It's your choice

I've been off work almost a month due to my foot surgery...I thought I'd be going crazy coz I'm not a ‘sit still’ kind of girl.

But I'm actually enjoying it. It's nice getting to spend time with my mum & dad. It’s been nice to rest and really just spend time getting to know Jesus in a different way...where I can't allow being busy to get in the way. I have to seek Him in the silence...in the stillness and that's new for me. I like it. It gives me more time to think & really grasp the fact that Jesus died for ME...

God made us and sin corrupted us, instead of destroying us, God came to earth as a little bit of himself, His son, Jesus, and showed us how to live life the way He intended...& because God can’t be near sin, it prevented us from having a relationship with Him, which is why there was religion, laws, rules, and sacrifices all to try to get close to God. BUT…God sent Jesus to break all that. He sacrificed and took all our sin, pain and shame on the cross so that we could have a relationship with Him once again... that's how much He loves us...how much He loves you and me! He didn't have to take that pain, but He suffered so that we can be free.

When I think about that, REALLY think about that, it makes me have a deeper appreciation for Jesus, it's not just surface level "I believe in Jesus" It's...I believe in Jesus and I am SO grateful that He died so that I may have life. He died so that I may know the Lord. 

If Jesus never came & died, we would all still be trying to fulfill the law, trying to follow rules & regulations...Religion... That's what Jesus came to break!

Jesus didn't like religion, the people he sought after were uneducated, prostitutes, the most unlikely, the poor, those left out, those that didn't live the way that they should. NOT the rule followers, not the religious, & not those that thought they were high & mighty and thought they had no need for Him. You don't get to heaven by what you do, by following this rule and that rule... let me say that again, you don't get to heaven by what you do…

We don't have to do works for Him to love us... We don't have to achieve His love; all we need to do is receive it. When you know Him and love Him...you tend to grow to be more like Him. You WANT to serve, you WANT to give, you WANT do things for others, and you WANT to be pure, all out of a response of your love for Him. When you know & love Jesus you don't want to do that which is sinful. I know just from my experience that I want to know HIM more; I want to experience His deep love & fulfillment. And because I am human & cannot live a life completely free from sin it breaks my heart when I do fall short, as we all will, but I repent and ask for forgiveness... the same as I would do in a human relationship.

God doesn't love us because of what we do...we are sinful humans, all of us...He loves us unconditionally and He created heaven for ALL of us who WANT to be with Him eternally.  What we DO does not determine our future, what we CHOOSE will.

The same way heaven is real, so is hell…but God created hell for satan & his angels who rebelled against Him...God DID NOT create hell as a place for US to go.

We choose to go there when we reject Him. 


Marc Driscoll smartly put it this way, prison was created FOR criminals, and we don't have to go there unless we chose to. Prison was created to PROTECT us from criminals...the same way hell was created to protect us from the enemy or people that reject God. Will you turn your heart towards the one that loves you so much that he died to save you from going to the place he didn't design for you? Will you love Him, or will you love the world?

When we love the world, this life is the closest we will ever get to heaven, if we love Jesus; this life is the closest we will ever get to hell...because what's waiting for us is so much better.

Heaven is made to spend eternal life WITH Jesus & if you don't love & believe in Jesus...why would you want to be there?  

And if you don’t believe in God & Jesus…what is heaven?

Jesus is the most humble, loving, caring, selfless man that ever lived...and He loves you so much, that He was willing to DIE a brutal death, he was willing to take beating after beating, he was willing to take nails through His hands & feet, He was willing to be humiliated BECAUSE He loves you & wants you to know & love HIM...

There is a HUGE difference in KNOWING & KNOWING ABOUT somebody...usually when you "know about" bob down the st... so & so that's friends with your other friend...you don't KNOW them, so you can't love them, you can't fully grasp their full character.

When you "know" someone...a good friend, a spouse etc...you can grow to love them, you trust them, you know you can depend on them, you wouldn’t want to spend life without them & you are truly sorry when you hurt their feelings or disappoint them.

Some of you don't know Jesus that way...you're missing out.

Some of you search for fulfillment in worldly things thinking it's going to fill the hunger that your soul is aching for. No money, job, alcohol, sex, men, women, drugs, or approval is ever going to fulfill that void. It never will… that soul hunger was put there BY God & can only be fulfilled BY God, through a relationship with Jesus.

You don't believe me?...try it ...

Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Matthew 7:7

"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

Psalm 34:4

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears

Romans 10:9-10

 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

It's your choice...come to know Him and experience His Love, His Grace, His Mercy, His Forgiveness, and Provision.  Place your life in His hands because He IS trustworthy.

