Listening for God

CHRISTMAS 2011

2011-12-26T15:59:00.002+02:00

Every year for thepast few years, I have felt less and less in the Christmas spirit. So, a weekor so before Christmas this year I started listening to the Glee Christmasalbums, volume 1 and 2, to start psyching myself up and “feel” Christmas.

One song they didreally elegantly was O Christmas Tree.Such a beautiful song, melody.. but singing all that about a Christmas tree? Ifound it slightly ridiculous. Then I substituted Christ for Christmas tree andit became this beautiful hymn to God who “islike a tree that is always green” ~Hosea14:8. It was only when I looked up the original lyrics, that lo and behold,there is a verse about God right at the end.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
Not only green when summer's here,
But also when 'tis cold and drear.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy candles shine so brightly!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy candles shine so brightly!
From base to summit, gay and bright,
There's only splendor for the sight.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy candles shine so brightly!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
Thou bidst us true and faithful be,
And trust in God unchangingly.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!!"

However, I stilldidn’t feel very Christmassy. Didn’t help that I worked right up to 5pm onFriday, 23 December. [Side note: Whatever happened to companies closing overthe Christmas period and people slowing down to really savour it?]Anyway, my point? Not feeling Christmassy.

Then I attended anevening my aunt and my cousin orchestrated on Christmas eve. What a blessedevent that was!

They rented a small community hall, put a fewdecorations on the tables, served some delicious food, and …

A story was read tothe children to speak about the meaning of Christmas, using a story abouttrees. (Oh, light bulb moment, another tree reference! Hehehe).

My one aunt played 3Christmas carols on the piano and we sang along. (My aunt can play piano? And secondly,we haven’t done THAT in.. have we ever done that as a family and not just at achurch service?)

My cousin’s husbandsang an inspiring song about God (he can sing? Surprise!), my other cousin’swife read a Christmas poem about God and then shared a verse in the Bible thatgot them through a very difficult year. And you could hear that this verse hadbecome a lifeline.

Hebrews 13:5-6 (Amplified Bible)*

Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money[including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and besatisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will notin any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support.

[I will] not, [Iwill] not, [I will] not in any degree leaveyou helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say,The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear ordread or be terrified]. What can man doto me?

*And since this is myfunny coincidental life, this very verse from this very translation was read ona TV sermon the next morning

My dad made a speechthat almost had me in tears it was so touching. (I am so proud and so lucky tohave my parents – they are stellar people.) One of the things he said was, “whatwould the world be without Christmas? The year would just end, no special timeswith family etc.” For all that we complain about Christmas I, Karin, reallywould miss it AND we choose to make it a meaningful holiday or a shopping extravaganza.We CHOOSE. It’s not big expensive gifts,it’s just having a time of year that we make special, that we decorate ourhomes, that we make nice meals.. just doing something special!

My step-cousin alsomade a speech that nearly had us in tears again. About how beautiful theevening was, how important family is.. I could only agree.

Everything was donefrom the heart, sincerely. No pretence. No hoopla.

It was beautiful.

It was Christmas.

Our God Reigns

2011-09-21T20:00:00.000+02:00

I must be one of the few Christians who start grinding my teeth when a praise/worship song has the line "Our God Reigns"

Let me explain my reasons why and please keep in mind this is just my opinion and I respect that you may not share it or see things the same way. Respect then that this is how I see it.

OUR GOD

Firstly it seems to divide people into 2 groups. There's 'our' group that sings about "our God" and then 'your' group that doesn't serve this God of mine or doesn't serve Him the same way. The attitude seems to be one of "This is my God, na-na-na-na, He is so much better than yours!"

It's gotten to the point where I have to rewrite the meaning in my head for it to mean, "God of all people; Of all the earth," even if there are people that have yet to meet or accept Him.

OUR GOD REIGNS

In my eyes, there is only one God, God of heaven and earth, creator, sustainer, consisting of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God. No competition.

So if you sing "Our God Reigns" who are you singing it to? Who are you trying to prove it to?

Why not just sing of your love for Him and extol His virtues. It will unite and invite, and not divide.

I know, I know, I'm different/strange/quirky. Thank you for bearing with me! :)

Oooh! Oooh! God's gonna get you!

2011-06-24T12:27:00.000+02:00

Today I was reading a blog post on Growing with God called "Reverse Justice" . It ended with the following "You can feel safe asking God to help you heal your spiritual wounds while he covers your heart. Allow your heart to trust in him".

It's beautiful, and it speaks to me about God being with you always in all ways, meaning He never forsakes you. So it's funny to me (and not in the ha-ha sense) how so many Christians presume to speak for God when confronting a fellow Christian they believe are rebelling or whom they believe are willfully sinning, presuming to speak for God, saying God will not stay patient for always. Decoded: "You better stop what you're doing or God's gonna get mad and you will be in trou-ble!" And they do it with so much "holy" glee. They almost seem to be glad God is going to punish the person if they keep doing what they're doing, because in their eyes it means there's some justice in the world. If they have to follow the rules, then by golly so do you!

Only problem is, if you're going to say God is love and we know that "love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.." then I think it's safe to assume God has a wee bit more patience with us human beings than we do with each other. It also means He sees into our hearts, and knows why we do what we do. Knowing the motivation behind a person's so called bad behaviour leads to compassion. God is compassionate.

So today I come to the conclusion that God is actively wooing those whom we may see as willfully sinning, trying to heal their wounded heart. He is not getting ready to whip them into shape if they dare to continue for one more second to "defy" Him.

We are all saved by grace. Maybe we should extend some to our neighbour.

*Passage quoted on love is from the well known scripture 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Do you understand what I have done for you?

2011-04-04T21:59:00.000+02:00

Jesus washing his disciples' feet is a familiar passage. I think most of us have experienced a setting where a group took it literally and washed each other's feet. Humbling. Nice. Symbolic. Nothing to write home about I am ashamed to say.

So, I found myself reading it again, but in my NIV translation. (I usually prefer the New Living Translation). Jesus asks his disciples a question and this time it pops out and SPEAKS to me:

Do you understand what I have done for you?(Jhn 13:12)

And it's like I get it... what the crucifixion and resurrection means. The atonement. It's not just about the forgiveness, reconciliation and eternal life. It's about how Jesus washed us clean, spiritually. Only it's not just the fact of him washing us clean that is jumping out at me, but the tender love that went into it that I experience in my heart. It's the love of Abba, Father.

God is lovingly washing me clean, like I am a treasured baby and He is asking me: Do you understand what I have done for you?

Do you understand what He has done for you?

Hard hearted!

2011-03-24T23:35:00.000+02:00

Misty Edwards sings "tears made my heart soft, I am ready for the return of the Lover" in a song to God.

In the Bible it says "for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in." [Mark 6:52]

Jesus said to His disciples, "Don't you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? You have eyes, can't you see? You have ears, can't you hear?" [Mark 8:17-18]

and

‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand.
When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’
[Mat 13:14-15]

We make the choice to harden our hearts. We can make the choice to soften them too! We can make the choice to allow ourselves to cry; to allow those tears to fall. Only we are too proud! "Oh, not me!" we say. "I am not going to cry!" Once you do let go though, you'll find it's a beautiful place. A holy place. A place where you meet God and feel His presence. So today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts. [Heb 3:7-8]

Tears made my heart soft, I am ready for the return of the Lover

Just kill me now, Lord!

2011-02-24T12:37:00.000+02:00

I think we all know the story of Jonah and the whale. How he was to go announce God's judgement on the city of Nineveh and how he tried to get out of it..only to land up in the belly of a whale.

Why did God want to go pronounce judgement on a city? What happened to Him being a God of love? Well, the chapter ends with a verse that explains God's heart towards Nineveh and even it's animals.

But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” (Jonah 4:11)

God was not rubbing His hands together in glee, just waiting to distroy Nineveh. He wanted SAVE the people and the animals.

After Jonah went to Nineveh and gave them God's judgement, the people repented and changed their ways.

Did Jonah feel happy about it? Oh no! Oh no!

In fact, he complained to God saying the reason he ran away the first time was because he knows God is kind and compassionate and merciful and slow to anger and that if the people of Nineveh repented God would save this city. He went on to say "Just kill me now, Lord! I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted (the destruction of the city) will not happen." (Jonah 4:1-3)

Can you imagine that? He'd rather be dead than see God save the people of Nineveh?!

What saddens me is that some Christians also react this way when God saves people they think don't deserve it..people they deem sinners, freaks, evil or whatever they have labelled them. How dare God save them? God is love but surely He can't love those people.

Sobering people. Sobering. Are you judging someone God accepts?

Away with your noisy hymns of praise

2011-02-15T10:38:00.000+02:00

When you start singing with a music ministry band again, even if it's only informal jam sessions, and you read the book of Amos it is humbling.

Amos is definitely not a pleasant Bible book to read, but Sunday I found myself reading from it:

I hate all your show and pretense — the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
(Amos 5:21-24 nlt)

and

You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David.
(Amos 6:5 nlt)

The interesting point this book highlights though is the reason God found their worship offensive was because their lifestyle didn't match their singing. It says "You care nothing about the ruin of your nation." (Amos 6:6)

It would seem to me the biggest sin these people were committing in God's eyes were in oppressing the poor and the needy. (Amos 4:1-2)

God is just not interested in our worship, our lip service, if we ignore hurting people around us, or worse, are the ones hurting them.

"Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living." (Amos 5:24)

Or as it says in Matthew 25...

For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help Me.’
(Matthew 25:42-45 nlt)

Ignorant of the very thing you worship

2011-02-09T12:59:00.000+02:00

It is actually physically uncomfortable to watch or be part of worship when the singers/band do not reach out to God with their spirits while they worship. You can feel it. It's.. flat..dead. I start squirming in my seat. And, no matter how hard I try on my own to just worship God irrespective of what's going on in the service, the fact is I am still very influenced by it.

Matthew 15:8-9
‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

Why does this happen? Why do people who profess to love and want to worship God not really worship Him then? I can give you a reason - It's hard to worship God if you don't really love Him, but actually just feel it's your duty, or worse, fear Him.

Acts 17, verse 23 talks about worshiping a God you don't know, a God you are ignorant about. I feel this is sadly what happens in so many churches, or even happens in the hearts of Christians.

You're not going to love God if you don't know Him. You're not going to get know Him by obeying the rules, and doing or saying the right thing. He's not about rules. Got that? He is NOT ABOUT RULES, no matter how much your pastor preaches on sin, preaches on how you fall short, preaches on how you better stop doing this or that and get in line. God is about relationship. He is about love. He is about drawing you with kindness.

When do you feel love for someone? Isn't it when they accept you unconditionally, love you, care for you, look out for you, are positive and fun?

So why do we think God is like, completely the opposite of the above! That He doesn't accept us, love us, care for us, look out for us. That He's not positive or *gasp* fun?

Just read this, from that dusty book Deuteronomy that we all usually avoid like the plague..

In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.
The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.
He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock, and with oil from the flinty crag,
with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs and goats,
with choice rams of Bashan and the finest kernels of wheat.
You drank the foaming blood of the grape.
(Deut 32:10-14)

Start thinking about love, about God. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 .. would a God like that not be worth getting to know... learning to love?

And then, when your heart is overflowing with that love for God..guess what happens? * drum roll please* Yup, you guessed right! True worship!

Praying honestly

2011-01-28T11:19:00.000+02:00

Last night, as we were closing our bible study/cell group with prayer, I felt frustrated. I kept on feeling we were just on the brink of really powerful prayer but we never crossed over. We were praying for things close to our hearts, but the prayers felt... not powerless exactly, but not very effective either. I know God still heard us, but today as I was pondering this issue, I finally realised what the problem is. We were not praying honestly.

I'm sure the other members of my group must at this moment think I'm not very nice for saying that, but let me explain what I mean. I believe we will all agree on my definition in the end. :-)

Do you know when I really feel that I've prayed and reached God? It's when I tell Him exactly what I want to happen, what end result I would like to happen more than anything in the world and THEN leave Him room to talk to me about it or to make it happen.

