to the reasons inside of me that keep me in places of frustration, anger, temptation, and anxiety. I want those things that keep tripping me up to be replaced by God.

Setting up boundaries can be difficult at times because it can involve trusting others. Being accountable to others to help us see ourselves as we really are can be scary. However, if we take the step and allow those God has placed in our lives to speak direction and discernment to us, we will gain freedom to walk into our destiny. Knowing ourselves and loving ourselves enough to set boundaries which regulate our behavior creates open doors to healthy boundaries in all our relationships.

Understanding that communication is a big part of this and desiring not only to be heard and understood but also to hear and understand as well, is an important aspect to consider when dealing with boundaries. Sometimes this can be difficult as personalities clash and resentment and hurt are allowed to remain.

Boundaries can sometimes appear to be restrictions or rules to follow, but in reality a boundary that is set up is a path to freedom.

In order to understand boundaries the best place to look is the Word of God. It is full of instruction and revelation on how to not only recognize boundaries but also to help us gain understanding on where we are in need of boundaries in our own lives.

The book of Ephesians is a great place to start to get a feel for what boundaries look like. Reading Ephesians can help you determine where you have already placed boundaries in your life and where you might need them.

In Proverbs 19 verse 20, we find a call to have an inner self boundary of being teachable in order to gain wisdom. Verse 8 of that same chapter show us that gaining wisdom brings satisfaction in life; and being understanding with others will bring prosperity and good things. Also in verse 23, by reverently and worshipfully fearing the Lord we gain life and keep evil away from our lives. Each one of these boundaries can bring freedom in certain areas of our lives if we will allow them to work in us. In reality the boundaries we set up for ourselves become safety nets that will catch us and keep us from getting hurt.

There is a continual growing process going on in our lives which encompasses four steps: knowing ourselves; embracing and accepting ourselves; manifesting ourselves; and supporting and validating ourselves. It is important that we take each one of these steps and incorporate them into the process of setting up boundaries for ourselves.

When we do not let these four things cycle through our lives, we often make wrong choices and can sabotage our destiny. Sabotage is rarely done on purpose – we may accidentally or unwillingly get in the way of the fulfillment of our destiny. This is very normal. Fears, insecurities, and doubt tend to surface as we move forward. Then it is easy to get caught up in other’s opinions and stop listening to and trusting what God is saying to us.

Offense is a huge barrier that keeps us from the freedom having boundaries can bring. Every one has been hurt by someone, but it is not the hurt that affects our lives, it is what we do with the hurt. When we are in the midst of an offense we make decisions and pronouncements that set the course of our lives and bring into play the law of sowing and reaping. Galatians 6:7-9, tell us that what we sow, we reap. Just like a farmer sows seeds of corn in the spring, he expects corn to come up in the summer. The same is true of our lives if we sow unforgiveness and judgement, we will reap unforgiveness and judgement; but if we sow forgiveness and blessing, we will reap forgiveness and blessing. Setting up an inner boundary that keeps us away from offense and gives us the freedom to forgive and release others from our judgement is one of the best boundaries we can have.

The Bible talks about the effects of unforgiveness on our lives in Matthew 18: 34-35, when it reveals that out of ignorance and bitterness if we refuse to forgive others we subject ourselves to all manner of torment. Also in Matthew 7:1, it says not to judge, criticize, or condemn others so we are, not judged, criticized or condemned. Unforgiveness often begins with a belief in a lie about the person who offended us. It is important to try and understand the person’s heart and motivations or level of control; they may in fact be victims of hurt and offense themselves. By setting up an inner boundary to first gain God’s perspective of the person who offended us, we will find that forgiveness can be a natural outcome of God’s love for the person flowing through us. We can choose to forgive and remove judgement over those individuals who have offended us and free ourselves not only from the pain, poverty, and torment, but also from the judgements we have spoken over others.

When setting up boundaries within relationships our best example to follow is Jesus. The Gospels show how Jesus dealt with individuals in His own life with love, honor, and respect; but also it shows that He was a man who lived within the safety of boundaries.

2008-03-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

In order to walk in freedom in life, it is important to understand the things that keep you from that freedom. The four doors are a good place to start. This tool represents the places or doors in our lives where life and unwanted circumstances have complete access to come in and wreak havoc on us. Most individuals do not even realize they live with doors open all the time. There are many ways for the doors to be open, either by us or by others. The four most common doors that are found to be open include: Sexual Sin and Soul Ties, Hatred and Unforgiveness, Fear, and Occult and False Religion. Some of the ways the doors are opened include: generational issues, ungodly beliefs and sins, spirit/soul wounding, and trauma.

An example of this would be if at some point in your life something traumatic happened, like abuse or death of someone important to you. Another way a door could be opened is if you willingly engaged in some form of sin or were involved in an occult or false religion. Also, if you see a pattern occurring in your life, that you may have also seen in your mother and grandmother etc… this is generational and has come down through your mother’s line.