Jesus is not forceful, He wants you to come to Him on your own terms. God gave us free will to freely love who we want to love... It's your choice...And Jesus is...

(I'm going to steal a line from my friend...)

Jesus is the best decision you HAVEN'T made...

Apart from Me, you can do nothing

In the middle of reading “Made to crave” By Lysa TerKeurst something occurred to me. I was reading a line from a scripture I know well “John 15” I have it tattooed on my arm.

It was John 15:9-12

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

As I read it reminded me of my favorite verse in John 15:5

  5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Remain in Me, and I in you…apart from Me, you can do nothing.

I initially got the tattoo to remind me of where God brought me from.

The day I gave my life to Christ this scripture was what my Pastor based the sermon on. It changed my perspective on my situation. It was the way my Pastor put that certain scripture, that God used in my life so greatly that caused me to hang on to that. He said:

“Have you ever felt like you have been cut off from God?... like He’s forgotten about you & all these bad things keep happening? …He’s pruning you, so that you can become more fruitful…He’s taking the old “dead” things & allowing room for better things.”

From that point on, I decided to give my life to Christ & my life has never been the same…I ended up getting “John 15” on my wrist to remind me that whenever I feel as though God is removing things from my life, it’s because He is pruning me so that I am able to become more fruitful…today, I discovered it had a different meaning…something new for where I am in my walk now.

When I read the lines “Remain in me, & I in you…apart from me you can do nothing” I thought of all the times I tried to do things in my own strength & how I got tired, (exhausted in fact) I felt weighed down & defeated, weak & darn right reckless, because every choice from that point on, was not a good one. I had no strength in me to make a good choice & I wasn’t “Remaining IN HIM” to let Him take over for me…I had been so busy trying to DO, rather than trying to BE that I had left God behind.

This happens often to me & slowly God reels me back in to remind me that apart from Him, I can do nothing. I CAN do something, but it doesn’t mean anything…it has no eternal value & it doesn’t fulfill me.

When I spend time with God, in His presence & be still…He renews my strength. Just like He tells us in Psalm 103:5 & Isaiah 40:31

Psalm 103:5

Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's

Isaiah 40:31

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

So why oh why do I continue to think I can always do it in my own strength!? When I know & have experienced His to rely on.

I guess for me its time, that’s always my excuse… (and I say “Excuse” because that’s what it is) I don’t have time, or I don’t feel like it because I’m too busy DOING as I said earlier…or exhausted from doing!

Friend, there is nothing wrong with having a servants heart, but we need to keep a balance. Serve, but also spend time with Him. Even if it is only 15 minutes in the morning when we make time to be still in His presence.

We make time for what’s important…Is He important to you?

Love is a gift

Our relationship with God prepares us for our relationship with a spouse.

It consists of devotion & commitment. It teaches you to learn to search for such qualities in a mate that don’t fade over time, such as spiritual commitment, integrity, sensitivity, sincerity, all these things that will be shown in the time of building a friendship. It includes paying attention to character so that you can build trust. All of which are very different from the world’s superficial standards.

Healthy marriages are a reflection of Gods love for us, and in the bible, Song of Songs represents real human love. It shows how two relate to one another in a loving, committed marriage; in the way God intended it to be.

Like any relationship, the beginning is exciting. Our relationship with God starts out the same, He’s all we want to talk about, He loves us & shows us our infinite worth & value. He shows us His solid character, His loving nature & that He is a stable & solid foundation to build upon. We learn that we can lean on Him when hard times come, and they will.

In Song of Songs 1:4 “We praise your love even more than wine”

SOS 1:9 “You are as exciting, my darling, as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions “

In these 2 verses it’s showing how love is sweeter than wine, that everything in the beginning is great! That it is sweet & heart racingly exciting. 

But it also expresses that the lady stands out to Solomon & that the same is true for her, in 1:15 she says:

SOS 1:15 “You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words.

Song of Songs is a great example of how two express their love for one another.

In any relationship we should strive to make our love (towards God, a spouse or any person) a reflection of the perfect love that comes from God Himself.

She was insecure about her dark skin- He makes her feel unique & secure by telling her she is a “Lilly among thistles” (SOS 2:2)

He builds the foundation of love by covering her floors & insecurities, making her feel loved & that she is just as she should be.

God makes us feel the same when He tells us that he knit us together in our mother’s womb & that we are fearfully wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)

I read a quote yesterday that was incredibly beautiful…

“Amazingly, Gods grace humbles a woman without degrading her, & His favor lifts her up without inflating her”

The way Solomon treats this lady about her past (working in the fields, that caused her dark skin) is the way that God treats us. He makes us feel whole & loved just the way we are.