Well, what do I mean by this? Say, for example, there's this woman you know in an abusive relationship. You really want her to see the light and get out. You want her to leave that poor example of a human being, she calls her boyfriend. That is what you want. But when you pray, you ask God in general terms to intervene, to touch her, to help her, etc. You don't come before God and just say: "God, I want Miss X to leave Mr Y. I can't stand to see what he's doing to her. You know though, that I can't make another person do anything." You add whatever else is on your heart regarding this, then, with your heart open because you've been completely honest, you wait before God. Maybe He leads you into what to pray, maybe He's silent. But you leave it with Him and I tell you, He usually then does something about the situation that completely and very pleasantly surprises you.

God knows. He knows what you really want deep down in your heart.You are not fooling Him that you don't feel passionately about something by saying a meek "politically correct" prayer. And when you honestly tell Him what you want, it just opens up this huge powerful honest space between the two of you.

Have I made sense?

In love,
Karin

The frustrated Jesus

2011-01-27T22:55:00.000+02:00

So, Jesus arrives in Bethany 4 days after Lazarus has died. The people are wailing and crying, loudly. It was part of their culture at the time to show public displays of grief. Jesus had known Lazarus had been very sick, but he waited four days before He set off to Bethany. He had told his disciples when they first heard of Lazarus being sick that "“Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” (John 11:4). Before they reach Bethany He tells them that “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.” (John 11:14-15)

We are all acquainted with the part of this story that says Jesus wept (John 11:35). What we fail to take notice of is that just before this, in verse 33, it says a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled. Jesus got angry? Angry that people were mourning the death of a loved one? What's up with that?

Remember now, He had told His disciples this would not END in death. He had performed many miracles. The people still did not believe!

In fact, it says in verse 38 that Jesus was still angry as He arrived at the tomb. So I imagine when He said "Roll the stone aside' it wasn't a friendly request. Martha then jumps in saying there's going to be an unpleasant smell because he has been dead 4 days after all.

I imagine the next words of Jesus was still not the friendliest: "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?" (John 11:40)

These people are not listening to Him! I believe we all know the frustration when people just. don't. listen.

Jesus then goes on to pray what I believe is a very exasperated prayer: “Father, thank you for hearing me. [Karin's note: Father, at least YOU are listening to me].You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

Then, what does He do? He SHOUTS: Lazarus, come out!

The title of my blog is Listening for God. Are we really listening?

Paper Prayers

2010-11-20T11:34:00.000+02:00

It's summer, it's Saturday and I stand amazed at how God has started answering the prayers on my prayer sheets. "Prayer sheets?" you may be asking. Well, I suppose it's prayer journaling; writing my prayers down instead of praying them out loud. I'm penning down requests about the things that are causing me to worry or that are making me unhappy. It's short, it's precise, immediate. There are no long term wishes or goals or even rambling. It's God and I, right here, right now. Initially I just folded up that first piece of prayer paper and went about my day. Then God answered one of the prayer requests on the very same day I wrote about it. Bam! Got MY attention! So I have continued my prayer sheets but now I stick them in a folder. Feels like a FBI dosier. Tehehehe. Moving on.. Today, God started answering another prayer. I wanted to sit there gaping open mouthed at Person X, but well, she was unaware that what she had just said was so unlike her usual response AND that it was exactly what I've started praying for that I had to keep it all inside. Oh, but inside I was air fist pumping: YES! YES! YES!

Sooooo, I'm very exited about this. It's hard to explain my feelings about these prayers other than to say it's not like I see God as some kind of cosmic genie that grants my every wish. What it is, is a love relationship with G-O-D, a beautiful majestic royal Spirit Being who loves me and who loves to answer prayer. I'm snuggling up to my eternal Lover and if God answers a prayer it's gorgeous. If God doesn't, well I'm still in awe and adoration, trusting the one that is the very definition of reliable.

Knowing God

2010-10-17T12:49:00.000+02:00

And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. ~John 17:3

"Knowing" someone is to enter into a close relationship with that person.
John 15 talks about remaining in the Vine (Jesus). The Greek word for remain is "meno" which, according to my NLT Study Bible, means to remain/stay/abide. My Bible's study notes go on to say it means to have a "profound, intimate, enduring relationship."

"I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us." (John 15:21)

"This mutual indwelling between God and the believer/disciple is not a fleeting or temporary commitment but an unending, permanent and eternal relationship."

God wants us to know Him.

Hosea 4:6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests.

Hosea 6:3 Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him.He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

Hosea 6:6 I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.

Knowing God, being one with Him, to me is a union that fills me with peace, with bliss. So when God says we are to love each other the same way He has loved us in the same passage that speaks about remaining in Him, well, it takes on a whole new meaning. Do we really have any idea what it is to love God, love ourselves, love each other? To have that intimacy, joy, peace, bliss in knowing God, ourselves, each other?

Wow.

Desperate Hope vs Trust

2010-07-05T10:31:00.000+02:00

When we have a "desperate" situation in our lives, it's not always easy to "let go and let God". Somehow we feel that if we stop worrying, then all will completely fall apart. God keeps reminding me through different books and "mentors" to trust Him. Completely. I hope the excerpts below speak to you today as they spoke to me.

Quotes by Florence Scovel Shinn

Anything forced into manifestation through personal will, is always "ill-got" and has "ever bad success."
Man is admonished, "My will (God's will) be done not thine," and the curious thing is, man always gets just what he desires when he does relinquish personal will, thereby enabling Infinite Intelligence to work through him.

Put it in God's hands and use this statement:
-I put this situation in the hands of Infinite love and Wisdom; if this is the divine plan, I bless it and no longer resist, but if it is not divinely planned, I give thanks that it is now dissolved and dissipated.

-Divine Love now dissolves and dissipates every wrong condition in my mind, body and affairs. Divine Love is the most powerful chemical in the universe, and dissolves everything which is not of itself!
-Divine Love floods my consciousness, and every cell in my body is filled with light.

From the Bible:
Matthew 6:9-13 - Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

May Your Kingdom come soon.
May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Quotes from Matha Beck:
-I just keep seeing evidence that we can throw ourselves into the bright void of hope, fully expecting to be lifted right back up. Trust!
-The universe doesn't reward desperation-neither desperate hope nor desperate anxiety. To reward it would only teach us to sustain it.
-Seriously, here's how to make things happen: drop the evil-twin attachments of desperate hope & desperate fear: rest in trust. It works.
-Create only from a place of peace. If you don't feel peace, go inward and heal before you create.

From the Bible:
Isaiah 30:15 - This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "Only in returning to Me and resting in Me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.

Lastly, this devotional by Joseph Prince appeared on my Facebook newsfeed just after I had posted this blog entry originally:

Rest And Receive Your Miracle

Hebrews 4:9 -There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

In the healing of the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–16), Jesus knew that for 38 years, the man had been flat on his back, unable to do anything for himself or others, no matter how hard he struggled.

In the case of the woman oppressed with a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:10–13), Jesus knew that the woman had been bowed over for 18 years. And in that condition, she saw very little that was beautiful in life, only thedusty ground, dirty sandals and bruised feet.

What about the man with a withered hand? (Luke 6:6–10) Jesus knew from His carpenter days how a useless hand could have easily given the man a very poor sense of self-worth.

I believe that all three of them must have struggled for so long to get back on their feet, to try to lift themselves up, to attempt to do something about their situations, only to be disappointed each time they failed. In fact, they got so frustrated with striving to get better that by the time they met Jesus, they had probably given up trying to change their situations.

It was then that Jesus came and extended His offer to turn their situations around. And when they embraced His offer, they received the miracles that they had sought for so long.

You too may have been struggling to get back on your feet, or to lift yourself out of the problem that has sorely weighed you down. You have attempted to do whatever you could, hoping that it would amount to something, but you have been frustrated time and again. My friend, God wants you to cease from all your struggling and accept the offer He extends to turn your situation around.

It is no coincidence that all three of them received their miracles on the Sabbath, the day of rest for the Jews. God’s Word says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.” The day you cease from your own laboring and striving, and rest in the finished work of Christ, is the day you receive your miracle.

Jesus has done all the work. Whatever you need has been provided for at the cross. So just be at rest and receive your miracle!

Thought of The Day
God wants you to cease from all your struggling and accept the offer He extends to turn your situation around.

The Drop of blood

2010-06-29T20:31:00.000+02:00

I see in my mind's eye, a drop of the blood of Jesus dripping onto the forehead of our spiritual bodies. Then how it penetrates to our physical bodies until the whole person is covered and purified, washed and protected with and by the blood of the Lamb.

This is how I envision spiritually applying the blood of Jesus when I start thinking of covering someone with the blood of Jesus through prayer.

I started thinking about this topic of pleading the blood after feeling prompted to read again about the account of how the Israelites protected their 1st born children during the plagues in Egypt by covering the doorposts with the blood of a pure lamb.

But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying.

When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

(Exodus 12:13).

Then Retha McPherson started talking about it again in her newsletters on spiritual warfare/protection (Retha McPherson Ministries)

It was also the topic the pastor ended the sermon with at a church service I attended this Sunday - pleading the blood of Jesus over a person by putting your hand on their forehead and praying.

When we think of blood, we think of red... of stains. It isn't logical to think that washing with blood can make you clean. Spiritually though, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us.

They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

(Revelation 7:14b)

As that old hymn says: ♪♫ There is power in the blood! ♪♫

God, Your will be done on earth

2010-06-09T15:12:00.000+02:00

So yesterday evening a friend who has cancer asks for my prayer support because her faith is running on empty a bit. I "happen" upon Greg Anderson who wrote a book called "Cancer and the Lord's Prayer".

Greg and his wife Linda responded to the following question in an interview on the Kyria website
Your book talks about the Lord's Prayer. What role did that play?

Greg: One clause that's often overlooked is, "Thy will be done." A lot of people pray, "Lord, help me. Heal me. Take the cancer away." But there comes a spiritual maturity that says, "Lord, above all, make known to me your will. And I will do whatever possible to make that my life." I didn't say take away the cancer. I said, "Use the cancer." I didn't say, "Perform a miracle," I said, "Lord, help me reveal your will."

Linda: When we started to concentrate on that during Greg's cancer, God started to move emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

(You can read the rest of the article here: 30 days to live)

So I go read the Lord's prayer again in the Bible (Matthew 6) and it lists a reference to 1 Chronicles 29:10-12

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours, O Lord, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from You alone, for You rule over everything. Power and might are in Your hand, and at Your discretion people are made great and given strength.

Then I "happen" upon a website of Pieter van Rooyen called Business Unusual (Banking on God)

He lists a prayer on his website under the following heading:
If you are desperate for miracles in your Life, Health, Family, Finances or Business please pray this prayer out loud:

“Lord Jesus I come to You today to give You all praise and glory for who You are. I declare You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Lord You alone reign over the universe. I thank you that you love me so much that you even created me into your image (Gen1:26-27) and that you have given me authority here on earth over all things, except man (Gen1:28). Lord you taught us to pray: “…let Your kingdom come, [here] on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). Lord I declare that in heaven there is abundance in every area of my life. In heaven there is no sickness and no diseases, in heaven my family are well, happy and are all serving you, in heaven there is no lack of finances and in heaven my business is prosperous! Lord You call me an ambassador (2 Cor 5:20) of the Kingdom of Heaven, You call me a son (child) of the Most High (2 Cor 6:18) and an heir to Your throne (Gal 4:7). As a born again citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, I declare I have authority (Gen. 1:28) over every area of my life and I plead Lord that Your kingdom come in my (life/health/family/ finances/business), as it is in heaven. Lord I ask that You protect me and that You put a hedge around (Job 1:10) me and my (life/health/family/ finances/business). I declare greater miracles (John 14:12) in my life and receive it now by faith only. I ask this in the name of Jesus, AMEN.”

Take a new look at the Lord's prayer. Don't say it just as a ritual but let it come alive as you talk to God.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and glory, forever.

Amen!

Praying is YOUR responsibility

2010-06-08T16:25:00.000+02:00

Now don't get me wrong, if someone asks for prayer support, of course you pray with them. At other times, God will even lead you to pray for someone who may never even know that you prayed for them.

What I am talking about here is people who say " I don't know how to pray", or "God doesn't listen to my prayers, so please will you pray FOR me." (The implication is "I am not going to pray for this myself", and "your prayers carry more power than mine")

You don't get saved because someone else believes in Jesus Christ on your behalf. God gives us free will to choose to believe in Him. Expecting someone else to do your praying work for you, well, ultimately that's not going to work either.

