Turn About

Mistreated,

Lied to,

Lied about,

Slapped in the face,

Betrayed

The world says to write you off;

To stop enabling you to cause me pain.

Jesus says to turn and offer the other cheek.

So, pardon me while I stare intently

And see through the eyes of the Father’s love.

Excuse me while I make a spectacle of myself

And weep at the brokenness within.

Rejoice with me in praising God for

Who we both are 

because of Jesus’ completed work on the cross.

And as I forgive,

Look upon me

With wonder and awe

As we turn our backs on the things

Which once kept us at odds.

God Thoughts No. Fifty Eight

For those who know Jesus ~

Every year is Leap (for joy) Year.

Every week is Holy Week.

Every Friday is Good Friday.

Every day is Christmas AND Easter.

Every minute is Thanksgiving.

~Because a real relationship with Him 

& a true knowledge of who He IS

results in True peace & unending Joy!

He IS Risen!

Hallelujah!

Loving-Kindness

Yesterday afternoon and even early this morning, 

I was tempted to give into feeling 

defeated & overwhelmed 

by life’s circumstances.

But each time I have been on the verge of uttering 

(to the Lord),

“I can’t do this anymore. I cannot go on one more day”,

 Holy Spirit whispers, 

“Not by power. Not by might. 

It is by My Spirit that you can endure.

 It is not you who must go on,

 but I, the One who is carrying you that will go on.

 It is less about (your) running the race 

and more about (you) allowing me 

to carry you to the finish line. 

It was never you to begin with.

 It has always been Me.”

Wow!

What a Loving, gracious God!

There’s an old hymn which says, 

“Thy loving-kindness is better than life.”

But what I have come to realize is that 

His loving-kindness IS life.

Without it, we would never survive this world.

It is His Grace which allows us

to function on any level to begin with.

It is not our might or our power, 

but HIS Spirit who enables us 

to endure, live, succeed, prosper…breathe.

This takes the pressure off of us

and allows us to lean into Him.

What a Loving, gracious God!

Another thing He has been teaching me 

(for the past several years now) 

is that He relates to each of us on a personal level.

As a loving Father, 

He knows what each one of us needs 

based upon our 

lives, circumstances, upbringing, personalities, etc.

It is not our right to judge 

or discount another’s experience with God 

just because it does not measure up to 

our own experience with 

or perception of God.

God is bigger than that.

He is all-powerful, all-knowing,

 holds the world in the palm of His hand 

and He is never wrong.

Who are we to say 

that He must operate 

within the bounds of our own narrow-mindedness?

Besides, we’ve been given the mind of Christ, 

so why not use it?

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for reminding me.

Thank you for your faithful, loving-kindness!

What a Loving, gracious God!

Believer?

There is a common term used in Christendom to 

describe those who place their faith in Christ;

~ Believer.

Those who say they are Believers say that 

they believe that Jesus Christ is who He says He is;

sovereign, holy, kind, humble, meek, hopeful, 

selfless, patient, long-suffering, honest, all-powerful, 

wonderful, counselor, healer,

Savior of the world;

~mighty God

People flocked to Jesus because He was

 kind, gentle and filled them with Hope.

He changed the atmosphere by simply walking the earth.

Therefore, if one is a Believer,

There is absolutely no reason (or right) to be

negative, caustic, mean, rude, proud, 

selfish, impatient, intolerant, dishonest, pessimistic, 

judgmental, angry, fearful, skeptical, worried,controlling, 

etc.

Instead, Believers are to be full of Hope, Joy & Love.

Believers have been commissioned to tell of 

the Good News, 

which is, Jesus IS Lord; 

Savior of the world; 

the very embodiment of Joy & Love.

Believers are to be Light & Salt;

Not…

well… 

piss & vinegar!

To all the Believers out there 

–may Joy, Love & Hope

 motivate & drive you as you 

radiate His goodness!

Shalom!

Desires - of Men & God

Fickle man desired more knowledge, 

thus the partaking of the forbidden fruit.

Fickle man sought a king, 

someone to make rules and decisions for them, 

thus, a king was appointed.

As power was given to a man in order to rule over the people, 

war broke out within the ranks; 

the children of God.

Fickle man desired freedom,

 yet could not maintain faith in God without rules, 

thus, the Law was given.

Unhappy with God’s rules; 

unable to fulfill the Law, 

fickle man desired more.

Singular men, throughout the ages, desired more knowledge, 

of God,

thus they were called out by Him and given

 instruction, tasks to complete

and promises to look forward to.

The Creator has a desire as well;

for each of His children to realize the fullness of His Love.

The fulfillment of that desire is Jesus.

Jesus, King of kings, came to earth;

to give full knowledge & understanding (revelation) of God

and granted us full, free relationship with Him.

He redefined &  simplified the Law with one word

-Love.

The natural outcome of a realization of this Love is

 a life fully yielded to Him.

Fruit does not bear itself. 

The plant in which it is rooted does the bearing.

We cannot bear fruit in and of ourselves.

Fruit comes naturally to and from 

the life of one who has yielded completely to its source

 – God.

A life completely yielded to God 

will naturally fulfill the Law 

– Love.

If this is not the natural outpouring (fruit) of your life, 

then go back to the roots.

Sit. Steep. Marinate.

Receive a new filling of God’s Love.

Then, get back out there and pour!

Pour out the Love which you have been so freely given.

When you feel empty, revisit the Source.

It is a simple cycle;

One which glorifies the Living God who created you;

One which encourages and edifies the one whom it was created for.

God Thoughts No. Fifty-Seven

"And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers 

that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, 

he will certainly care for you. 

Why do you have so little faith?

 ^'So don’t worry about these things, saying, 

‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 

These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, 

but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs."

Matthew 6:30-32

The longer one 

(has no choice but to)

 put these words into practice,

 the sooner they become 

words to live by.

I have learned,

by personal experience,

that it is through the trials in life

that a person realizes,

truly,

how good and gracious God really is.

"Such love has no fear, 

because perfect love expels all fear. 

If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment,

and this shows that we have not fully experienced

 His perfect love."

1 John 4:18

Indeed, this perfect Love

of His

is the very essence of who Jesus is;

a loving, gracious Savior

who knows our every need

and delights in fulfilling all of them!

So, if He is for us,

who cares who is against us?

Victory is ours because

He (has) already won!

Hallelujah!