Seasons of Change...

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.

Take a couple minutes to read that whole chapter.  Verse 6 just jumped out at me... "A time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;"   That is how I want to live my life... realize that life keeps going and changing... there will always be loss in life, but from that loss we all need to be able to find the good to come... we better be ready to accept it and roll with the punches... we need to keep growing and changing or we will become stale and discouraged... I do know for sure that no matter the season of each of our lives we need to keep trusting God... and all He is really asking from us is an open, willing heart and a loving attitude.

Just as the winter turns to spring,

Our lives have changing seasons too;

So when a gloomy forecast comes,

Remember -- God has plans for you. – Sper

Father, I ask you to uphold me, Lord, as I try to live a blameless life. I trust in You, Lord, that I will not falter.  Test me and examine my heart and mind that I am always mindful of your unfailing love.  I will rely on Your faithfulness no matter what changes come my way.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Whatever you may be going through... God is right there with you... remember He is the only thing that will never change! (Hebrews 13:8)

Rejoicing in Truth!

Accepted… It’s ALL Good

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13 (TNIV)  What does that verse speak to you?  In the New King James version it says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”  I love how the word, “naked” is used!  When I read that it made me see how freeing that is… that God sees me “naked”… warts, moles, lumps, bumps, sin, and all!!! Andyet He still chooses to love me and use me in His great plan!!!

You might wonder why I would see it as freeing… how many of us can even fathom the idea of standing naked in front of anyone and the vulnerability that would produce???  I know… yikes!  Almost intolerable, right?  But this verse shows that we are already that vulnerable with God.  We can never pull anything over on our Heavenly Father, so why try???  Do I sin?  Do I make mistakes?  Do I judge others unfairly?  Yes… yes… and yes!  It is not that I will never screw-up, but when I do it is just so much easier to confess it and seek God’s forgiveness as soon as I recognize my sin.  That is what is so freeing for me!  Father always knows what is coming… we never surprise Him.  And He has promised us He will always forgive when we ask with sincere hearts.

“If we freely admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just, true to His own nature and promises, and will forgive our sins and continuously cleanse us from all unrighteousness (everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action).”   I John 1:9 (AMP)

A weight has been lifted off me! I cannot hide my “nakedness” from Him, but that is okay!!!  I challenge you to take the time to read Hebrews 4 and see what other great things God has for you.  Remember to allow yourself to stand “naked” before God… let Him point out those things that may not be quite right.  You are already accepted… it’s ALL good!

Rejoicing in Truth!

A Cord of Three...

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  Ecclesiastes 4:12

When I read this verse the picture in my mind was of a braid… if you just twist two pieces of hair it might stay for awhile, but it will eventually fall apart.  But if you braid three pieces of hair it will hold up forever or at least until a part of the trio weakens or becomes frayed.  How do we keep our hair strong and healthy? By eating right, practicing good nutrition, cleansing it regularly, and trimming the split ends.

It is the same in our walk through life… we need to eat right by feeding on God’s Word, we have to receive every bit of nourishment we can from Him.  We need to allow the Holy Spirit to show us what needs cleansing in us… asking for forgiveness and letting freedom come from the “dirt” that can easily build up. And the hardest one of all… we need to accept that God (the gardener) prunes us to produce more fruit in our lives.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2

Our strength for daily life comes from the Lord!  How great is it that He can take the frayed ends of our lives and make them strong again?  God also uses those around us to keep us strong and on the right track.  Take a look at those you are spending your time with... are they adding to your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health? We all need to re-evaluate that from time to time.  Remember, as iron sharpens iron, so does a good friend encourage and change a friend's outlook. (Proverbs 27:17)

Praying God's blessings over you today!

For further study read John 15.

Rejoicing in Truth!

Key to Faith...

I just had to share this devotional I came across, it is from the book "From Dream to Destiny" by Robert Morris. I hope it blesses you the way it did me! So powerful!

* The key to our having faith is in hearing the Word of God. I want to emphasize this: the key to having faith is not in obeying the Word of God – the key to having faith is in hearing the word of God. Now I believe in obeying the Word, and we must obey God if we want to have His blessing on our lives. But it is not obedience that produces faith. Rather, it is faith that produces obedience. And faith only comes by the Word of God.

This is not my idea. God made this very plain in Romans 10:17 when He said, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." This scripture passage says that if I hear the Word of God, "faith comes." In other words, faith shows up. So all I have to do is hear the Word of God. So there is something about hearing the Word of God produces faith.

Now I know the Bible says that I must be a doer of the Word as well. James 1:22 says, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." But it is hearing the Word that is the key to doing it! Because the more I hear the Word of God, the more faith I will have. And the more faith I have, the more I will want to obey God and live out the Word.

The reason that a lot of people are not doers of the Word is because they don't really have faith. The more faith you have, the more you will obey. The more you obey, the more the presence of God will manifest in your life. And the more often you live in the presence of God, the more you will prosper and succeed.