God is not a genie in a bottle - there to grant your every wish while you couldn't be bothered to talk to Him. He is your God, who also longs to be a close and intimate friend. He wants you to get to know Him, love Him, trust Him, spend time just breathing in His presence ... as you reach out to Him, pour out your heart to Him, believe in His goodness, rest in Him, you will find your trust in Him growing.

This is not going to happen if you continually ask others to pray for you while you go on your merry way.

Start believing that God is who He says He is: LOVE
Start doing what He says: forgive, bless and pray for your enemies; have faith

It's God who answers the prayer and it's got nothing to do with any "special powers" the person praying may appear to have. He is available to all who seek Him. The death and resurrection of Jesus gave us all direct access to the Father. Believe it!

My prayer today is that all of us will grow closer to Him, reach out to Him, receive His love peace guidance and yes, even miracles!
Thank you, Jesus
Amen.

2 Corinthians 1:24 (New Living Translation)
But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.

Cold Love

2010-05-26T09:52:00.000+02:00

Last night reading the Bible a verse caught my attention in Matthew 24:

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. ~Matthew 24:12-13 (NIV)

I started wondering why the love of most would "grow cold as wickedness increased" and I can think of 2 reasons why people's love for God would decrease:

1) "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"
We become more and more desensitised to violence, lust, etc so that we accept it as normal and join in.

2) "What's the use when there's all this evil and suffering in the world?"
We start questioning if God exists because of the presence of evil and suffering.

Love is what it's all about. God is love, and God wants us to love Him, ourselves and all others.

Don't allow circumstances to rob you of your love for God. Rather focus on His goodness, His nature, His love and allow the Holy Spirit to keep your heart open, flexible and responsive.

It makes life worth living!

Have a blessed day!

The women in Jesus' bloodline

2010-05-02T15:22:00.000+02:00

Matthew 1 starts with the genealogy of Jesus. Now genealogies don't really spark much excitement for most people, myself included.

However, I have been pleasantly surprised to learn a few valuable lessons from a dry old list of names.

It is worthy to note that the genealogy in Matthew 1 mentions five women! It's rare for one woman to be named in a genealogy like this, let alone five. The five woman are: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Besides the fact that imperfect people ("sinners") make out part of the genealogy of Jesus, the first wow is ....

David & Bathsheba, the parents of Solomon

Mistakes can be part of God's plan

Their relationship started out as adultery. Bathsheba was married to Uriah. David sent Uriah into battle, making sure all his supporting men would withdraw as the battle heated up so Uriah would be killed. Murder, adultery.. not exactly a spotless background.

What stands out for me in this is that even though we may sin, make a sinful, wrong choice and have to deal with consequences of that sin (David & Bathsheba's first baby died) ... many times what we want to think of as a "mistake" or wrong choice is something God uses in the bigger picture of life as part of His plan. He uses everything for His glory.

The second wow is...

Rahab

Prostitute by profession

I read about Rahab again recently while reading about the fall of Jericho and then someone pointed out to me that she is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. I immediately checked for myself! *smile* I never made the connection that it was THIS Rahab. What it boils down to is that Rahab was a prostitute, not a Jew, who hid some Israelite spies and saved their lives, and therefore she was saved when the city of Jericho was destroyed. She went on to become the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth.

Our sin, our past, doesn't keep God from using us. Those whom the church would judge as unfit outsiders are sometimes the very people God wants to use!

1 Samuel 16:7

The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Romans 2:11

For God does not show favoritism.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

To end, my bible's footnote says Romans 8:28 can also read:

And we know in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who have been called according to His purpose.

Make Jesus your Guru

2010-04-21T19:58:00.000+02:00

I've been reading a book by Lester Levenson that made the suggestion to constantly think of your Master, constantly read his words, as though he's talking to you directly.

Well, I have only one Master in my life, Jesus, so let's rephrase that:
Constantly think of Jesus, your Saviour, constantly read His words, as though He's talking to you directly.

I wanted to give it a go, so I thought of the passage where Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. Settling down I imagined a fuzzy image of a human form of Jesus saying these words to me as I read them in the Bible, and I suggest you do the same thing. Imagine Jesus saying this directly to you:

⁵... "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
⁶Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
⁸Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
⁹Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?¹⁰Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. ¹²I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:5-12)

You know what happened to me when I did that? I realised for the first time how that must have sounded to His disciples ... here is this "man" Jesus, saying God the Father is in Him and He is in God the Father. Wow. He must have known too how our little minds would try to wrap themselves around that because in verse 11 he says, "BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY that I am in the Father and the Father is in me."

I've since tried this experiment with the passages on loving your enemy and judging in Luke 6. It really makes you see things you may not have seen before!

So next time you read the Bible, go to a passage where Jesus is speaking and imagine Him saying the words to YOU.

God bless,
Karin

Sing over you

2010-03-24T13:16:00.000+02:00

Sometimes, when we think of loved ones going through a tough time, we start feeling despair. We start feeling a sense of hopelessness, because we want to help them and we can't. We get so lost in the negative details of their lives and not seeing a way out for them that we find it hard to even pray for them. Right then, focusing on the impossible, we can't see what IS possible.

At other times, someone may have hurt us. It could have been inadvertently or it could have been on purpose. Either way, hurting, we find it hard to pray for them, let alone pray blessings over them.

What if you don't have to say a prayer for them?
What if you could sing over them instead?

Sing? Yes, Sing!

Sing God's heart over them. God after all is good and loving to all. God is mighty to save and the God of the impossible. God is also singing over you. Heaven is singing over you.

For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."

Zephaniah 3:17

All this went through my mind as I listened to THERE IS ALWAYS A SONG on the Compassionart album. I've heard it many times before, but yesterday I really listened.

Please read through the lyrics below, and if you can, watch the youtube video link given below it.

Blessings!
Karin

There is always a song

I don’t know how to breathe
I don’t know how to leave you
I don’t know what to say
And who am I to say it anyway

But there is always a song
And I’ll try to sing along over you
I can hear it being sung
All of heaven sings along over you

I hardly know your name
I didn’t come to save you
Your smile just broke my heart
Now in my heart I know you’ll never leave me.

Sing, sing like you’ve never sung
Sing for your joy to come
Sing, sing like you’ve never sung
Sing of our joy to come
© 2008 GloWorks Limited for CompassionArt

Finding meaning in your life

2010-02-16T10:45:00.000+02:00

We generally all want to believe that God created us for a specific reason or purpose, and that we have some mission to fulfill for Him.

Last night I was pondering the fact that it really may not be any kind of "official" mission (like preacher, prophet, singer, etc.), but just simply living your life where you are and serving God and others with it. Still, a part of me feels there must be some specific mission we all need to fulfill in our lives.

While following up some verses on "grace" in my Bible study, my eyes lighted on Acts 20:24, "But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus- the work of telling others the good news about the wonderful grace of God."

Our lives really does not feel like there is any lasting meaning / purpose to it unless we serve others in a way shown to us by Jesus, for Jesus.

With that in mind, let's give of ourselves to serve others in some way, and ask God to make it clear how He would use us individually.

2 Corinthians 9:12-13
..this ministry of giving...as a result of your ministry they will give glory to God.

Acts 20:35
It's more blessed to give than to receive.

A private audience with God

2010-02-11T12:12:00.000+02:00

Last night I was feeling tired and drained after a difficult day at work, dealing with a difficult applicant all via email. Although I had done nothing wrong, I had been the one this person vented on all day long.

So at one stage in the evening I aimlessly paged through my Bible, emotionally not really open to anything I read.

Then I focused on the heading "Hezekiah asks for help" in Isaiah 37. That slowly got my attention, especially this part:

Isaiah 37:14-16

After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lordof Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth.

From the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary:

The phrase, "dwellest between the cherubim," arose from their position at each end of the mercy seat, while the Shekinah (glory), and the awful name, Jehovah, in written letters, were in the intervening space. They are so inseparably associated with the manifestation of God's glory, that whether the Lord is at rest or in motion, they always are mentioned with Him (Nu 7:89; Ps 18:10).

I just got this sense of God calling me to enter into His presence, to come right into His throne room, and just tell Him how terrible my day had been and soak in His peace and awesome Presence.

But so many times we just feel sorry for ourselves and don't feel like praying. What God wanted me to see is this is not "praying" in the traditional sense, this is just running to God's inner sanctuary and being with Him there while He restores my soul.

With that in mind, these verses below took on a much richer meaning for me.

Hebrews 4:14,16

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe...So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 6:19-20

This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 10: 19-22

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Ephesians 3:12
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

Ephesians 2:18

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

Loving God with your all

2010-02-08T12:39:00.001+02:00

"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."
Matthew 22:37

That verse took on a new meaning for me today.

It happened because I'm studying some material by Ariel & Shya Kane about living in the moment.

They are passionate about the concept of being present in your own life, because you are either living your life, or thinking about your life. You can't do both at the same time. You miss your own life if you become preoccupied.

So in that context, what does loving the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind mean? Bringing all of your attention to God when you love Him.

It's just like when we talk to a loved one, we want all of their attention at that time. We want the gift of the whole person engaged with us in that moment.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

The Lord really is good

2010-02-03T09:50:00.000+02:00

We have all heard that verse "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Ps 34:8) so many times that we don't even "hear" what is says anymore!

The Lord is good.

The problem is that many times and for some people all the time, we don't actually believe God is good. We've got our evidence to the contrary. Life has dealt us some heavy blows, we get depressed, someone breaks our heart, we don't get that job we so desperately needed... and we're left thinking God doesn't really care. Or worse, that's He's vindictive and spiteful.

Psalm 118 starts by saying give thanks to the Lord for He is .... *drumroll please*... good. And continues on to say "His faithful love endures forever." It says so again in Psalm 136, oh and in 2 Chronicles 20:21...and so forth and so forth.

The Lord is good.

Lamentations 3:25 goes on to say "The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him."

And what about Isaiah 30:18-19? It doesn't specifically mention the word good, but that's pretty much what it means..

So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion.

For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.

He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.

If you are weary and longing to experience the Lord's goodness, listen to the song on the youtube video below.

The lyrics to Peace Be Still
Come to Me, you who are weakLet My strength be yours tonight; Come and rest, let My love be your bed
Let My heart be yours tonight

Peace be still, Peace be still; Please be still and know that I am God
And know that I am God

Come empty cup, let Me fill you up; I'll descend on you like a dove tonight
Lift your head, let your eyes fall into Mine; Let your fear subside tonight

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

To this end was I born

2010-02-02T12:36:00.000+02:00

The New Living translation of John 18:37 reads as follows:

Pilate said, “So you are a king?”
Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

Most translations read as follows:

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

The second version make us focus more on the fact that Jesus confirmed He is a king, than on what he stated as his life's purpose (born to testify to the truth), whereas the New Living Translation, by not confirming what Pilate asked, brings the focus to the fact that Jesus "was born and came into the world to testify to the truth".

Okay, go read them again to see what I mean. :-)

Neat huh, but it gets better! The following two emails I received later on pretty much confirmed what that verse means to me when I read it. That I too was born with a purpose, to testify to the truth. The first devotional, The purpose of life, doesn't mention who wrote it, which is a pity. The second devotional is a prophetic word (I love you) that gets sent out to all members on the list.

See what they mean to you.

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

"To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth."-- John 18:37.

This was our Lord's answer to Pilate's inquiry, and to a certain extent each of us may appropriate His words. Wordsworth's immortal lines suggest that we stood before God to receive our commission, ere we became clothed with this body of humiliation. Whether or not the poet is right in his surmise, that "not in utter nakedness or forgetfulness do we come from God, who is our Home," we need not argue. It is enough that God, who hates nothing that He has made, sent us forth to realise an ideal, to fulfil a purpose, to bear witness to some phase of Truth! Shall we not ask ourselves, as in His Presence, whether we are fulfilling the

Divine purpose of what the Apostle calls "our high calling"? (Phil 3:14).God created each soul with a purpose. The potter takes in hand a lump of clay with a distinct design. He means, when he places it on the horizontal wheel, to make of it a vessel to adorn a temple or palace, or he has in mind to serve some household use. The revolving wheel on the one hand, and his skilful manipulation on the other, will evolve and complete his purpose. "Cannot I do with you, as this potter? saith the Lord."