He has integrated all our past experiences together to design who we are today. We are like a piece of fabric that portrays beauty on the outside, while all the knots, ties, & gathered bits of fabric are woven together on the inside. We are beautiful because of all those knots & ties that you don’t see.

In the beginning of a relationship is the time, not to get carried away with excitement & passion, but to be paying attention to character…this is where trust is built. Too many people are driven into marriage by exciting feelings of love & passion before they take the time to develop a deep friendship and friendship takes time.

As in all relationships there comes a time when the newness wears off. In Song of Songs 5 verses 2-6 It shows how she had become “cool” to her husbands advances & by the time she changed her mind & responded to him, it was too late, he was gone. Her self-centeredness & impatience caused separation between them.

2 I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking: "Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night."

3 I have taken off my robe-- must I put it on again? I have washed my feet-- must I soil them again?

4 My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him.

5 I arose to open for my lover, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh, on the handles of the lock.

6 I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer

Also, in Song of Songs 2:15 it says:

“Catch all the foxes,

Those little foxes,

Before they ruin the vineyard of love,

For the grapevines are blossoming.”

These  “little foxes” are examples of small problems that can destroy a relationship.

Irritations must not be minimized or ignored, but identified so that together you can deal with them. Take care of problems while they are still small. The same goes for the “little foxes” that slowly push you away from God. Don’t brush them under the rug, bring them to Him openly & work through them. Communication is key.

Eventually when marriage begins to lose its sparkle these “Little foxes” will become a source of separation. This is when you remember the sweet time in the beginning. In Song of Songs 2 & 3 they remember memories of their courtship & engagement. Focus on the positive, remember the commitment you made, the excitement you had, the way you did everything together, your spouse’s strengths, remember what attracted you to them to begin with.

Continually work in refreshing one another by encouraging words, unpredictable gifts, change of pace, a surprise call or note. Nothing is more vital than encouraging & appreciating the one you love, by voice & by actions.

In the same way a marriage becomes dry, so does our relationship with the Lord. God is unpredictable, but He is good & always has our best interest at heart.

The faithfulness of our marital love should reflect Gods perfect faithfulness to us.

Remember that love is a gift; you are not entitled to it… Let that sink in for a minute…you are not entitled to it…why would God give you a gift you feel entitled to? 

Therefore when you have it, you must accept it as a gift from God & then share it within the guidelines God provides to enjoy it in its perfection. 

I got my Jesus back

Today I am free again…I have been saved for over 3 years but for the last 10-11 months I have felt burdened, in chains, held back & straight up exhausted & empty… Today I got my life back, I got my voice back, I got my love back… I got my Jesus back. I know I never lost Him …but it sure felt like I had.

I let the enemy stand on my back & tell me why I wasn’t good enough, why I wasn’t strong enough, all the things that were wrong with me that would prevent me from moving forward…that I wasn’t worthy, that I could never be better, that I could never break through… guess what… he’s WRONG…dead wrong!!!!

I’m not who I was & my past doesn’t define me, that was 4 years ago & Jesus has made me a brand new person. I don’t struggle with all the things satan was whispering in my ear…that’s old news! THE VICTORY IS WON…

I allowed satan to keep me hanging out in deliverance when God was pushing me towards His promise land… I was stuck in the wilderness for 40 years when it should have only been 11 days (As Christine Caine talked about today)

 I allowed satan to tell me all the reasons why I shouldn’t, when I should have been listening to all GOD’s reasons for why I should …and CAN!!!!!!! 

Because HE made me to be fearless…I am fearfully & wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) HE made me for more! HE values me, HE is my strength & my power, through HIM I CAN do all things, HE says who I am, HE chose me, HE gave me HIS Mercy & Grace, HE said I can, HE has faith in me…if He didn’t, He would never have chosen me for what He has called me to do! I need to “GET UP…& PICK UP MY MAT & WALK” Jesus didn’t make me for sitting on the side lines staring down at myself & all the things I cannot do…He made me to LET GO, SURRENDER & keep my eyes on HIM to allow Him to do all the things THROUGH me that I am not strong enough to do on my own!!!!!!