Every one of us can prosper, and everyone of us can be successful! And the way we begin is by hearing the Word of God. So start to make the Word of God part of your life. Listen to His Word whenever you can. Read the Bible daily. Memorize Scripture passages, meditate on them, and write verses on notecards to tape on your mirror. If you hear his word consistently, faith will naturally come. God promised that it would. And as your faith increases, you will find that you are walking in obedience. As you walk in obedience, you're going to have the presence of God on your life. And if the presence of God is with you, you're going to succeed!

There are no words to describe the blessing of having God's presence in your life. Right now I can feel that the favor of God is on my life, and it is a wonderful thing. It is so wonderful that I don't want to do one single thing to mess it up! The favor of God makes you feel that nothing is impossible. The favor of God makes you feel that anything you attempt to do for God will succeed. Because when you sense that God is with you, you know your efforts on His behalf will not fail.

What could possibly be worth losing that blessing, that favor, that manifested presence of God? I don't want to walk in disobedience, because I know that if I disobey God, His presence will leave my life. And I don't want to lose His presence or His favor!

So it really wasn't a hard thing that day at the airport to leave a note on the car I had bumped. It really wasn't hard to decide that we would miss our plane. It was easy to do the right thing – when I remembered that God has called me to be faithful in small matters, as well is great, as I live out my destiny according to His will.

I want to walk in the destiny God has planned for me. And I know that if I am to be set over much, I must be found faithful in little things – even a crack in a piece of plastic on an old car.

Eventually I received a call from the lady whose vehicle had been damaged. I apologized for the accident and gave her our insurance information so that she could get her bumper repaired. But before we got off the phone, she said, "I just have to ask you a question. I have shown your note to everyone in my office, and no one can believe that you actually left a note. It would have been so easy to just drive away. We don't know if you're a saint, a space alien or what – but none of us can figure out why you would leave a note."

The woman was an unbeliever. Yet she recognized that there was something different about my behavior. So I was able to explain to her the reason that I had left that note. I was able to share the gospel with her and tell her how Jesus Christ had changed my life – that he could change her life also. "You said that everyone in your office wants to know why I left that note," I said to her. "Be sure that you tell them. Be sure to tell them that the reason I left that note is because Jesus Christ has changed my life – and He wants to do that for all of them, too."

There is nothing on this earth that can compare to the joy of a moment like that, when the presence of God rests upon you as you do something important for Him. But it all begins by being faithful in the smallest things – by being a faithful steward. If I had not been faithful to do the right thing about the accident, I would never have had the opportunity to be God's messenger to the people in that office.

Faithfulness – good stewardship – causes us to be successful in everything we do. It causes us to have the favor of God and His presence in our lives. So be faithful in little things. Be a good employee, a good steward "as to the Lord" (Colossians 3:23). Spend time in God's Word and watch your faith increase. As faith comes, obedience will naturally follow. And when you honor God and walk in obedience to Him, He will honor you with His presence. Then His favor and blessing will rest on your life, and you will prosper in all you do.

Rejoicing in Truth!
*Excerpted from From Dream To Destiny by Robert Morris (Regal). Available this week as part of the Living Free teaching series.

No Greater Love...

Good Friday – I’ve often wondered why it is called “Good Friday”—if this is the day Christ was crucified… then why is it good?  Just think about that day… the day Christ gave up His life… does it bring mixed feelings?  On one side, no one would have a chance of eternal life in Heaven without this Great Sacrifice. So it is good for the sake of our salvation, but so sad that it was my sins and your sins that sent Him to that death on the cross.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Focus on that verse for a moment… it is a mind blowing verse for me… would I be willing to lay my life down for a friend?  As I was thinking on that God showed me He was not asking me to just physically lay down my life for my friends, but to spiritually and emotionally lay it all down for Him!  Really think about that… if someone put a gun to your head and said “deny Christ or die” would you have the strength to die for Him?  I would hope I would. On the other hand, everyday we are asked to “die to self”… but how easy is that to do?

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

If you are at all like me, most every day I know I am a total failure at that… since I am not even close to perfect, but God can see if I have a desire and a willing heart to lay it all done for Him. And because of His unconditional, unfailing love, He gives us an “A” for effort and not an “F” for failure… He made each one of us… He knows we are all works in progress… we are blessed, priceless children of our Heavenly Father! I am so thankful that He loved us so much to give us a second chance at life by giving up His Son to save all those who believe and receive Him.

If Christ just died for us then the story would be over, but He died because of our sin and He rose from the dead to break the bonds of death (sin) and the grave!  Remember… it is only because of Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and RESURRECTION that each one of us can have eternal life through Him.  Good Friday in itself is not good, but when we look at the whole picture… the whole story, the Greatest Love Story ever told… now that is good!

