One with Our Abba Father

In today's society, stress is not only prevalent, it is a silent killer - affecting so many of our bodily functions. When I lay down for the night, my body is often unwilling to welcome sleep; so I toss and turn, pray for everyone that comes to mind and quote scripture or sing praises in my heart to the Lord.

The one scripture that usually puts me right to sleep is Psalm 23. I often recite only 3-4 verses before I am snoring peacefully. This is one of the most comforting and encouraging chapters in the Bible. Intimacy with God is proclaimed in almost every verse.

When we rely on human understanding and personal works to please the Lord, we may be very busy, and we may accomplish many good deeds; however, we are only in the center of God's will when we walk in His Spirit each moment of the day.

Remember the parable that Jesus told about the ten virgins? Five were wise and walked in the Spirit, and five were foolish and listened to their own human understanding. The bridegroom refused the foolish women any admittance into the wedding feast (Matthew 25:1-44).

Many people know about God, and are busy in Kingdom work; however, they are not intimately related to Him by trusting in Jesus for salvation (1 John 1:9). Full surrender to the Trinity is one of the keys to living an authentic and fulfilled Christian life.

As dynamic Believers with authentic and spiritual veracity, we hunger and thirst after God (Matthew 5:6). Nothing will ever separate us from the height, width, depth and breadth of His amazing love (Romans 8:35-39).

In Christ, we have no more shame or condemnation about our past, present and future choices (Romans 8:1). The devil can no longer keep us in bondage to negative emotions or to his lies about our character and our relationship with the Trinity.

Prayer:

Father God, when we surrender our life to You, You teach us that our identity is in You, and not in our works, our character or our family roots. We are now King's Kids, Your beloved children, and heirs with Jesus of Your entire Kingdom.

These facts thrill our soul and bolster our spirit. Our new identity in You makes us one with You and reduces the stress in our life and the negative consequences of poor choices, like we used to make. We walk in Your Spirit each moment of our day and we live to serve at the pleasure of King Jesus.

Thought for the Day:

Surrendering the roots of stress in our life to God will give us an opening to walk in His love, peace and joy all the days of our life, and to live in faith in His faithfulness.

The Seeds for a Miracle in My Trials

Due to God's benevolence, the words of the title of this post have seen me through many trials in my life. It started when I accepted the fact that God loved us enough to take on human flesh and to pay the penalty for our sins (John 1:14).

I learned to stop resisting the trials, which are inherent to life on this sin-filled planet. I started to rejoice in them instead, because I know that God will work them all out for my good (Romans 5:3, 8:28).

I want to document some of the seeds for miracles in my various trials in order to encourage you, my reader, and to give glory to our Father, who loves us beyond words.

*In 1971, I married the love of my life. Over the 22 years of our marriage, we learned that we were never really compatible. We saw life through two very divergent viewpoints. For instance, I needed to work with my husband, while he preferred to be alone unless he wanted companionship.

I am very emotional, and he is rather stoic. My prophetic nature often wounded his sensitive soul; yet, he never divulged this information to me until after he decided that there was no option for us but divorce.

Bewildered by this unexpected trial, I moved back to my childhood home with my extended family, and I waited on God to show me His future plans for my life.

Eighteen months later, God produced miraculous fruit from the seed, which He planted in this trial. My Heavenly Daddy gave me a mate more suited to my personality.

For 22 years now, we work together continually in the ministries, which God gives to us. My dear husband cherishes me, loves me unconditionally, and appreciates me continually.

*At one point during our 19 years of ministry to New Life Church in Florida, I had a trial for five weeks which had me homebound. I caught a cold virus that developed into bronchitis, pneumonia and back to bronchitis.

During this time, my cat of 14 years sat on the arm of my recliner and kept me company for the duration of my illness. We bonded during that time, and she gave me continual cat hugs and kisses to comfort me.

Even though my constant coughing startled her at times, she never left my side. God planted her in my life as my miracle seed. She is my constant source of joy, even after God healed me from that illness.

*Another trial occurred when we purchased a small, "starter" home in Florida that needed quite a bit of remodeling. The seed for the miracle manifested as God freely provided the materials and much of the labor to make this home pretty and comfortable for me.

*Living in such a small space, however, became a trial to my husband. After five years, God's seed came in the form of our neighbor who asked to buy it; he wanted to remodel it even more and to move his family into it.

*We then moved to a three bedroom, two bath manufactured home in a senior community, which had a termite and roof inspection before we moved into it. A few weeks later, the trial came when we discovered termites and a leaky roof.