"Thou hast made me and fashioned me. Thou didst choose the time and circumstances of my birth, my parentage and heredity, my mental equipment and my physical frame. From the first Thou didst know the constitution of my body, which Thou didst fashion in secret, and curiously work in the lowest places of the earth."

To our humble challenge: "Why hast Thou made me thus?" God does not always give an audible reply. His answer is often voiceless, it steals in upon the soul insensibly, and we know that we are fulfilling His purpose. If you are engaged in some unwelcome task, which evidently is your duty; if you are shut up as companion with some uncongenial charge; if you are called to minister to people who seem unresponsive or unsympathising, ask that the Saviour and you may be yoked together, that His Will may be done through you, that His love and kindness may bear and forbear in you, and that you may witness to the truth, as it is in Jesus.

PRAYER
O God, some of us shrink from our life-work, from those with whom we have to associate, from unwelcome toil and irksome tasks. Enable us to see Thy plan, and to trust Thee who art working out Thy plan in our lives. May the love of Christ constrain us no longer to live unto ourselves, but to Him. AMEN.

I LOVE YOU

This word is submitted by Vanessa Whittaker
I created you all for a reason and I embrace you as My child. Stand
strong in what I have given you, for I chose you from eternity. My
hand is overcoming your enemies. Let Me work, and you will see wonders,
for My hand is on you, and I am looking after you.

I love you, My child, and you have been bought by the blood of the
Lamb. You don't realize how precious you are to Me. I am your Loving
Father, and I wish to guide you all though Life. Just take My hand.
The adventure is about to begin...

Live a life filled with love

2010-01-12T13:41:00.000+02:00

I work with the public and as such there are days when the people can get on your very last nerve. It was at the end of one of those days that I paged through the new testament, looking at scriptures I've highlighted. Funny how the Lord made the verses following "jump" off the page.

As you start reading you'll notice that we fail many, many times to follow the guidelines and commandments below. It is only through relying on the Holy Spirit to guide and change us that we will improve in loving others. That will only happen as we spend time with Him, "disgarding everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that you can gain Christ and become one with Him." (Philippians 3:8b-9)

Prayerfully and peacefully read through the list of scriptures below, allowing the Holy Spirit to change your heart and attitude.

What is important is faith expressing itself in love. (Galatians 5:6b)

He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you. (Colossians 1:8)

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. (Ephesians 5:2)

You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. (James 1:19b)

They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone. (Titus 3:2)

Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (Ephesians 4:29)

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. (2 Timothy 2:24 )

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. (Colossians 3:12-13)

Do everything without complaining and arguing (Philippians 2:14)

Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. (James 5:9)

I'm sure the Lord will lead you to more scriptures as you read your Bible.

Be blessed.

Isn't it just like our Lord?

2009-12-28T13:15:00.000+02:00

Funny how this blog article happened. I've been feeling anything but inspired to write because I'm going through some personal things (emotionally dark times) and seeking the Lord on that.

The importance of reading the Bible is evident in how the Lord brought this article about though... twice yesterday at different times and in different bibles I read the account of Jesus's return on the clouds in Mark 13.

Mark 13:24-27 (New Living Translation)

“At that time, after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,

the moon will give no light,

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory.

And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

At first I didn't see how this passage could have ANY bearing to my situation but then today, I open my Bible at Isaiah 60:19-20 and a little light bulb goes on in this preoccupied little brain of mine.

Isaiah 60:19-20 (New Living Translation)

“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,

nor the moon to give its light by night,

for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set;

your moon will not go down.

For the Lord will be your everlasting light.

Your days of mourning will come to an end.

When we are going through dark times, through anguish..when it seems like the sun is darkened, the moon gives no light, the stars have fallen from the sky. etc. (see the Mark 13 passage I quoted in article above)... It is THEN that you will see Jesus Christ coming in great power and glory.

When you have nothing else to cling to, nothing else to hope on, nothing else to distract you..you will see your Saviour, the Light of the world, coming to you in power and glory. What a glorious image! What a wonderful hope!

Just keep trusting in the Lord, waiting on Him, pouring your heart out to Him, reading His word. He cares, He listens and He's coming!

Let your light shine? What light?

2009-12-24T12:17:00.002+02:00

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

A couple of emails and some Bible passages I read really got me onto the topic of “Shining for Christ”. Well, God surely is not finished on this subject with me yet!

This morning, I journaled a prayer asking God to show me exactly how He created me, as the unique human being Karin, to shine for Him with the personality, gifts and talents He gave me.

God has started answering that prayer.

I came to the realisation that I don’t believe my life is worth much unless I serve and enrich the lives of others. You know that whole sounding brass, or tinkling cymbal thing. (1 Corinthians 13)

I want my life to make a difference for good.

That train of thought actually made me feel a little depressed, because I got stuck thinking well I don’t do an awful lot, do I? What difference am I making?

Just to illustrate how God can speak to you in funny ways so you make the connection...

I starting thinking of one of my aunts and how her sunny bright personality is one way she serves others because she is focused & interested on them and not herself and her positive energy is quite infectious!

That in turn got me to thinking about how by just being who I am, who God made me, not necessarily doing anything special, I may be serving others.

Answers started coming that showed me how I may be making a difference even though I feel I’m not.

For instance, I usually allow others to just “be”. Be who they are. I may not agree with their beliefs or their actions, but as long as no one is being harmed, I let them be. I think that makes people relax and feel safe in your presence, doesn’t it?

There were more answers I wrote down and I’m waiting for more clarity, but I shared that example above to show you how it can be anything about you that makes a difference in the lives of others... it’s that something that they like about being with you. For you your gift may be your hospitality, or your sympathetic ear, or just the way you hug people hello. Take some time to pray and think about it how you may be making a difference in the lives of others. I’m sure God will show you one or two things about yourself that you can do more consistently and use to serve His children.

Of course, God just loves confirming messages so again, online articles/emails spoke about this issue of 1) being a light for Christ and 2) all of us having a special way to shine for Christ.

Enjoy the two pieces below and let them speak to your heart.

Below I share with you an extract of email 1 as well as the full article on LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE.

Subject: Making Jesus attractive to all this Christmas

From Brigitte Petro Petrick

Pastor Deborah had a powerful message this past Sunday, about us being the salt and light in the world. She spoke about us being the carriers of Christ’s light. One of the questions she asked was, “Can people tell that you are a light carrier for Christ?” It reminded me about a scripture God spoke to me about a couple of weeks ago -- a scripture I want to take into 2010 with me as a, shall we say, main focus!

Philippians 1v11: Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. (MSG)

Can you imagine living a life that makes Jesus Christ attractive to all, that leads to getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God? Awesome, wouldn’t you say! It is such a huge responsibility we have… carrying the light of Christ into the world. Have you considered the opposite: if we as Christians reflect the world rather than Christ, would people still be attracted to Christ if they can’t tell the difference between us and the world? I don’t think so! I think it is due to us being so different to what the world knows, that we make Christ attractive to the people around us. Can you imagine showing love to someone you feel doesn’t deserve it, or compassion to someone you barely know? The beginning of this scripture speaks about us living a lover’s life -– awesome -- showing and sowing love wherever we go! Now that is what would make Christ attractive to the world!

Let us go into 2010 living a lover’s life, a life that makes Jesus Christ attractive to all, which leads to God receiving all the glory! That will be my mission in 2010. Remember to carry Christ’s light into every place you go!

Have a blessed Christmas
Love, Brigitte

Let Your Light So Shine by Marnie Pehrson

Link to article: http://www.shelovesgod.com/library/article.cfm?articleid=5316

This weekend I had the unfortunate privilege of attending the memorial service for a childhood friend. Lamar Combs, who would have been thirty-seven this month, was training his dog to duck hunt, when he was thrown from his boat and drowned. The community of Chattanooga poured out their love and support for the family in a search and rescue mission that lasted for almost four days.
While I hadn't seen Lamar since 10th grade and my memories of him were fuzzy, two things stood out in my mind about him. He was always smiling, and he never made fun of people the way a lot of other kids did. As I listened to his friends and family share their memories of him, it became obvious that this happy Christian young man continued to befriend and love others into adulthood. Individual after individual shared with a large sanctuary packed with people the way he made them feel good about themselves -- the way he took an interest in each of them and cheered them up when they were down. He genuinely loved and cared for other people. He was a good husband and doting father to his four-year-old daughter and was looking forward to the birth of their second child in February.
While I was driving home from the memorial service, I asked myself, What can I learn from Lamar? Surely good must come of every tragedy. Nothing is wasted if we can all learn from it. The admonition of the Savior found in Matthew 5:14-16 came into my mind:
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Lamar let his light shine. He brought glory to his Father in heaven. Sometimes I think I have to do some big or grand thing to make a difference in the world. But I learned from Lamar that an ordinary man, who loves his wife and children, who reaches out to others and shares his warmth and smile, someone who looks for ways to build others up can leave a lasting impact on the world. I was awestruck by the sheer number of people who were touched by the life of Lamar Combs -- someone the world would call an ordinary man, but who lived his life in an extraordinary way.
We each have the light of Christ within us. Jesus Christ is the Light that shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehendeth it not (John 1:5). We bring glory to our Father in heaven when we let Christ's light shine through us and out to others. We don't have to be someone we're not. We don't need to covet the talents of others. We each have unique gifts, talents and messages to share with the world. Christ's light shines through us when we are who He created us to be. We let His light shine when we give of ourselves, when we truly love others and share what God has given us. Great things happen, people are touched, and lives are changed when we let His light shine.

Why be the moth when you can be the flame?

2009-12-23T11:37:00.000+02:00

God's been talking to me lately about shining for Him ever since my previous post His Light Shines.

(Click here to read His Light Shines)

I've read scriptures and received emails and read some more scriptures and they all talk about shining for Christ because He shines on us and in us, and wants to draw all men unto Himself.

So bear with me and read through the scriptures and emails I've received...

2 Corinthians 3:7-8 - The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 - But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

2 Corinthians 5:20 - We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

The email I received:

December 17, 2009
A Star Is Born: Thoughts on the star which led the Magi to the King of the Jews
By Rev. Judy Bauman

Recently I have been asking the Lord some specific questions about the "star" seen by the Magi from the east. It is one thing to see a star and use it for navigation, as astronomers have done for centuries, but this star guided these men directly to one specific house. The star is reported in Scripture to lead them exactly to the house where the Child Jesus (Yeshua) is found with His mother. This was more than men using the stars for navigation; this was a supernatural sign from heaven. (See Matthew 2:1-12)

So what exactly does this mean to us now and how do we apply it to our lives? If you turn to Philippians 2:14-16a (NIV), you will see a wonderful connection to us as believers and the Star that led the Magi from the east. The apostle Paul writes (emphasis mine):

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life?

People are searching for the King, for their Savior, for a Friend, for the One who eternally loves their soul. They are seeking for the One we know, love and serve. They are looking for Jesus the King of the Jews, but they need a star to guide them! So my question to you is: Will you be one who will shine like stars in the universe and hold out the Word of Life to those who so desperately need to find Christ the Lord?

In Him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:4)

When the Magi saw the Star stop over the house, they were overjoyed. Who will be overjoyed because you shined this Christmas? You were born to be a star - so shine!

May the Father keep you in His love both now and forever,

Rev. Judy Bauman

I've also been reading about Christ as our Light and I'll end of with a few of those scriptures with you too:

Isaiah 9:2 - The people walking in darkness have seen a great Light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a Light has dawned.

Luke 1:78-79 - because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Rising Sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

There are more scriptures that speak of God as the Light. Go find them! :-)

His light shines

2009-12-11T14:52:00.000+02:00

2 Corinthians 4:5-7 (Nlt)

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

A company driver handed me a pamphlet this morning saying God had laid me strongly on his heart the last time he was at our office. This pamphlet is for ONE IN CHRIST ministries and they do discipleship training one evening per week.

Then the next applicant, a Zimbabwean, right after the driver had left (and the above driver spoke Afrikaans so this Zimbabwean gentlemen wouldn't have understood what was said) says: "There is something very different about you. Are you a Christian?" So I say yes, then he just says, "God bless you and your family".

Some days I don't think I'm a good witness for Christ but I'm glad His light still shines.