We must remember the sadness of “Good Friday” in order to sing praises of the risen Lord on Easter morning!

 Rejoicing in Truth!

"I'll Be Happy When..."

I just had to share this devotion from the book, Fit for My King by Sheri Rose Shepherd. It speaks right to the heart of things.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  Proverbs 14:12

*Before I became a Christian, my life was a book with a sleek and colorful cover, but inside the pages were empty. Each chapter of what looked like my new life had the same title, “I’ll Be Happy When…”

I followed my own personal success strategies, learned by carefully examining the latest research from all the top celebrities on television and in the magazines:

·        Strategy 1:  I had no basis for right and wrong… I just followed my feelings.
·        Strategy 2:  I bought things I didn’t need to impress people I didn’t really care about with money I didn’t have.
·        Strategy 3:  I made excuses and blamed others because it was easier than accepting responsibility for my own actions.
·        Strategy 4:  I refused to forgive those who had hurt me, and I held on to bitterness and resentment.
·        Strategy 5:  My problems, my happiness, my success, and my entertainment consumed me.
·        Strategy 6:  I was anxious for everything and let all my requests be made known to anyone who would listen.

My personal success strategies left me emotionally starving, lonely, and depressed because money, things, worldly success, and beauty could only hide my pain, they could not heal it.  Our ways will never get us what we really want.

God’s plan is the key to being set free from depression, food addictions, eating disorders, and emotional pain

He whom the Son has set free is free indeed!

His Princess Prayer: 
My Lord, How many times I struggle to believe You are truly here with me. Even though You have proved Your presence over and over again, I still allow my heart to doubt. So here I am again, requesting that You will become more real to me than ever before. Please come comfort me once again that I may find my faith in You again. Thank You for Your never-ending patience with Your Princess.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.^”  Jeremiah 29:13-14

Treasure of Truth ~

He is our strength when we’re weak.

He is our comfort when we’re in pain.

He is our peace when we’re haunted by fear.

He is our healer when our spirit is wounded.

He is our warmth when the world is cold.

He is our power when we need a miracle.   *

Rejoicing in Truth!

Time In Between...

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Peter was asked to step out of the boat and walk on water. Read it in Matthew 14:22-33. I can remember as a kid in Sunday school hearing this story... in fact I can almost hear Mrs. Bauer, the beginners’ class teacher, telling that story. She was such a sweet, loving lady and I am sure she had great impact on many lives, including mine. Anyway, back to the story... as a kid it seemed so "mystical" to me (although I am sure as a kid I didn't know that was the word for it!).

I can remember being down at our local beach and thinking if I put my eyes on Jesus I should be able to walk on water... I was taught that Jesus was in my heart, so I fixed my eyes on my chest (because that was where my heart is... and Jesus lives there... are you still with me?) and stepping out very carefully to try and walk on water... why didn't it work for me... what did I do wrong????? Oh, the mind of a child... wish I could be that naive now.

Do you ever feel like the in between time is the hardest time? For instance, what do you think was going through Peter's mind the time between when he asked Jesus to bid him come and walk on the water and when he actually got out of the boat??? Do you think he was thinking, "Do I, don't I, do I, don't I?" Did he have anxiety? I find for myself the in between time is probably the hardest time... the thinking about it... wondering what will happen... should I, shouldn't I?... is this really what I should be doing?... how long do I have to wait?... what am I to learn in this time?

I guess that is the question... what am I to learn in the time in between? This time can be the hardest but it can also be the most rewarding. During these times we can be drawn closer to God... our eyes can be taken off ourselves and our problems... we can reach out to help someone else... we can completely surrender our ways to God's ways.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Here are the lyrics to a song I really love called "Time In Between" by Francesca Battistelli:

You were there when Your Father said, "Let there be the light"

You obeyed when He whispered, "Son, You have to leave tonight"

To spend nine months in a mother's womb, three days in a borrowed tomb

It's the time in between that brings me to my knees

Knowing You came for me

And all that I can be I'm amazed, so amazed

And I thank You for the time in between

Don't take much for this crazy world to rob me of my peace

And the enemy of my soul says You're holding out on me

So I stand here lifting empty hands for You to fill me up again

But it's the time in between that I fall down to my knees waiting on what You'll bring

And the things that I can see I know that my songs incomplete

Still I sing in the time in between

So many ways Your love has saved the day

And I'm grateful for them all.

But it's the time in between the middle of two things that says everything

It's the reason I believe, I'm amazed, so amazed

And I thank You for the time in between.

Lord, I thank You for the time in between.

Just know that in the time in between you are not alone… you are not the only one! Hold tight to ALL that you know to be truth… God’s Living Truth inside you. In the silence… in the stillness you can rest in His loving arms and His faithfulness. Be amazed… be thankful… trust Him... praise Him! He will get you through! He will complete the work He has begun in you!

"I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6"

Rejoicing in Truth!