The miracle occurred when those that did the inspections repaired these issues with no cost and no fuss or issues for us. My husband really, really loved the additional, square feet of extra living space.

*During the first half of our years together, I saw more of my husband's children than my own. They were young children when we married, and we got them for several weeks out of the year.

Then, as adults, they lived closer to us, while my children lived many states away from us. We saw my husband's grandchildren more often than I was able to see my own.

The seed for my miracle in this trial was that, twenty years later, my husband took the pastorate of a church only three hours from my younger son and my grandchildren. Now, I am able to see them more often.

*Another trial occurred when I found out that I had Autoimmune Disorder issues for most of my life. Up until then, my doctors treated all of the symptoms of this illness; but never gave me any help to combat and stop the root source of it.

God gave me the seed for my miracle when a mentor shared his experience with me. After suffering for 15 years with fibromyalgia and arthritis, within two weeks of me starting the detox diet he recommended, I was pain free. 

As I read the book my mentor gave me, I learned what it takes to heal this malady caused by a leaky gut and inflammation. When I strictly adhered to the advice in the book, The AutoImmune Solution by Amy Myers MD, many of the symptoms of Autoimmune Disorder started healing.

*For instance, my eyes developed Narrowing Glaucoma over the years of Autoimmune destruction of my bodily organs. After prayer from my church family, and my new lifestyle diet, my eyes started to heal until the Glaucoma was totally gone.

*Another trial and seed came from Hurricane Irma of 2017. It damaged much of our manufactured home in southwest Florida. We had planned to use the money from the sale of this home to purchase land and a small café to use for community outreach in connection with our pastoral ministry in Illinois.

       

This vision died with Irma, until God lead a Christian couple to give us the money needed to purchase this property, along with a loan to buy needed equipment to open the cafe.

We were also able to cash in our retirement CDs with a minimal penalty to make the needed repairs on our Florida home. We look forward to the future sale of this mobile home in order to pay back the loan for the café and to restore our retirement savings.

*As we outfitted the café and bought the necessary equipment to open the restaurant, we found many items on sale. Some of the appliances, booths and chairs were slightly used, but still in good shape.

We ran into the biggest trial when the exhaust hood, which we already purchased, cost more to install than the property and the building did. This put a halt to all of the projects needed to open the café.

It looked like this unexpected development might not only delay the Grand Opening, but might even kill our dream of using the café to provide our community with a loving place to fellowship and meet new friends.

The word of our predicament slowly got out into the community, and the miracle produced by the seed, which God planted in this death and rebirth of a vision, provided us with help from unexpected places to be ready for our Grand Opening.

Prayer:

Father God, You have given us so many wondrous benefits as Your children, starting with our eternal salvation and continuing through every trial which life throws at us through the years. We highly prize our intimate union with You along with the continual guidance of Your Holy Spirit. I shudder to think of a life without Your presence and direction.

Keep us ever mindful of the seeds for a miracle, which You plant in every trial. This will help us to count them as joyful occurrences, rather than dreading the future trauma that they usually bring. We trust You as our Heavenly Daddy, and we know without a doubt that You always have our best interest in mind.

Thought for the Day:

Trusting in God's benevolence and mercy, we can abide in a fulfilled Christian life now and for eternity; living as an example of God's Agape love will allow us to serve as a beacon of light set on a hill to draw others to His saving grace.
- Matthew 5:14; John 12:32

The Incomprehensible Greatness of our God

We can join the early Christians in praising God, worshipping Him and blessing His everlasting name each and every day of our life (Psalm145:1-3). His name is worthy of our praise and His greatness is incomprehensible.

Even in our intimate union with the Trinity, our finite mind cannot completely comprehend the greatness of God. We depend on the Trinity for our very existence.

We are limited in our resources; but as authentic Believers, we have access to God's unlimited riches (Philippians 4:19). His multi-faceted nature may seem contradictory to us, but they flow together in His character in perfectly integrated ways.

For instance, mercy and wrath may seem inconsistent when seen from a human standpoint, but when viewed from a spiritual context we see that they meet in the form of justice.

Although God's ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), and He rarely does things that make human sense, when the dust of our circumstances settles, we get a clearer picture of the fact that temporal issues are of little consequence, because we actually dwell in His eternal world.

No one knows the mind of the Lord (Romans 11:33-34; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11; 1 Timothy 6:13-16); however, Saints of old, such as Moses, had conversations with Him and even changed His mind on certain issues (Exodus 32:7-14).