Quick prayers to settle the nerves

2009-12-10T10:20:00.002+02:00

A list of a few affirmations by Catherine Ponder. I use them as prayers.

"This situation does not dismay me. God is with me to uphold and sustain me, and to make all things right. I trust everything in my life to the tender care of the Father. I know his will for me is health, happiness, prosperity, spiritual unfoldment and all that is good."

I do not resist this situation. I put it in God’s hands of infinite love and wisdom. Let the divine idea come to pass. If this situation is the divine plan, I bless it and no longer resist it, but if it’s not divinely planned, I give thanks that it is now dissolved and dissipated.

I give this burden of _____ to God and I go free to be ______.

There is nothing to fear. God’s Spirit of love and good is at work and divine results are coming forth.

There is a divine solution to this situation. The divine solution appears now.

Jesus Christ is providing the perfect results in this matter now.

The same God that first motivated this financial transaction is now mightily at work, clearing it up for the highest good for all concerned.

I now bless everyone, everything and every situation in my life.

God doesn’t need any time and God is never too late. With God all things are possible.

I give thanks for the immediate, complete payment of all financial obligations, in God’s own wonderful way. God is the source of my supply.

Follow God's nudges

2009-12-04T10:41:00.002+02:00

Trust God’s promptings, His inspiration!

My spouse has her own training company. Business died down after an ex business partner stole training right out from under her even though there was a service level agreement (contract) in place. That is one of the reasons he is an EX business partner. LOL! So she had to deal with the betrayal, and needed new work soon!

God’s been training me for years now to trust Him for our finances because of the fluctuations in income + work due to the nature of my spouse’s work.

So I started trusting Him for our specific needs in this instance and praying for new work opportunities.

I actually remember that right after we started finding out how sneaky the ex business partner really was, that God lead me to a verse in the Bible. That night I prayed for us asking Jesus to be my spouse’s business partner.

This is the verse I read - translated as follows in my New Living Translation Bible:

1 Corinthians 1:19

God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

A little while later my spouse has an idea to call a contact she knows in a large hotel group. She supervised training for his daughter at one stage.

After staying on her case for a couple of days my spouse finally called – and he wanted to set up a meeting.

The reason I stayed on her case to make that call was because I felt that this was a divine connection God brought to her mind.

The meeting went very well but there was talk of the training only starting next year. Nothing confirmed or final yet. We needed income for the end of December!

This is where the goodness of God just overwhelms.

The person in the hotel group phoned my spouse to let her know he had referred one of their hotels for urgent training. They need it this year still! The hotel has already sent my spouse and email requesting a quote.

PRAISE. THE. LORD!

Remember, when God gives you a hunch, or an idea ---> follow through!!!

An empty vessel

2009-11-27T15:22:00.001+02:00

I follow a blog by Judy R Hansen. She leads people into meditative prayers to experience the love of Jesus. Her teachings on forgiveness, for example, includes giving every emotion that is not love or loving (anger, bitterness, offense) to Jesus for his care keeping (that is what He did for us on the cross anyway, bore our sins, our griefs, our afflications) and to let Him fill us with His love. Doesn't that sound like a beautiful thing to do? To give the ugly to God so His love and beauty can fill us?

So anyway, I'm also busy reading Message of Faith by Retha and Aldo McPherson. In the book Retha recounts how she asked God why He could only fill her with His Holy Spirit after her throne room encounter with Him when she had come to the end of her rope. She thought she had been filled all these years. God told her it was because she was finally empty of herself. That He can't pour His Spirit into someone who is still full of him/herself. Now I read that and I'm meditating on what that means and my flesh thinks: "No, thank you. I want to stay in control. I don't want to give up my whole life and personality and my dreams. You are filled with the Holy Spirit anyway. Blah blah blah." The flesh can be loud and assuming sometimes!

While busy with the book, I decided to check my email and there was a new mail from a prophetic email list I belong to.

The word they sent out that day reads as follows....

(I got that spine tingling feeling you get when something just can't be an coincidence.)

An Empty Vessel

This word is submitted by Cynthia Blaskis

An empty vessel, yes, that is how I desire for you to come. Not empty of yourself and of the things which I have created you to be, but empty of the things of this world that would hinder your relationship with Me.

You were formed by My hands, and I have filled you with deep treasures and great joys to be found. You were created with a purpose and a plan, but you will only find those things when you empty yourself of the things of this world. Seek Me to fill you, so that you may fulfill My purpose and plans.

I will never leave you less than overflowing, when you come to Me empty, as you were created to be. But you must choose to empty yourself and come to Me as an empty vessel.

You say "but Lord, I cannot let go of this thing of the world, I cannot pour it out to become an empty vessel." Then come and as you are, and sit in My fire, My fire will burn away all that is not of Me.

Just as an earthen vessel is placed within the fire to become what is desired, so will I place you within My fire so that you may become an empty vessel. I will not harm you, I will not take away those things which I created within you so that you could be My masterpiece. I will only remove from you My child the things of this world which would distract your life from becoming all that you truly are within My hands.

Do not look through your human eyes in this time. Instead, look into My face and look through My eyes, see the reflection of who you truly are while the fire burns away what you were not meant to become. You will see a masterpiece of My hands and I will fill you to overflowing.

So, come and sit within My fire. come and fill yourself to overflowing. I invite you to come and let Me show you what I see in you, for you are My precious and treasured possession.

Wow!

Retha McPherson's Website

Judy R Hansen's Blog

Come to Jesus Christ

2009-11-20T16:58:00.000+02:00

Song: Come to Jesus Christ

By: Karin Kloppers

Come, come

Come just as you are

Come

Come to Jesus’ arms

See

They’re open wide

For you

Oh won’t you

Come, come

Come just as you are

He longs

To fill you up with love

Yes, come

Come just as you are

Don’t you know He loves you

He’s waiting on you now

Don’t you know He’s worthy

So bend your knees and bow

Before the Prince

Of Peace

(Repeat from the top...)

Always the same?

2009-11-17T19:32:00.000+02:00

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
[Hebrews 13:8]

Driving home from work today, just praying a bit and looking around at the plants along my route, I had this thought of God as constantly busy creating. He is not a motionless, stagnant, stuck in the past kind of God. He is a creator. The Creator. I had a sense of God as a creative Energy delighting in and finding inspiration in diversity and variety.

Yes, God's character of love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, truth and righteousness indeed does not change. A fact that is immensely comforting. It doesn't make Him some kind of fuddy-duddy though.

This God of ours calls Himself Life (John 1; John 14:6) and life is certainly always changing, growing, expanding, inventing. Never the same.

Have you put God in some kind of "boring-old-Man-in-the-sky" box? Careful... because if you look closely you'll see that your box has been blasted through on all sides and is decidedly empty. Our concepts of who God is will never be able to contain Him.

Never Saw You Coming

2009-11-04T12:52:00.000+02:00

I love a beautiful song... with beautiful lyrics, a beautiful melody and a beautiful voice.

This is one such song I am listening to lately...

Never Saw You Coming
(Written by: Norman/Ingram)

I am the lonely
The ones who slip away
I am the secret
The words we dare not say
I am the promise I’m about to break…again

I am the leader
Who cannot find the way
I am the preacher
Who somehow lost the faith
I am the beggar reaching out my hands…again

And I
never saw you coming
I could never dream of running
I have never known such love before
My God,
You come,
come and breathe Your breath in me
Steal away what’s left of me
Till You are mine and I am yours

I am the lover with no one to hold
I am the seeker with an empty soul
I’m everyone who’s ever lost hope

And I
never saw you coming
I could never dream of running
I have never known such love before
My God,
You come,
come and breathe Your breath in me
Steal away what’s left of me
Till You are mine and I am yours

Fall like stars on my shore
Still You are so much more

And I
never saw you coming
I could never dream of running
I have never known such love before
My God,
You come,
come and breathe Your breath in me
Steal away what’s left of me

Till You are mine and I am yours...

click here for You Tube Video of Never Saw You Coming

Hear from God lately? (Part 2)

2009-10-31T17:37:00.000+02:00

A vision filled healing

A few days ago I posted about hearing from God ("Heard from God lately?")

I would like to share one such mystical moment I shared with God recently.

One recent Wednesday I got out of bed with a headache - probably due to sinusitis/being very tired/both - and the headache persisted throughout the day at work. Just before someone started praying for me in a Christian chat room I visit from time to time, I got quiet before the Lord and I saw this vision of a pole being pulled loose by thin golden shoe laces. As it got loose it clonked me on the head. The fact that it hit my head assured me that it was related to my headache. And the fact that pole was pulled loose/free assured me that whatever was causing the headache was being healed. I truly believe it had to do with some kind of stronghold from the enemy in my life. I never did get more info on what the cause was BUT the headache immediately subsided and the one or two times the headache wanted to come back after that, I thought of that vision and thanked God for the victory and pretty soon the headache was just...gone.

"But I get hungry!" (fasting)

2009-10-30T09:17:00.000+02:00

Isn't that what most of us say when the subject of fasting comes up? Or this one: "I just love food too much!".

I use both: "I love food" and "I get hungry". So I am not a big fan of fasting (as in not eating), don't get me wrong. Only.. it really works if you are seeking God and you do it with the right attitude.

So if it's the attitude that counts, why skip the food? You know, there are the usual answers to that question - like it shows you are serious about your request, and every time you feel a hunger pang it reminds you to pray, etc. But there's something, well, supernatural about it that can't be logically explained. The right attitude combined with not eating for a certain period just draws you closer to God, helps you pray about serious prayer requests.

A while ago, God lead me to fast about a situation that had me really worried. I deliberately fasted breakfast. By "deliberately" I mean I chose not to eat when I could have, and not that I just didn't have time to eat or usually don't eat at that time. I prayed in the car on the way to work and silently prayed while at work until lunch time.

Wanna know what happened?

I had energy like you won't believe! Yes, I felt the hunger pangs but they weren't overwhelming. Where the week up until that day had been really busy and stressful I breezed through that particular day without feeling the pressure as usual.

Did God answer the issue I prayed about..eventually, yes. And maybe not exactly as I had hoped, but He's still on the job and God's timing is not our timing. But boy was I full of energy and not stressed from fasting and praying! And I felt so joyful and close to God.

You see, that's another thing..you may end up fasting about one thing and get answers in totally different areas. God is never, ever predictable.

So, if you earnestly seek God, ask Him to show you when and where you can fast. You'll be blessed!

**Note** Please do come comment here about your experience if you do decide to fast? Thanks!

Hear from God lately?

2009-10-29T13:39:00.000+02:00

"Just how do you hear from God?" I'm sure we've all asked that question. We hear people going around saying "God told me this" and "God showed me that" and "How to make the Vision come true" and most of us are left thinking, "Vision? What vision?"

God can give you visions though..or feelings...or words. God communicates. We just sometimes have a hard time hearing Him.

What really helps is to tune your radio to the right station first and you do that in various ways:

What works best for me is to be relaxed. Focussed yes, but relaxed. Seems like a paradox, but if you strain to hear something, you are not going to get anything. It's not by your effort but by God's Spirit. So. just. reeeelax!

Get your mind clear too. If something's bothering you, or you are struggling with forgiving someone, you need to give it to the Lord first because that's going to block your signal.

So okay, you've cleared your mind (and your heart) out, you're relaxed... take a deep breath, close your eyes and just ask the Lord to speak to you.

Then just breathe - and notice what starts flashing through your mind, if you sense anything, if you hear anything in your mind. And if you do, ask the Lord what it means.

Sometimes the meaning only becomes clear later on when you get a devotional email in your inbox and it says the same thing in more detail. Or you hear a song saying the same thing. Or maybe you know right away.

Maybe you hear/sense/see nothing this time. Just keep going to Him in a relaxed manner and eventually you'll notice a message that keeps repeating in your life. It's God speaking.

Are you listening?

Let's dance

2009-10-26T16:51:00.002+02:00

Every graceful move
I clumsily follow
because I want to dance with you, my Lord
It may be painful to watch from the outside,
my uncoordinated steps,
but I don't care - my heart is sold on You.
I'm just waiting for that moment
when the music starts to play
and you slide my hand in yours
and I hear You softly say
"Let's dance."

