God Thoughts No. Sixty Three

photo: walthampton.com

This morning the Lord reminded me of something I read quite some time ago.

It went something like, 

“Use what you need of the resources which God supplies,

 then give the excess to someone else in need. 

As you do, you will find that your cup will never run dry. 

You will receive a continuous flow. 

As you give, so you will receive.”

This line of thinking goes against everything our culture teaches 

(even within the “Christian” community)

 and that fact strikes me as flat out wrong.

As I was thinking on it this morning, 

I also had this thought;

“I bet if every Jesus follower actually did this,

we could end poverty.” 

Poverty isn’t only financial lack.

Poverty is physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual. 

It affects the whole person.

All too often, when we encounter those experiencing poverty, 

we automatically begin making assumptions. 

Assumptions about how they got there,

 why they remain there and 

how we think they ought to get out of it.

We forget that each situation is unique. 

We assume too much without actually knowing that person’s story. 

And we judge without bothering to get to know them.

As I have previously shared, 

I am well acquainted with the affects of poverty.

I thank God every day for the persons in my life who have faithfully, 

 for the past several years,

  put into practice, giving part of their resources to us -

month-after-month.

 For truly, without them, 

we would have been homeless a long time ago.

And since we are in the midst of this adverse financial situation, 

some days I am hard-pressed to figure out

 what I can give to someone else.

But this morning the Lord reminded me that 

I have myself to give to others. 

Holy Spirit has equipped me with 

the gift of encouragement 

and as such, I am to encourage others. 

And since school is “out”,

 right now I have an “excess” of time. 

So, I am to give my time to others

 through phone calls, text messages and visits.

And since these are the resources I, indeed, 

have on hand right now, 

I will give myself and my time. 

Jesus said it plainly,

 “Give and you shall receive.” 

And,

 “With whatever measure you give, 

it shall be given back to you; 

pressed down, shaken and spilling over.”

It really is that simple.

What a loving, gracious God we have. 

For truly, He has given us the answers to all of life’s dilemmas.

Kindred Spirits

In Psalm 143 verse seven, David says,

“Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. 

Don’t turn away from me or I will die.”

David and I are kindred spirits.

When I got up this morning and asked God for some encouragement,

He led me to the above mentioned verse.

My initial response was,

“YES! That’s what I’m talking about. 

Thank you David and thank You Lord!”

Then, my old religious self said, 

“Now, you can’t admit that publicly 

because feeling depressed is giving into sinfulness.”

Ugh!

But after some self-loathing and a nap, 

I decided that I was going to embrace that verse 

and publicly declare it, 

because, hey, despite my perfection in Christ, 

I am still prone to human emotions…

just like everyone else.

Our situation has been so difficult for so long 

that some days I simply feel depressed.

To admit this publicly is a huge step for me.

It has only been the past few years that

I have learned to allow myself to experience true Grace

-God’s grace.

I had been steeped in performance-based religion 

for so long that when I fall back into those old habits,

I get extremely frustrated with myself,

thus, focusing on performance rather than on grace.

HA!

What a vicious circular web the enemy tries to weave.

This afternoon, Holy Spirit said to me,

“Lysa, I am not obsessed with sin the way (some) people are. 

I’m obsessed with Grace. 

I am ALL about Grace. 

Remember, Jesus is the fulfillment of Grace. 

And I prefer your honesty much more than I judge your performance.”

What an amazingly Loving, Gracious God!

And you know what else? 

When I shared that verse on another social media platform, 

a few people responded; 

some with encouragement 

and some with the admission 

that they too have been experiencing a difficult day. 

I hope that this time I have learned (truly) 

to not underestimate the power of honesty, realness and Grace! 

Shalom!

The End of Cynicism

Last evening I stopped by some friends’ house for a quick visit.

Just as I was getting ready to leave I heard some music. 

I looked around (and at my cell phone) for its source. 

Neither of my friends heard it, 

so we figured it had either come from a neighbor’s house or from a car that had driven by.

As I got into my car and began to drive away, I heard the music again. 

It was a soft “chimey” music with a chorus of voices in the distance. 

Once again, I looked around, checked my cell phone, and the car radio (it was OFF).

I drove home with my ears open and my mind turning.

It had occurred to me that I had heard music from heaven. 

I continued to listen all the way home and even after I arrived home, 

but I did not hear it again.

Then last night/early this morning,

 I had a dream about my mom (who is in heaven).

 There was another woman with her whom I could not see. 

But they were laughing joyous, raucous, laughter. 

I asked my mom who was with her. 

She turned and looked at me and said, “Oh Honey!”, then turned away. 

I simply replied, “Huh”. 

Then the dream ended.

When I got up this morning, the dream was fresh in my mind.

As I logged onto social media, 

I saw that someone had posted something about a person passing away,

 but did not mention a name. 

I knew immediately who it was and 

that she was the one with my mom in the dream!

I then proceeded to text message a friend who is related to the person whom I suspected

 and she confirmed that it was, indeed, whom I thought it was.

An hour or so later I thought about the music I had heard yesterday evening 

and it struck me that this dear friend had gone to be with Jesus

 at the precise time I had heard that music!