By God's Spirit, we too enjoy conversations with our Living Lord. We experience His vastness more than we actually understand it. As authentic Believers we reap the merciful blessings that He imparts to us each moment of our life (Job 26:14).

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, our finite minds can never understand the true greatness of Your majesty as well as Your love for us. Our soul hungers after You, and we dedicate our every waking breath to furthering Your Kingdom in this world for Your glory and honor. We spend all of our days motived by our hymns of praise to You for all that You do for us

We impatiently wait for the return of Your Holy Son to take up His throne on this earth; however, until then, we thank You for hearing our cries, lifting us out of the mud and mire of life's slimy pit, setting our feet on solid ground, and putting Your song in our heart and in our mouth (Psalm 40:1-3).

Thought for the Day:

God keeps a record in His books of each of our times of sorrows, and He collects every one of our tears in His bottle; He loves us so much that He laid down His life for us all.

- John 3:16-17; Psalm 56:8

Praise the Lord Continually

The Lord inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). He sits in the heavenly heights above, but He cares for every detail that concerns the lives of His people.

The cosmos of the waters resting above the skies, the sun, moon and shining stars all praise Him (Psalm 148:3-4). The angels and all of His heavenly hosts praise Him (Psalm 148:1-2).

Should we do anything less? Creation worships His name because they know He is their Creator and He established them forever, issuing a decree that will never pass away (Psalm 148:5-6).

The grand sea creatures in the deepest oceans, the stormy lightning, hail, bitter snow, thick and dark clouds and swirling winds all do His bidding (Psalm 148:7-8). Even the mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedars clap their hands in His honor (Isaiah 55:12; Psalm 148:9).

Wild animals, domestic cattle, the smallest creatures to the largest animals, and all the flying birds give Him the honor and glory that is due to His name.

Ultimately, even the rulers, kings and princes of all the nations of the earth will bow in humble praise at the mention of the name of Jesus (Psalm 148:10-11).

The name of Jesus alone is exalted; and His splendor is known above the earth and the heavens. Eventually, even Israel, the people closest to His heart, will praise His name (Psalm 148:13-14).

All of the people on the earth; the young and old, men and women, and also the children and teenagers will give Him the honor and praise due to His name (Psalm 148:12).

Prayer:

Father God, we join all of creation, the people to the ends of the earth, and even those in Israel who honor Your name in giving You glory and praise. We lift our voice in praise to You for Your goodness, mercy and love. We look forward to our time of dwelling with You for eternity and continuing to serve at Your pleasure.

Keep us connected to Your Spirit each moment of our day; so that we can walk in Your perfect will for us. We look forward to Your divine appointments for us as we live, move and have our entire being wrapped up in Your love, joy, peace and righteousness. We love You with our whole heart and worship You in the beauty of Your holiness.

Thought for the Day:

From the rising to the setting of the sun, we share with others the greatness of the name of Jesus, we corporately and individually worship Him, and we spread His great name among the nations. 

- Malachi 1:11

Living in Harmony with God's Spirit

 

When we stop consulting with the Lord concerning His plans for each moment of our day, our schedule can get out of hand. Our soul is scattered in too many directions: we have too much on our mind, our heart is troubled, and our choices are self-defeating (Proverbs 3:5-6).

When this occurs, our first line of defense is the Word of God. From its verses we obtain comfort, direction, encouragement and reasons to praise our God. He is our peace and He breaks down every wall between us and His will (Ephesians 2:14).

We, who are God's treasured creation (Deuteronomy 7:6), find our joy, refuge and hope in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 57:1, 63:7, 91:4). He is impartial, sovereign, blameless. He daily supplies our needed provisions when we walk in the light of His presence within us (Psalm 89:15).

When we get caught up in our own plans, God patiently waits for us to return to Him. If we linger in this twilight zone of carnality, God faithfully calls us back into harmony with Himself. He will even lovingly discipline us, if we continue in our disobedience (Psalm 23:4).

Trials are not always the result of God disciplining us. Life in this imperfect world provides unsatisfactory circumstances to infiltrate our schedule. If our life is on track with God's will, however, He works out every issue for our benefit (Romans 8:28).

Our belief in Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary's cross, which paid our debt and set us free from the ravages of a life full of debauchery, also provides us with the indwelling Holy Spirit, who guides and comforts us through the trials we experience on this sin-cursed earth.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You that Jesus' death is enough to bring us into Your family as co-heirs with Him for all of eternity. Your mercy and grace comfort us through each trial that we face, and Your love and hope restore our troubled soul during those times that we experience hardships and tribulation (Psalm 23:3).