Don’t allow satan to hold you back any longer…Drop whatever it is that you are holding onto that you THINK is keeping you afloat…and grab a hold of Jesus…He is the only life saver, the only floatation device, the only solid foundation to be built upon.  His character is trust worthy…Let go & trust Him to do the work IN YOU that you cannot do yourself …He will free you

REMEMBER

REMEMBER... remember how much you desired that job? how much you longed for that husband? how much you prayed for that friend? for that miracle? Remember how you allowed Jesus to love you in your pain, when you were lonely, scared or lost? 
Remember that He will do the same when you do have the husband & feel lonely at some point in that marriage...When you do have that job & you all of a sudden can't stand it... When you do have that friend and they are grating on your nerves... Or when that miracle doesn't seem like it's going to happen. Remember how much you prayed for that husband, job, miracle or friend and how God was faithful? He will be faithful now & has a purpose in the pain. 
He always comes through & gives you more than what you can ask or imagine. He has a plan.
Don't give up, don't let go, surrender, allow God to permeate every part of your soul and to fill every hurt with Him. He is the only one that can make a way. 
He will carry you when you're too weak to walk, He won't let go when you are too weak to hold on. Stop looking to find your feet and look for His... you won't find yours because He's carrying you. 
You will always be a work in progress...you will never be THERE. You will never be perfect, stop trying to achieve that and rest in the arms of the almightily savior. He loves you, He wants what is best for you. You won't feel more complete and rested as you do when you sit at His feet.
REMEMBER WHO HE IS, ALL HE HAS DONE & WHERE HE HAS BROUGHT YOU FROM. He has a plan, trust Him, even when it doesn't go the way you expected.

Endurance

Working out in the gym is worth the results…but very rarely do I WANT to do it. It’s never easy, I have to push harder than my body wants to, it hurts, & it tears my muscles. But if I continue to push through the pain, my body will start to build those muscles back stronger than they once were. It will learn to endure, to build stamina & strength… That’s the exact same way God works in us.

Psalm 84:5-7

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.^[a]
7 They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.

He puts us in situations that we don’t necessarily like, that we are not good at, and we decide to label it as a weakness. So we usually push it to the side & focus on our strengths. But if we press on through that “weakness” we are able to see God work in us. He starts to tear us down & then gradually builds us back up stronger than before, so that not only are we able to do what we once couldn’t, but we also gain trust in Him for when the next challenge occurs, knowing that with Him all things are possible.  He builds in us a strong spirit.

Without Him…I am nothing, BUT Phil 4:13- says “WITH HIM I can do all things because He gives me the strength I need.”

 James 1:2 says

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds”

Learn to enjoy these challenges because this is when you are becoming more like Jesus.

Whatever challenges you face this week, change your perspective & start to perceive it as a way of growing, as a way of becoming more like Christ.

God chose YOU to live the life that you live because He knew YOU could manage it better than anybody else. He believes in you.

Believe Him, trust Him, obey Him… because then you have found favor, and recognize it as just that.

Just one step...

A couple of weeks ago I was in bed trying to get my dog to take a few steps towards me so that I could pick him up and put him up there to sleep. I would call his name, tell him to “Come here” but he wouldn’t budge!! he wouldn’t even take one step forward. If he did, I would have lifted him up and put him on the comfortable bed, with a cover and he wouldn’t have had to do any work to get there, except take a step towards me! Instead he stayed where he was in the cold, on the uncomfortable floor, pacing back and forth staring up at this humungous bed wondering how to get up there to rest.

It reminded me of how I am with God…

HE will call me & tell me to “come here” and all I do is stare at this HUGE mountain of a task wondering how I’m going to do what He’s put in front of me… when all I have to do is take the first step towards Him…and He will do the rest! HE will lift me & place me to where I need to be. Where I am blessed with his presence, power, rest, warmth & comfort, but only IF I take the first step of faith. He’s not forceful, He’s not going to get down off his throne (or out of bed in my case!) to drag me to do something I don’t want to do…even if it is for my own good. He gives us free will to choose to trust Him, to choose to let Him hold us in His hands and lead us towards blessings. Instead we sometimes just sit looking up at Him freaking out about how we are going to get “there”

I was reading in Joshua this morning about how The Lord told Joshua to tell the priests instructions on how to get the people and the ark across the river…

Joshua 3:6, 8, 13 & 17

6 In the morning Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river.” And so they started out and went ahead of the people.

8 Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’”

13 The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”

17 Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

Joshua relayed the message from God to the priests, to tell them to take a few steps…and you notice in vs 13, AS SOON AS their feet even touched the water, God moved…MIGHTILY! They took one step & He kept His promise and made it easy for them to cross the river… 

What if the priests didn’t have that kind of faith and didn’t take that step into the water?... what if they freaked out & stayed pacing back & forth wondering how to cross the river? 

Would they have ever made it to the promise land? Or would they have missed out on what God had for them?

Friend, when God is asking you to do something, no matter how impossible or scary it looks, no matter how much you don’t understand it…don’t miss out on what He has for you, trust Him, take ONE step, and watch Him move right before your eyes!