I had actually heard heaven welcoming my sweet friend 

into the presence of the Lord!

What an amazing privilege!

Why would God allow me such an honor?

Maybe because this woman was such a sweet friend to both my mom and to me.

Maybe because He delights in communing with His children 

and sharing intimate things with them.

Maybe because He is the same yesterday, today, and for forever. 

He did miracles then.

He does miracles today. 

He will continue to do miracles for forever.

And maybe it is because He is tired of the cynicism which surrounds us.

Two days before my mom left earth, 

Holy Spirit showed me, in a vision,

 what her entry into heaven looked like.

When she did leave,

 Holy Spirit (immediately) began revealing to me 

the cynicism within my own mind.

He began showing me things of heaven that my mind had previously resisted 

because of the corruption from outside influences.

Every day He reveals to me 

more and more 

of the Spirit realm 

and it is amazing.

He desires for His children to see Him in the fullness of His glory. 

He delights in sharing with them the “secret” things of heaven. 

Jesus made it possible 

and Holy Spirit is here to proclaim that 

the End of Cynicism is here and now!

As one determines to “put off” cynicism, 

Holy Spirit springs to action. 

The things He reveals to you may seem strange at first, 

but stick with Him!

For truly, 

the knowledge of the Lord

 is the best knowledge to obtain!

Marriage Confession

For the past several days, 

Holy Spirit has been reminding me of just how hard the enemy works 

at destroying marriages.

Because Jesus calls Himself the Bridegroom 

and us His Bride, 

Satan absolutely despises good marriages 

and will make all attempts to destroy them.

As I was thinking about all of the great (and valid) 

advice I could give for cultivating a healthy marriage, 

the Lord had me reflect upon the past twenty two years of 

my own marriage.

As I thought about how a good marriage must be both partners

 giving one hundred percent, 

one hundred percent of the time, 

the Lord brought to mind 

many of the sacrifices 

my dear husband has made on my behalf.

The things Holy Spirit brought to mind 

were things that I had not ever before thought of as

 “true sacrifices” but rather as “duty”.

As I pondered each thing God showed to me,

 I really listened 

as He revealed to me why 

the hubs sacrificed those things.

In each of the things He showed me, 

the deciding factor in my husband 

changing his mind,

 moving onto something else, 

giving up a particular pursuit, 

dream or friendship was

 – GULP – 

my own fear and selfishness

 – EEK!

Never once

 has my husband thrown those things in my face

 nor given into the temptation to resent or begrudge me.

No.

My wonderfully loving husband 

has sacrificed so much on my behalf 

simply and miraculously because he loves me!

He loves me with the sacrificing love of Christ.

It is so very humbling and yet truly phenomenal.

And so, in return, 

I have determined that from this day forward,

 as he has done for me, 

I will actively demonstrate my love for him 

by looking to satisfy his needs 

while putting off my own selfish whims.

Because truly, 

this is the greatest secret

 to a happy and successful marriage!

Struggle & Strife

All around

Struggle

And

Strife

Demanding rights

With an incessant need

To always be

Right

Attempts at controlling

Others

While failing to control

Self

Without humility

There remains only

Struggle

And

Strife

God Thoughts No. Sixty Two

I just love how the moment I am tempted to be 

thoroughly annoyed with a person;

Holy Spirit reminds me that He loves them 

just as much as He loves me.

I then allow all annoyance to fall away 

and I am restored to Peace.

God has no favorites.

He loves all of mankind completely and equally.

People may not like it,

But that is the Truth of it.

It is because of God’s perfect Love 

that Christ came.

While people may view the saying,

“Jesus hates sin but loves the one committing the sin,”

as cliché, 

it is absolutely true as well.

Jesus said that the world

 would recognize His followers 

by their Love for one another 

~and others.

He continually reminds me of this.

And as I am constantly aware of His presence in me,

I am better able to emulate His Love;

Thus, proving to the world, that Love truly does win.

He IS Amazing God!

God Thoughts No. Sixty One

I have shared previously (and numerously)

 that several years ago the Lord began 

a paradigm shift in my thinking of and 

in my relationship with Him. 

In the midst of it, 

He told me to 

throw out everything I had ever been taught about Him 

and to allow His Spirit to show me who He really is.

As I have presumed to know nothing 

except Christ, 

it has become increasingly clear 

that because I, indeed, know Jesus, 

I know everything. 

As Holy Spirit reveals things to me (daily), 

I actually come into the fullness of the knowledge of Him.

It is a breathtaking and amazing experience. 

To describe this experience as “sublime” 

only begins to hint at the extraordinariness of it.

And equally amazing and exciting is that

 this knowledge of Him is available to every person.

Jesus came to make God accessible to everyone! 

He took what was “difficult” and made it 

SIMPLE!

It really IS as easy as saying, 

“Yes! I want to know You, Lord!”

He can’t help but answer the sincere heart-cry to know Him more.

In fact, He has implanted that desire into every living human being.

 And when that person responds 

to what He has already placed inside of him, 

Holy Spirit springs into action; 

exceedingly glad to be of service!

AMAZING GOD!

Want to know Him more?

Then ask!!! 

He WILL deliver!

Hallelujah!