© 2009 Karin Kloppers

Steeple - Deborah Steinmair

2009-08-17T19:32:00.000+02:00

I have this poem in a poetry collection by Deborah Steinmair and it speaks to me every time.

STEEPLE

Your church is as old as time

Lonely as the centuries

It lifts my soul to the sky

I lower my eyes

Your church is convenient

Prayer is no longer needed

Mother Mary prays to sweet Jesus for you

And the priest blesses your bread and meat

So you don't even need to say grace at the table

Your church is very fair

You don't even need to go there

All they ask is a monthly down payment on eternal salvation

Your church is high and pretty

And visible on the outside where it counts

Where people can see

The Bible says the real thing is inside

The real thing is hidden in the heart

Where the God who is no longer dead alone sees

The real thing is loving Jesus

Not the picture of a suffering saviour

But close like the breath of a friend

The real thing is a soft heart in your breast

The real thing knows no form or status

No ritual or ancient elegance

The real thing sat down, ate and drank wine

At the table of thieves and freaks and the poor

The real thing is Jesus alive

They would not recognise Him at the church door

Your mountain

2009-08-09T19:36:00.000+02:00

We all have mountains in our lives...and yet Jesus said:

Mark 11:22-24
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.
I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.
But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.
I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

Today I read about the awesome anger and/or Presence of the Lord.
In His presence even a mountain can melt like candle wax.
Maybe even...your mountain.

Amos 9:5
The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
touches the land and it melts,

Micah 1:4
The mountains melt beneath his feet
and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire,
like water pouring down a hill.

Isaiah 64:1-2
Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake in your presence!
As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil,
your coming would make the nations tremble.
Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame!

Psalm 97:2-5
Dark clouds surround him.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire spreads ahead of him and burns up all his foes.
His lightning flashes out across the world.
The earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.

Nahum 1:5-6
In his presence the mountains quake,
and the hills melt away;
the earth trembles,
and its people are destroyed.
Who can stand before his fierce anger?
Who can survive his burning fury?
His rage blazes forth like fire,
and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.

*New Living Translation (NLT)

God loves YOU

2009-07-23T12:22:00.000+02:00

GOD LOVES YOU.

You.

Yes...

You!

Jesus not only healed people of their physical diseases, but from the feeling of being outcasts, unloved, miserable sinners with no hope and no cure.

Below you'll read how Jesus healed a man with leprosy. A feared disease. And before He healed him he reached over in compassion and TOUCHED the man. Unheard of! And then there was the company Jesus kept... not exactly stellar upstanding members of society.

Mark 1:40-42
A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.

Mark 2:15
Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)

Lyrics by the band Leeland - Song: Carried to the Table

Wounded and forsaken
I was shattered by the fall
Broken and forgotten
Feeling lost and all alone
Summoned by the King
Into the Master’s courts
Lifted by the Savior
And cradled in His arms

I was carried to the table
Seated where I don’t belong
Carried to the table
Swept away by His love
And I don’t see my brokenness anymore
When I’m seated at the table of the Lord
I’m carried to the table
The table of the Lord

Fighting thoughts of fear
And wondering why He called my name
Am I good enough to share this cup
This world has left me lame
Even in my weakness
The Savior called my name
In His Holy presence
I’m healed and unashamed

You carried me, my God
You carried me

Live loved,
Karin
"For in him we live and move and exist."
-Acts 17:28 nlt

Our spiritual nature

2009-07-15T11:39:00.000+02:00

Genesis 1:26-27 (NLT)
Then God said, “Let us make human beings[man] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings[man] in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)
I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart

Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.

1 Corinthians 15: 44 (NLT)
They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

2 Corinthians 5:1 (NLT)
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

Romans 8:11 (NLT)
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

1 John 3:9 (NIV)
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
(NLT)
Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, becauseGod’s life[seed] is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God

2 Corinthians 6:18 (NLT)
And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.

Galatians 3:26 (NLT)
For you are all children[sons] of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NLT)
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

John 4:23-24 (NLT)
But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ForGod is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth

I've fallen for God

2009-07-11T11:20:00.000+02:00

Today, can you say that you love the Lord "just because" you love Him? Do you love Him without an agenda, without fear, not because you're trying to get His approval, or trying to stay in His good books, and not because you have to or it's the "right" thing to do?

Do you love the Lord just like that? Unconditionally? That's the way He loves us! I know my Lord He loves me just like that [CeCe Winans | "Just Like That"]

Well I have a theory that many of us have to go through our doubts, have to desert the Lord (for a season), have to leave the Lord behind and try living life without Him, before we can really SEE Him for who He is. And therefore just simply love Him. Just because and for no other reason.

Have you really "fallen" for the Lord yet?

Have you just slipped into pure adoration for Him?

Or does your love still have "reasons"?

One of the beautiful images I have lately is of God as a pure warm pool of water that's always there. We just have to choose to become a part of it, to slip into this water (His love & His presence) like you slip into a heated swimming pool. To just melt into His embrace.

Read how beautifully the band Leeland sings it...

A childlike love I had when we first began...We ran and I fell behind...
I’ve been stuck here all this time. You waited like a lover who couldn’t let go of his bride.
I turned my back away from You, didn't shed a tear or cry.

And I’m falling for You now. I’m coming back to the place where we parted
It’s for real this time. So I’ll be here waiting where we started.
My feet were bruised. I tried but I couldn’t fill Your shoes.
I went my way. I bought the lie that I was all grown up.
Didn’t need You in my life.
The winter left me cold and frozen. Looking for the truth, but searching for the sun.
I found the place where I met You

It feels so good to be in Your arms
You never left me, I just chose to stay behind
I want to thank You for Your love that gives me freedom,
to run back, to come back

And I’m falling for You now. I’m coming back to the place where we parted
It’s for real this time. So I’ll be here waiting where we started.

[Artist: Leeland | Song: Falling For You]

Living IN God

2009-07-02T11:48:00.000+02:00

We know that when we believe in Jesus, God lives in us.
Have you ever wondered though what it means for us to live in God?

Wow!

Just read these scriptures..

All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
1 John 4:15-16

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit
John 15:5

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
John 17:22-23

Your spirit knows your thoughts

2009-07-01T11:52:00.000+02:00

I watched part of sermon by Leslie Ramiah yesterday evening on Spirit Word channel.

He said something about a passage of scripture we have read so many times but I don't think we realise what we read! Well, I didn't!

No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit,
and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.
(1 Corinthians 2:11)

Your spirit knows your thoughts.

Everybody feels inclined to say, "Duh, of course!"

But stop and really think about it. We are spiritual beings who have a body, not a body who happens to have a spirit. That part of you that will spend eternity with Jesus, the bit that's "you" when your body falls away, is the "being" that knows you, that knows your thoughts.

A lot of "new agers" talk about their inner Self or their inner Being and we go "froooooot cakes!".

But like the devil usually does, he takes something with truth to it and twists it.

And God's Spirit communicates with our spirit, who then communicates God's message to us.

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (New Living Translation)
10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.
11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.
12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. [b]
14 But people who aren’t spiritual [c] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.
16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to teach him?” [d] But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Footnotes:

b 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or explaining spiritual truths in spiritual language, or explaining spiritual truths to spiritual people.

c 1 Corinthians 2:14 Or who don’t have the Spirit; or who have only physical life.

d 1 Corinthians 2:16 Isa 40:13 (Greek version).

It really helps to stay calm and believe for the best possible outcome

2009-06-17T10:55:00.000+02:00

Our thoughts really are SO important!

"Now to Him who by the power (**dunamis) at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine."
--Ephesians 3:20 (nrsv)

**dunamis: force; specifically miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself): - ability, abundance, meaning, might, power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

So what are you asking or imagining? Are you thinking about the things you want to happen or about all the bad things around you that are making you unhappy?

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.
Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
--Philippians 4:8-9 (nlt)

Love by another name: praise and worship

2009-06-10T09:47:00.000+02:00

Driving to work this morning I got to thinking about that age old question...why would God create people and then want them to worship Him? It really can't be about a big ego. And then out of the blue an answer came up... what if we think of praise and worship in the wrong way? Yes, God is holy and good and awesome and mighty and deserves to be praised, BUT what if praise and worship really just boils down to adoration and love?

God IS love, created us out of love and for a love relationship. So it must feel pretty empty and lead to heartache if we don't love God back when He already loves us sooo much. I mean, I could actually imagine that empty aching place in God's heart when we don't return His love.. almost like human love relationships when the one you love doesn't love you back.

Today my heart feels the pull of God's "need" for me to love Him (although of course in the strictest sense God doesn't need anything). And it's my joy to be in this love relationship with the King of the universe.

Monday Praises

2009-05-25T13:13:00.000+02:00

- taken from Psalm 86 (nlt)

I am devoted to You.
I serve You and trust You.
You are my God.
Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to You.
O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
You alone are God.
With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
You, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

Where are you afraid to die today?

2009-05-11T14:58:00.000+02:00

John 3:30

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

John 12:24-25

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.

Amos 9:9

“For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost.

Revelations 12:11

And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

Thought for the day:

In what area of your life are you afraid to die today?

All who are thirsty..

2009-05-10T18:57:00.000+02:00

Luke 23:31
For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?[a]”
--Footnotes:
[a]Or If these things are done to Me, the living tree, what will happen to you, the drytree?

Ezekiel 37:4,5,9,11,14
4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!
5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!
9 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’
14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”

Psalm 63:1,5
1 O God, you are my God;I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.

Psalm 68:9
You sent abundant rain, O God, to refresh the weary land.

Psalm 107:9,33-38
9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
33 He changes rivers into deserts, and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.
34 He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there.
35 But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into springs of water.
36 He brings the hungry to settle there and to build their cities.
37 They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops.
38 How he blesses them! They raise large families there, and their herds of livestock increase.

Isaiah 32:15
until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven.
Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.

Isaiah 41:17-20
“When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.
I will plant trees in the barren desert— cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it means—
that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it.

Isaiah 44:1-4
“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.
The Lord who made you and helps you says:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one.
For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields.
And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.
They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.

John 7:37-39
On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds,
“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!
For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

Christ and the Church

2009-05-05T13:39:00.000+02:00

**All scripture and notes taken from the New Living Translation Study Bible

Among the early Christians, church meetings were not led by professional pastors or priests. Instead everyone shared with the others what God has given them for strengthening the church:

1 Corinthians 14:26
Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.

Christ is the head of the Church:

- our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20)

The church is the community of those who recognise the lordship of Christ and submit to Him:

Excepts from Ephesians 5:21-27
-as Christ is the head of the church.
-He is the Savior of his body, the church.
-As the church submits to Christ...
-just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

-Christ and the church are one. (Ephesians 5:32)

-Christ is also the head of the church,which is his body. (Colossians 1:18)

To end off:

For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. (Matthew 18:20)

The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

2009-05-04T13:42:00.000+02:00

“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

- John 1:29

Have you ever really looked at a little lamb? Cute critters. Soft. Cuddly. Harmless. Innocent. Can you imagine driving knife into that small little body? No? I can’t either!

But they drove nails through the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. An innocent. For you! For me! For us all.

"Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."
Romans 5:7-8

Doesn’t seem fair. Not to me. We struggle with sin and Jesus has to die.

"But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
Galations 3:13

Remember in the movie the Chronicles of Narnia how unfair it seemed that Aslan died for what one of the children had done? But he chose to do it out of his own free will. For he knew he would take up his life again and destroy the power of evil.

"No one can take my life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded."
John 10:18

Do we fully appreciate the love of Christ? Do we fully appreciate what was done for us on the cross? Do we love the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?

Sifting in 2009

2009-01-14T19:06:00.003+02:00

Wowee, there is a sifting process coming!

This is long, but read it anyway!

Last year I read in Ezekiel 34 about the bad shepherds of Israel and how God was going to separate the sheep from the goats.

Yesterday I emailed these verses from a bible study I did last week:

And this is the message I proclaim -

that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus,
will judge everyone's secret life. ~Romans 2:16~

The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed,

and all that is secret will be made known to all.
Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light,
and what you have whispered behind closed doors
will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!
"Dear friends, don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body;
they cannot do any more to you after that.
But I'll tell you whom to fear.
Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell.
Yes, he's the one to fear. ~Luke 12:2-5~

Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.

