Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Obedience


Current circumstances 
are that I need God
to provide for something
by tomorrow morning.

As I awoke in prayer, yesterday,
I told the Lord that I would fast
(from food) for the day 
while I waited for His provision.

Holy Spirit then said,
"Obedience is better than sacrifice.
Trust IS obedience."

WOW!
I had never thought of Trust
as obedience to the Lord.
Yet we are told, by Him,
to trust Him.

"Trust the Lord with all your heart."
Proverbs 3:5

So,
as I wait - 
I trust -
that He will provide
 by whatever means
He deems best.

Because, indeed,
He
 IS
 trustworthy!




Friday, July 27, 2012

When Nothing Makes Sense



The circumstances
of my life
make no sense
that I can see.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take."
Proverbs 3:5-6


Yet, having surrendered
my life to God,
I can rest in the beauty 
of  knowing that 
God is in control.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.
 “They are plans for good and not for disaster,
 to give you a future and a hope."
Jeremiah 29:11

His ways are perfect;
therefore,
I have nothing to fear.

"And we know that God causes everything
 to work together for the good of those 
who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."
Romans 8:28

Hallelujah!
Amen!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

God Thoughts No. Sixty Five


God gave us life
for relationship
~ with Him
&
with one another.

Our culture
has made life about
work 
activity.

Interesting.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Phenomenal Blessing


The unconditional love of God
is phenomenal.

It doesn't say,
"I love you, but..."
Or
"I will love you, if.."

Unconditional love says,
"I love you."
Period
~And
Forever

If, in your lifetime,
you have a person
or two
who truly love(s)
unconditionally;
you are 
Phenomenally 
Blessed!


Saturday, July 14, 2012

Disturbing Realities

Last night I saw a preview for a new television show 
where one character says to another,
 "They only love us when they're not busy hating us."
I thought sardonically to myself how
that seems to be the story of my life.
But in thinking more on it this morning,
I have realized that, sadly,
this has become our culture.

How many have families where 
they have heard, participated in, or experienced 
situations where one family member is 
speaking ill of another family member,
saying all kinds of horrible things,
but if someone outside of the family
agrees or speaks ill of that person,
they are attacked and threatened by the
one who initiated it to begin with?
We make a joke of it and say that it's okay
for family of speak ill of family, 
but not for anyone else to.

Every day parents abuse children & pit them against one another;
grandparents speak curses over grandchildren;
siblings wish siblings dead;
husbands & wives slay one another;
and we accept it as norm.

In nearly every neighborhood in this country
there are churches who 
open their doors to welcome people in,
until, that is,
those people fail to give enough
time, energy and/or money to their cause;
or have and idea or perspective
 that doesn't conform to their agenda.
When that happens,
those people are ignored, threatened and cast out.


We call this country the United States of America.
You can look around and see flags, banners & ribbons 
that say, "United We Stand",
yet walk down almost any street 
and you can hear bickering & fighting.

Turn on any news station 
and you can clearly see that we are
anything but united.

We send men and women into
other countries in order to
liberate them from oppression,
when ultimately,
the driving force behind it is a
warped sense of pride which says that everyone else
should be just like us
(whether they want to be or not).

So,
we consent to allow
lives to be lost &
families to be torn apart;
all in the name of liberty.

In thinking about all of these things,
I have come to realize the sad & disturbing reality is
that from the broadest relationships
down to the most intimate relationships 
 we have, indeed, 
become a people who
"only love each other 
when we're not busy hating one another".

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Seriously...

Pity 
judges
under a mask of sympathy.

Sympathy
feels sorry
without understanding.

Empathy 
shares in suffering
while offering up,
at the very least,
prayer,
if not, also, physical help.

People don't need pity;
rarely appreciate sympathy;
but 
need AND appreciate
 empathy.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Damage Control

"A good person produces good words from a good heart; 
and an evil person produces words from an evil heart. 
And I tell you, you must give an account 
on judgment day of every idle word you speak.
 The words you say now reflect your fate then; 
either you will be justified by them 
or you will be condemned." 
Matthew 12:35-37

Jesus loves the Father.
He speaks only words which
He hears the Father speak.

Jesus speaks words of
correction,
not condemnation;
blessing,
not cursing;
encouragement,
not judgment;
healing,
not destruction;
love,
not hate;
life,
not death.

And never
is a word that Jesus speaks
ever spoken 
outside of
Love.

"We all make mistakes, 
but those who control their tongues 
can also control themselves in every other way." 
James 3:2

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