Sometimes these doors are very evident and you know exactly what they are, other times you may not have any idea what they are or even that they are open. If the doors are not clearly evident, but you feel you are not walking in a full measure of freedom, it is best to ask Jesus to show you if there are some doors open and what they look like. As we see in Daniel 2:22, “He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him”; He will show you if there is something that needs to be taken care of (Amplified Bible). Once you know which door is open, you can do what is required to close it. This is easy and only requires: forgiving; renouncing; removing judgment; coming out of agreement with the ungodly spirits that were allowed to come in when the door was opened; sending those spirits to where Jesus would have them to go; and asking Jesus to come and fill you with His Spirit of love, rest, and peace.

The first door is Sexual Sin and Soul Ties. This is referring to sex outside of marriage which, in turn, is one way a soul tie is created. When we have sex outside of marriage we end up making a covenant with that individual, giving them a part of us and taking a part of them on us. If we give away many parts of ourselves, we can go through life not whole. Also, if your partner has been with multiple partners, they in turn are carrying parts from many other people and transfer those parts to you. So you end up carrying other peoples’ insecurities and fears around with you for the rest of your life. Paul talks about soul ties in I Corinthians 6: 15-20, when he talks about sexual immorality (Amplified). He says that when one joins himself to another they become one flesh, just as when one joins himself to the Lord, he becomes one spirit with Him. He goes further to state that as the Lord’s we are not our own, but we are bought with a price, so we must glorify God with our bodies as well as our spirits.

By asking God to forgive you and breaking the soul ties with those individuals, you can not only close doors to the enemy, but you can restore yourself to wholeness. Then you are able to recognize who you were created to be and begin walking that out in freedom. This is done very easily through a prayer of repentance for violating another and taking back what the other person took from you and giving back to them everything you took from them, releasing them and blessing them.

The second door is Hatred and Unforgiveness. This is a big issue and most people do not even realize it is there. Jesus states that we should have mercy on others just as God has had mercy on us (Amplified, Matt. 18:32-35). He also says that God can’t forgive us if we don’t forgive others (Amplified, Matt. 6:15). Forgiving those who have hurt you is a big step in closing any doors that are open. In the spiritual realm, forgiveness is a powerful weapon. It can break strongholds that have been hindrances for years. Once forgiveness is spoken the enemy no longer has power in that relationship. The problem is most people do not even realize they are carrying around hatred and unforgiveness. Unforgiveness can be a deceitful thing with layers that seem to pile on top of one another. One can be hurt multiple times by the same offender and never realize how deep the offense can penetrate. It is important to pray forgiveness prayers that relate to the issues and relationships where the offenses came in. This is done by the leading of the Holy Spirit, as He can help you to state the forgiveness prayers in such a way as feels right to you, and brings release. Also, it is important to release the person from any judgment you may have held in your heart against them.

The next door is Fear. Fear is a stronghold in most individuals and comes in as a result of a traumatic childhood experience that caused them to make an agreement with fear in order to be safe or protected. It can also be passed down through your generations or come in through wounding or ungodly beliefs. Most people live with fear so long, it just becomes a part of who they are and they do not even realize it is there or that it is having an affect on their lives. 1 John tells us that “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (Amplified 1John 4:18). The stronghold of fear is most evident in an individual’s speech as it becomes a part of their language and they do not recognize it. As you begin to really listen to people, you will be surprised at how many people you encounter who are carrying a spirit of fear around and do not even realize it. Fear is usually a result of trauma or sin, but in most cases it is generational. Breaking generational lines of fear often becomes important in the healing process. Asking the Holy Spirit to reveal where the door was opened to fear and following His leading you can break the generational lines of fear. Replacing fear with faith and trust in Father God can bring freedom and revelation.

The last door we will look at is Occult and False Religion. This can be a door that is opened because of generational ties, wounding, or ungodly beliefs and sin. If there are any masons, elks, etc… in your family line this must be taken care of because the enemy has full access to your lives through these doors passed down through your family line. Also, if you have ever been involved in occultism or other false religions, the agreements you made at that time need to be broken so the doors can be closed. By praying a simple prayer of coming out of agreement or renouncing your involvement or your family’s involvement in the occult or false religion, you can close the door. Closing these doors will not only impact your life but will have a great impact on the lives of your family members.

Closing doors that have been open by us or by others in our lives breaks the strongholds we struggle with every day. So, once these are taken care of, we will immediately see changes taking place in the way we look at life, the way we react in life, and the way we interact with others.

Job 34:21-22 states, “For God’s eyes are upon the ways of man, and He sees all his steps, there is no darkness nor thick gloom where the evildoers may hide themselves”(Amplified Bible); this shows us that God sees what is in our hearts and knows everything about us. It is His desire that nothing keep us from intimacy with Him. Jesus is willing to free us from those things that keep us in bondage and come and fill us with Himself.