If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant,
as though a floodlight were filling you with light." ~Luke 11:35-36~

Yesterday evening I read this on a website

(http://www.amightywind.com/prophecy/proph106.html)
Be assured in 2009 whatever was hidden shall be revealed. Whatever sin you think you have hidden, by the anointing of the RUACH ha KODESH it shall be revealed. For MY Word is true and in these endtimes the evil is growing more evil but MY Holy must grow more Holy and anyone who has a form of Holiness but no Holiness within shall be exposed. I will not allow them to be part of this Ministry. I will not allow it. So now it is your choice, who do you really choose to serve? The evil of this world? Or the Holiness of Heaven? So you see I have another reason Elisabeth that you and Niko are to go to your sons.

And look at what this email today reads!

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns --January 13, 2009:

You are entering a time of sifting and sorting, for I am establishing a standard of righteousness among My people, says the Lord. This standard will make a clear distinction between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and error. Hold what you have with an open hand because even what you hold dear to your heart will also undergo this scrutiny so that what is left will be pure and undefiled by compromise.

Daniel 2:41-43 "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay."

Watch for Him!

2008-12-24T13:33:00.006+02:00

In my New Living Translation Bible, the chapter heading for Mark 13 starts with Jesus Fortells the Future.

Well, that always draws a crowd...fortelling the future. *laugh*

But the bit that stuck with me is where the chapter ends with "Don't let Him find you sleeping when He arrives without warning .. Watch for Him!"

Watch for Him. It seems like a personal invitation from Christ.

Look for Me.

Search Me out.

Stay awake waiting for My Presence...

Kids stay awake watching for Santa. Let us Christians be on the lookout for Christ, together.

Jesus is our hope

2008-12-08T10:40:00.002+02:00

Last night during the praise and worship at our church...

I saw a nest form and then a baby inside. And I just knew that it represented Jesus and that Jesus represented hope.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)

For a child is born to us,a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!

And I feel, really feel, joy about the true meaning of our Christmas celebrations. Something I haven't felt in a long time.

Jesus is our hope!

And then, to confirm that message for me, our pastor said exactly that same thing during His sermon. We may have been coming from different angles, but still the same message.

Jesus is our hope!

♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

O holy night,
the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of
our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world
in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared
and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope,
the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks
a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees,
O hear the angel voices!
O night divine,
O night when Christ was born!
O night divine, O night,
O night divine!

May you feel the hope of Christ this holiday season and always.

Kings & Priests

2008-12-02T11:15:00.002+02:00

I read a devotional by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome last night where he said: "When God looks at you, He sees a king."

How could he make such a statement you may be wondering? We know we are the CHILDREN of a King but that doesn't make us kings.

But just look at these verses:

Exodus 19:6
And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.' This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.

Isaiah 61:6

You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.
You will feed on the treasures of the nations

and boast in their riches.

1 Peter 2:5,9

And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.....But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Revelation 1:6
He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

In fact, the KJV translation renders Revelation 1:6 as:

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father;

to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.

Amen

Squash us like a bug?

2008-12-01T19:25:00.004+02:00

Driving to work this morning, a gnat or something, got stuck in my car and kept on hurling itself against my windshield.

I thought about just squashing the irritating little bug, but then I opened my window a bit so it could fly out.

That got me thinking about the nature of God and the nature of man.

In Job 37 it says, "We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty; but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us."

God is so big, so powerful, so far beyond what we can imagine... this HUGE PRESENCE ...that maybe we do appear like bugs to him!

Isaiah 40:22

God sits above the circle of the earth.The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!

Well, think about it. In Job 35:6-7 it says:

If you sin, how does that affect God?
Even if you sin again and again,
what effect will it have on him?
If you are good, is this some great gift to him?
What could you possibly give him?

But He created us for His pleasure, and He is a God of love. In fact, God is love...

But even better than that, Jesus came to earth as a man so God really knows what it is to be human. He understands us!

We can't really say we understand God though, huh?

But we'll have all of eternity to spend with Him and get to know Him as He really is. Something to look forward to!

*Scripture quoted from the New Living Translation

What do you give a God who's got everything?

2008-10-30T12:46:00.002+02:00

Well, what?

Do you fast? Do you serve on a church committee?... Do you sell all your worldly possessions?... Do you flatter Him? Do you confess your sins day and night?

Just what do you give God?

For it is written:

You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand. You don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings

Psalm 40:6

He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He doesn't live in man-made temples, and human hands can't serve His needs- for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need there is.

Acts 17:24-25

"O my people, listen as I speak.Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God. I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. But I do not need the bulls from your barnsor the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine,and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. Do I eat the meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you,and you will give me glory."

Psalm 50:7-15

Ah, a clue! A clue! Thankfulness!

Worship. Love. Friendship.

What is the greatest command?

Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbour as yourself."

Matthew 22:37-39

You must love.

*Scripture references taken from the New Living Translation

Obedience to God

2008-10-16T21:09:00.004+02:00

Today I sure read a lot of verses about obedience. Now that may have been because I was reading in Deuteronomy ! ...but I think with our emphasis on God's grace through Jesus, we just never think about obedience.

But Jesus said:

“All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.
John 14:23

And He wasn't just all talk either...

Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
Hebrews 5:8

Obedience: Let's meditate on this topic together.

“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
1 Samuel 15:22

*All scripture references are from the New Living Translation

More beautiful to you

2008-10-03T13:38:00.000+02:00

These lyrics I've posted below just wowed me today..

More beautiful to you
Than the songs of angels and gifts of kings
More beautiful to you are
What empty hands can bring
And what desperate tongues can sing
And when broken hearts cling to you
~Excerpt from the lyrics of Hear it from Me - written by Bebo Norman

Are you in a "real" relationship with God?

2008-10-02T11:37:00.002+02:00

I've been studying some material on hiding from God by Ameerah Lewis. The following piece is based on it, but with my own interpretations and bible verses added.

-*-*-*-

Put yourself in the shoes of Adam and Eve… They've just eaten of the forbidden fruit. They hear God approaching. And up until now they've had a close relationship with God. So why did they feel they had to hide from God after they sinned? Why not just tell Him what they've done?

Genesis 3:7-8 (NLT)
At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.

So we have areas of ourselves, of our lives, of who were are that we try to hide from God. But can we hide from God? We know we can't! God sees all. He knows what we do, what we think, what we feel. And He loves us anyway. AND He wants us to come to Him anyway. But WE come to him with masks, not being real, not being honest about what we think, about what we feel, about who we are, about what we've done. Have you been in a relationship like that? When you know the other person isn't being "real" with you? And how does that feel? Not very intimate, huh? And you just wish the other person would 'fess up and be done with it

Hebrews 4:13 (NLT)
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Matthew 15:8 (NLT)
'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

So did God depart from Adam and Eve and leave them to their shame at their nakedness? No….

Genesis 3:21 (NLT)
And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

And today, does God expect us to feel the guilt and shame of our sin forever, never to be accepted by Him again? No….

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NLT)
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 10:19-22 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters,we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

God knows we are human. He knows that as humans we can never be perfect. In fact, he became human himself. So really, he understands!

Hebrews 2:14
Because God's children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

Hebrews 2:17-18
Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

So let's drop the masks, and come to God just as we are.

I'd like to end with this cute little story that is circulating on the emails:

The devil and the duck

A little boy was visiting his grandparents on their farm.
He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.
He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target
Getting a little discouraged, he headed back home for dinner.
As he was walking back when he saw Grandma's pet duck.
Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it.
He was shocked and grieved!

In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching!
Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes."
But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen."
Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?"
So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing, and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper."
Sally just smiled and said, "Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help."
She whispered again, "Remember the duck?"
So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, he finally couldn't stand it any longer
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, "Sweetheart, I know.
You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you.
I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."
Thought for the day and every day hereafter . . .
Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done . . .
and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face . . .
(lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) . . .

Whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing
He has seen your whole life.
He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven.
He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets.
It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

The need for "thank you"

2008-09-17T18:33:00.002+02:00

We humans can become so offended when somebody doesn't say thank you for something we've done, some effort we've put forth.

Well, I read some harsh words on the topic that Jesus himself spoke:

“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”
Luke 17:7-10 (New Living Translation)

Message from God

2008-08-17T21:08:00.003+02:00

I have watched an awesome testimony, and am reading the book about it, by Aldo & Retha McPherson - Message from God (Boodskap van God).

I encourage you to read about it at www.rethamcpherson.com

Aldo almost died in a car accident but God saved him to give an awesome awesome testimony. That Jesus lives, and that He wants our lives.

2008-08-07T13:35:00.003+02:00

It’s all His

This morning I felt compelled to read Psalm 50 again. You know, the one with that famous line “I own the cattle on a thousand hills”…

Then I started thinking about how EVERYTHING in this world belongs to God. While we all say we believe this, do we really?

I mean, we love talking about my house, my car, my wife. Mine, mine, mine.

What must it look like to God when we talk about something that is His as “ours”?

But you know, He does bless us with things He created. He is a loving, kind and generous Father.

Maybe we should just realise more often where all we have came from?

But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens.
For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.
Psalm 50-9-12 (NLT)

2008-07-17T10:15:00.002+02:00

The Lord really ministered to me this morning in the car as I listened again to the children's song, If I were a butterfly.

Here are the lyrics - enjoy :-)

THE BUTTERFLY SONG
(If I Were a Butterfly)
Words and Music by Brian M. Howard

If I were a butterfly
I'd thank you Lord for giving me wings
If I were a robin in a tree
I'd thank you Lord that I could sing
If I were a fish in the sea
I'd wiggle my tail and I'd giggle with glee
But I just thank you Father for making me, me

CHORUS
For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile
You gave me Jesus and you made me your child
And I just thank you Father for making me, me

If I were an elephant
I'd thank you Lord by raising my trunk
If I were a kangaroo
You know I'd hop right up to you
If I were an octopus
I'd thank you Lord for my fine looks
But I just thank you Father for making me, me

If I were a wiggly worm
I'd thank you Lord that I could squirm
If I were a fuzzy, wuzzy bear
I'd thank you Lord for my fuzzy, wuzzy hair
If I were a crocodile
I'd thank you Lord for my great smile
But I just thank you Father for
making me, me

Copyright © 1974, 2002 Mission Hills Music
www.ButterflySong.com
All rights reserved. (BMI)
International copyright secured.
CCLI - 35445

Psalm 87

2008-07-04T13:37:00.001+02:00

I don't have much to post lately, but I did read this delightful little Psalm today.

Psalm 87 (NLT)

A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

1 On the holy mountain
stands the city founded by the Lord.
2 He loves the city of Jerusalem
more than any other city in Israel.
3 O city of God,
what glorious things are said of you!

Interlude

4 I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me—
also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia.
They have all become citizens of Jerusalem!
5 Regarding Jerusalem it will be said,
“Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.”
And the Most High will personally bless this city.
6 When the Lord registers the nations, he will say,
“They have all become citizens of Jerusalem.”

Interlude

7 The people will play flutes and sing,
“The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!”

Christ-one

2008-06-20T15:43:00.004+02:00

I read some articles by James A. Fowler from
Christ In You Ministries. I love how he calls Christians, "Christ-ones".

Hi. My name is Karin and I am a Christ-one.

Today's Assignment

2008-06-11T12:57:00.009+02:00

Just for today, why don't you...

Let love be your highest goal!
1 Corinthians 14:1 (New Living Translation

Or as the NRSV translation says it:

Pursue love

Be blessed!

Have you blessed someone lately?

2008-06-03T16:50:00.004+02:00

Well, okay, I don't always bless someone every day, but:
* I've changed my email signature to include a blessing,
* I read through some of the blessings spoken of in the Bible every day (I printed some of those verses)
* When I am angered or afraid by something or someone I bless it in my mind

The results have been greater peace in my life, and small miracles too. Especially in my relationships with others.
People close to me that I bless just seem to be happier.

Why not look for the blessings of God in the Bible and see for yourself what God has blessed us with?

It sure is a much more fun way to pray than to plead and beg for something!

"May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favour and give you His peace"
Numbers 6:23-26 (N.L.T.)

Well bless you again!

2008-05-23T16:04:00.002+02:00

Blessing someone seems to be a way to transform anger and irritation into love and joy, and sometimes, even miracles.

