Watch for Him!

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

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

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?

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?

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

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

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?

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"

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

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.

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)

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

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

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

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?

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!

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!

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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

"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

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!

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

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?

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?

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?

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.

Wrote a song!

You better never say never

(Someone just needs to write me some music now!)



You may be facing a giant

A problem that won’t go

But it’s not by your strength alone

Remember we live by faith, so

Rejoice in the Lord always

And again I say rejoice

The Lord has good plans

So sing and lift your voice

For the Lord is loving & just

And your problems won’t last forever

He’s the God of the impossible

So you better never say never

Lord, we choose to praise You

To thank and to adore

The battle’s in Your hands now

You’ll give us victory and more

Rejoice in the Lord always

And again I say rejoice

The Lord has good plans

So sing and lift your voice

For the Lord is loving & just

And your problems won’t last forever

He’s the God of the impossible

So you better never say never

Miracles in my eyes

What is a miracle after all? To me, a miracle is usually answered prayer or a prophetic word about a situation!

I experienced TWO prophetic words on the 9th of January.
Let me tell you about it...

1. Dreams can come true!

God Himself just gave me a big incentive to get my behind out of bed in the mornings!

I wrote out some affirmations to inspire me to get out of bed in the mornings to pray:
I am so happy and grateful that I wake up easily at 6:30am each morning, refreshed, well rested, energised and ready to start a new day!
I love spending time with God before my day really begins!
I am growing so much closer to God, and together we are working on making my dreams come true.

To be honest, working on reaching my goals for 2008 with God is ONE of THE main reasons I want quiet time with God, besides becoming closer to Him. But I felt it was a tad selfish too.

Then I read a January 2008 newsletter on a Joan Wakeford's website that said:
“I am excited. I believe the year 2008 will be the year that all our dreams come true. A year of good health and prosperity and the year God will shower all His blessings upon us. Let it be a fun year with lots of laughter and joy. Let us speak PEACE over this year;”

So as you can imagine, I am excited and looking forward to prayer times with God in 2008!

On to number two...

2. Trees that clap hands

A friend of mine needed confirmation from God if she should move to a different section in her department. Some positions become redundant in her organisation after a few years and she didn't want to make the wrong career move.

I was praying for her and wasn't really getting an answer I felt was from God. Then the song THE TREES OF THE FIELD began playing in my head.

I looked up the relevant Bible passage, and mailed it to her without any explanation or notes because I strongly wanted God to confirm it to her without trying my own interpretation.

A song with that very same verse had started playing in her head too since yesterday!

So, as you will see from the verse below, her answer is GO!

Wow!!

Isaiah 55:12 (New American Standard Bible)
For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

I found God in the rain today

Those who read my previous entry know that I have been trying to get up earlier in the mornings to pray before my day starts. (And failing miserably by the way! But I'm not giving up! If I keep thinking about it and seeing myself doing it, I'll get there.)

But I still pray on the way to work as much as I can. I have to admit though, sometimes it's hard to feel a connection to God while I am praying. Probably because I start out with my own agenda and don't take the time to just focus on God first. And let's face it, when you can't see the object of your affection, conversations can be difficult at times.

Well, it's been raining since early this morning. As I was driving to work I was just drinking in the beauty of the rain and the lush wet plants on the side of the road and thinking about God. I started feeling amazing feelings of beauty, and peace, and joy in God through His creation. *sigh* It was so lovely!

Do YOU pray?

Seems like a silly question to ask a fellow Christian, but I've found that we just don't make the time to really get alone with God and pray. Well, most of us anyway. (There are a few dedicated souls out there who are still single or who set aside specific time alone with God, and I salute you!)

I've found that being in the marriage I am in now, and with our lifestyle, that I rarely get time alone with God, just the two of us. And I'm not talking about praying in my car on the way to work, 'cause you just can't give all of your attention to praying when you have to concentrate on driving!

The only viable option would appear to be getting up earlier in the mornings to pray before I start getting ready for work. But, oooh, I've struggled with this for years and I still don't do it!!

So I'm repeating to myself:
I enjoy getting up earlier (06:30) to pray!
I find it easy getting up earlier to pray!

And? I am making (slow) progress. The last couple of mornings, different things have woken me up, but I still felt extremely tired so I didn't get up that half an hour/45 minutes ealier to pray.

But at least I'm waking up and thinking about getting out of bed. *Heehee*

One of my goals for 2008 is being closer to God and working with God to fulfill my goals for the year, so it's really important to me that I start having some "alone" prayer time.

Wish me luck, and if you have overcome this same issue, leave a comment, why don't you?

What is YOUR God like...

Not that I suddenly believe in a different God than the Christian one!

BUT, I read an interesting book by Unity Rev Sharon Connors that asked the reader questions that boils down to:

-Is your God a match for, and even bigger than your problems?
-Are you afraid of God in any way?

(From Adventures in Prayer)

And they are important questions. If you can't trust God, or don't believe He is powerful enough to help you in your situation, then why pray? Why believe He is God at all?

And yet I know I have harboured thoughts like, God could help me (He is almighty after all), but maybe it's not His will to help me.

Does that sound like a God you can trust? Not really, huh?

So it's important to start investigating what you believe about God, and compare it to who the Bible says He is.

There it mentions that God is love, God is good, God has good plans for our lives, God loves us, etc.

So, what is YOUR God like?