Found another little interesting article on it.

The Power of Spoken Blessings - by Bill Gothard

Throughout Scripture, the importance of verbal blessings is expressed. In four New Testament books, God gives us direct instruction to bless those who curse and revile us. Obeying this instruction produces results that are not expected by the one who gave the curse or the one who was cursed.

A verbal blessing is made up of three powerful forces: our words, God’s Word, and God’s name. The power of our words alone is affirmed by the Scripture that states, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21).

With verbal blessings, the tongue has an even greater potential for good, because a blessing can overcome a curse just as light is stronger than darkness.

Speaking a verbal blessing can even help parents during times of child discipline. By blessing the child, the parents will be greatly helped in overcoming any anger or frustration, and will instead have a spirit of patience and love. The blessing should emphasize God’s love for the child and His great purposes for him or her.

To read more, check out: The Power of Spoken Blessings

Bless you!

2008-05-21T21:36:00.003+02:00

We've focused on
all the world problems
and nothing has really changed.
Maybe it's time
to try something different.

Kate from Better to Bless (http://www.bettertobless.com)

What is this something different?

Blessing everything and everyone and looking for the good in all situations.

Let's give it a try?

Radical Praise

2008-05-18T17:22:00.003+02:00

Merlin Carothers says we should praise God FOR everything, even FOR the bad stuff, (or that appears to be bad).

But he is saying that because that's what the bible says!

Ephesians 5:20
Always give thanks for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
18 In everything give thanks. This is what God wants you to do because of Christ Jesus.

And a passage I read just just recently..

Psalm 34:1
I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.

The reason we praise/thank God for everything is
1) The Bible says so
2) More importantly, we admit God is in control. God can make all things work for the good of those who love Him and He has good plans for us all, no matter what things appear like. God is LOVE.

This practice really has given me great moments of joy this week even though outward appearances have not all been smooth sailing.

And some nice things that has happened:
1) my wife actually asked me twice this week: "How was your day".
Why is that a "wow"? She hasn't been the type to do that regularly - she just doesn't think about it.
2) a customer brought me a free McDonalds lunch at work
3) someone at work gave me some Chicken another day for lunch
(hey, it's not like I don't have food, but it sure beat my sometimes boring homemade sandwhiches!)
4) A got a few nice tips
5) I feel much more joyous and in the moment - I've actually been listening to CD's in my car and just enjoying the music, I've been appreciating nature, animals, beauty, washing the dishes,... you get the picture.
5) God inspired me to write a praise song
6) I feel more efficient and productive at work - I may have to force myself to praise God if I feel I'm being interrupted, but then I quickly lose the irritation and am able to focus on the customer/co-worker without resentment.

Praise releases God's power to work out a situation for our good. Sometimes the circumstances change, sometimes we change and the circumstances doesn't. But something changes.

And it leads to praise songs being stuck in your head the whole day. *heeheehee*

Wow Quote

2008-05-16T09:39:00.000+02:00

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship...There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendors." --C. S. Lewis, From The Weight of Glory.

Abuse of unity

2008-05-16T09:34:00.003+02:00

Here’s a thought provoker for the day:

Genesis 11 (NLT)
The Tower of Babel
1 At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2 As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) 4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!” He said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”

Hmmm, Verse 6 really stopped me in my tracks today:

“Look!” He said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!”

Do we realize the awesome power of unity? And how that power can be for good, but also for bad?

Just think about crowds of township people attacking the foreigners in our country (South Africa) right now. They’re united yes, but not for good.

God has given us so much power and we so often abuse it –

Let make sure we don’t abuse the gifts God has given us.

Cheap Joy

2008-05-14T16:44:00.004+02:00

When we fall "in love" we are full of joy.

But when it comes to the best love relationship in the world, I don't think we value our Partner much. I'm talking about our relationship with God here.

We call Him the Lover of our souls, we tell about His gift of love, His grace, His death on the cross, His forgiveness... but somehow I don't think we value our relationship with God.

If we did, we'd be buzzing with joy and songs of thanksgiving.

We wouldn't be able to wait to spend some time with God.

We'd be dating!

How about we start finding our joy in our love relationship with God? Meditate on His total nature of LOVE. On how He forgives and forgets time and time again. How He wants to bless us and be good to us. How God is goodness itself. And how all of the above is PERSONAL. God wants to be your personal Friend and Partner. He thinks you are special because you are his child that He created. Do you think He is special?

And meditate means to really think deeply about it folks. Not just read about it and move on. Isn't that what we do when we fall in love? Make an effort to really get to know the object of our affection and bask in that person's love and approval of us? We positively glow because he/she loves us.

Get back to dating God!

New Song Lyrics

2008-05-14T11:55:00.001+02:00

It’s about You

I could sing about your love for me
How you planned
My life, My everything
Yes, You even died
upon the cross for me
But it’s about You
This song’s about You

I could sing about how you forgive
My sins are gone
They no longer exist
Grace is mine
And Mercy too
But it’s not about what’s Mine
This song’s about You

I simply want to say I love you
And thank you that You love me too
And make it about You,
Make it all about You

Lord, there are no words to tell
About the joy your love gives
You know our minds & hearts so well
And yet I’d love to give words to how I feel..

Thank you, Lord is really all that I can say

Cause I could sing about your love for me
How you planned
My life, My everything
Yes, You even died
upon the cross for me
But it’s about You
This song’s about You

I could sing about how you forgive
My sins are gone
They no longer exist
Grace is mine
And Mercy too
But it’s not about what’s Mine
This song’s about You

Lyrics written by Karin Kloppers, 14 May 2008

Practical experience of Praise

2008-05-13T13:54:00.002+02:00

I got sick a couple of days ago. Started with post nasal drip, then sneezing, coughing, runny nose. You get the picture.

I reread portions of Merlin Carothers' books on praising God for EVERYthing. Good or bad. The result of practising what I read? God is really healing me.

That's not to say that I don't take my vitamins, or pray for healing... but the simple process of acknowledging God's love, his total control and that the cold was permitted for a reason... mentally saying "Praise God" when I cough... has resulted in me feeling SO much better today than yesterday!!!

The catch? You don't praise God with your eye on the result...you praise God with your eye on God and what He wants to accomplish.

Joy is a choice

2008-05-07T19:35:00.000+02:00

"If you want joy in your life and have happy days, keep your tongue from saying bad things and your lips from talking bad about others."
1 Peter 3:10 (New Life Version)

The power of a song

2008-05-05T12:45:00.001+02:00

Amazing Grace is both the saddest and happiest song for Nerina. Why? Because it was played on our wedding day, and sung at the funeral of the father of her "adoptive" greek family.

Myself, I couldn't listen to Celine Dion or Beautiful in Beaufort Wes by Theuns Jordaan for a long long time due to heartache. But, even now that I'm over it, I've realised I just don't really like Celine's stuff.

Isn't it amazing how much emotional value we can attach to a song?

If you want to, why not share some comments on songs that have emotional meaning for you? I would love to read what you have to say.

God, You’re too late!

2008-04-10T13:06:00.002+02:00

God,

You can heal my brother, I know you can! You are all powerful and you love him even more than I do…

***

God,

My brother has died! You’re too late! IF ONLY You had gotten here sooner, I know my brother would still be alive…

***

When Jesus saw me weeping and saw the other people wailing with me, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them.

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept.

The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”

But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But I, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”

And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth.

Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

***
You’ll find Martha's full story in John 11, but what I want us to see it this -
when you think there is no hope, when you think that God is too late, that He missed the boat, that you are going under - remember how God raised a man from the dead after FOUR days!

It’s NEVER too late for God to do a miracle and His timing is perfect.

Keep trusting Him for your miracle.

One with God

2008-03-26T10:23:00.002+02:00

Do we ever really stop to think about what it means to be "one with God"?

John 17:22-23 (New Life Version)
22 I gave them the honor You gave Me that they may be one as We are One.
23 I am in them and You are in Me so they may be one and be made perfect. Then the world may know that You sent Me and that You love them as You love Me.

1 Corinthians 6:17 (New Life Version)
17 But if you join yourself to the Lord, you are one with Him in spirit.

I read in devotional today: I allow God to enlighten my outlook and reveal to me a fuller understanding of what is true and eternal.

How WOULD we look at life if we kept in mind we are one with God in Spirit?

Would God look at His life circumstances and worry? You must be joking! But we do!

Yet God gave us so many promises that say: just have faith and trust Me and I will supply all your needs from MY riches in Christ. And I think God is pretty rich since He made everything and can make anything you need.
(Phil 4:19, Mat 21:22, Mat 17:20, Mat 7:7, etc.)

How would you look at your life today if you accepted the thought, I am one with GOD!

It's BAD NEWS! Or is it?

2008-02-19T13:50:00.002+02:00

Most people are familiar with the story found in 2 Chronicles 20 about King Jehoshaphat who received the alarming news that the armies of Moab and Ammon, etc. wanted to wage war against his nation.

Most lessons from this passage focus on the power of praising God to turn a situation around. And it's a very true and valid lesson. But there is another lesson to gleaned from this account:

Things that appear scary, bad, negative, are not always what they seem.

The King and his people could have run away in fear, but they chose to turn to and trust in God.

And instead of fighting a war, they saw God fight the war for them AND they carried away so much loot it took them THREE days to carry it all back.

Wow, so we go from being scared of people coming to make war against a nation, to seeing them carrying away the loot of the attacking nation for 3 days long.

Who would have thought that would be the end, standing at the beginning?

Well, with God.... all things are possible.

Are you worried or grateful?

2008-02-13T16:40:00.004+02:00

It's an important question!

How many times in the Bible does God say "Fear not!" or "Do not worry" or "Cast your anxious thoughts on me"? No, I haven't counted, but many times!

Well, why the emphasis on fear/worry/anxiety?

God gave us the gift of faith, but we can use it positively or negatively!

You can have faith in debt, in disease, in conflict, in poverty, in disappointments. And we do it more easily than having faith in health or prosperity or dreams or joy.

I've come to a point in my life after lots of studying and some faith building experiences, that has made me realise you have to look for the good that can come out of any situation and be grateful for all the good you already have. Have faith for good, not evil.

God has taught me lessons in trust since this year began like you wouldn't believe and yet, each time I have to stop myself from worrying and place my focus on gratitude and faith in God.

It's not easy to have faith that the sun will come up when it's dark all around you! But the more times the sun comes up, the more you trust that it WILL happen.

Well, God just proved himself to me again today..

I spent more on toiletries than I planned to which made the money available for our utilities bill (water & lights) less. It's not that I was spending wildly, it's that all the prices have gone up, up, up and I wanted to get everything at this particular store because they have excellent prices and I don't go there often. Then I got our utilities bill and it was even more than usual! What a bummer. What a downer. What a panic inducing situation! You betcha. But since God has been teaching me about trusting Him to provide if I'll just relax, have faith and wait on Him, that's what I did. I was a teeny little bit concerned, but I had faith that the money would come by 18 February.

Well, today I received an unexpected cheque deposit into my account that more than covered out utilities bill.

AWESOME God!

GRATITUDE, people. And lots of it. TRUST... FAITH.... Just do it!

So why DON'T we pray?

2008-01-23T03:52:00.001+02:00

Actually, we do pray. I know that.

But many times we don't really pray much and certainly don't enjoy it.

Why?

Maybe because prayer can feel like hard work. But it's only talking to God actually. There's a reason it's starts feeling like hard work: there's no real two-way communication taking place.

So we tell ourselves we don't have time to pray, when what we really mean is:
I don't know what to say

I mean, we want to enjoy our talks with God, don't we? Not just give Him a list of all our needs and not even be sure if He's listening.

Two-way communication takes time. It means getting to know who God is and that you can trust Him.

It also means focusing your mind on Him. And maybe putting away that list for a little while.

Just before you start praying, take a few deep breaths and just start thinking about God. Just think a little bit about who He is: loving, kind, allmighty, always with you.

Now, out of that calmer state of mind, say hello to God and tell Him what's really on your mind.

Then listen...He might give you feelings of comfort, or a song might pop into your mind, or a verse from the Bible.

Maybe nothing happens and that's okay too

End your prayer by thinking about who God is again. Remind yourself of His good qualities. Maybe praise Him a little for them.

Then endyour time together...

Amen.