When we live in harmony with You, You give us green pastures and still waters to luxuriously refresh us and to bountifully provide all of our needs. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, we have nothing to fear, because You abide within us by Your Holy Spirit. Our cup of blessings overflow due to Your abundant goodness to Your Saints. We look forward to dwelling with You in New Jerusalem for eternity (Psalm 23).

Thought for the Day:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end; in fact, they are new every single morning; His faithfulness to His Saints is sure and true, and we hope in Him because He is our provision, our shield and our peace.

- Lamentations 3:22-24

A Good Marriage - Agape Love

One of the best attributes in a good marriage is kindness. When this virtue is present, we go out of our way to show compassion and benevolence to one another. We consider each other's needs above our own and prefer our mate over our self.

This does not imply that we codependently neglect our self, or constantly enable our mate by depriving our self. Kindness is a give and take proposition where the same person does not always do the giving while the other does all the taking.

We rejoice when our mate rejoices, and we share his/her burdens with empathy and concern (Romans 12:15). We sincerely care about each other and we honestly want what is best for our mate as well as for our self.

God created marriage as a union between two individuals that actually become one flesh (Genesis 2:23; Mark 10:8­). He gives us His Agape love for each other as we grow more comfortable in our union as the years of our marriage progress.

We do not condemn, condescend, criticize or belittle each other in our words, attitude or actions. We lift each other up above the world's crass treatment of us and make our home a haven that we enjoy together.

We show courtesy at all times. Now, we may be tired, worried, frustrated or afraid at times and tend to speak curtly or with a grouchy attitude; but at times like this we search for the cause of our mate's negative emotions.

This practice allows us to show compassion for a mate's inner struggle and to attempt to improve the situation to alleviate their stress or to take the matter to God in prayer. Praying together in unity is paramount for a successful relationship.

Prayer:

Father God, fill us with the fruit of Your Spirit by teaching us to surrender our dreams, plans and goals to Your will. Replace our selfish, carnal character traits with Your deep and abiding love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22-23). Remind us that we are Your emissaries in this life and that Your will is our paramount priority.

As we walk in Your Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of our flesh. We will lay down our life for our mate and for Your Body as we reap the benefits of Your amazing agape love. You, our King, died for us; and the least we can do is to lay down our life for one another. We praise You, and give You all of the praise and glory due to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

A husband's greatest need is to receive respect from his wife and a wife's greatest need is to feel cherished by her husband; so as we meet one another's needs, our bond of love and unity will increase over the years.

Healing From Anger

  

Do you or someone you know often react in anger? There is a valid reason for this and a very simple solution. God has healing for our soul, which is the cause of our angry responses. Why do people react in anger?

The root cause may be fear, insecurity, accumulated frustrations, unfulfillment, nervousness, sadness, misunderstandings due to assumptions rather than gathering all the facts, feeling misunderstood or neglected or abused or demeaned, other negative emotions, etc.

Rather than returning another person's anger with our own angry response, we can react to our angry mate, friend, child, boss, co-worker, etc. with compassion, nurturing, understanding, and mercy. We can look deeper to see what recent event(s) may have caused their angry response.

Journaling how we feel, what thoughts are screaming in our head, and what is making us fearful and insecure can help us to discover the root of our angry reactions.

Once we discover the real cause of anger, we can pray about it, dispense with it, and replace our negative focus and emotions with positive ones.

Dealing with our emotional pain, and gracefully confronting and forgiving the one who hurt us, will take the fuel away from anger's fire. We learn to respond with love, rather than taking the person's reaction personally and feeling the need to defend our self.

Prayer:

Father God, You gave us anger as one of our emotions for a purpose. However, we get in the habit of using it too often in an attempt to communicate our sincere and intense feelings about issues in our life. We use it to ward off further hurt and to control others who are dismissing our needs as inconsequential, ignoring our feelings, or not paying attention to us when we attempt to communicate with them.

You provided anger as a warning device to help us to identify the root causes of that anger, which are the real issues in our life. Anger also gives us the adrenaline to deal with stressful or harmful incidences. Help us to reserve anger as a safety measure in extreme circumstances, rather than to react in anger over everything that bothers us.

Thought for the Day:

Dwelling on the positive aspects of our relationships, curbing our expectations and trusting God to meet our needs rather than relying on people, will make it easier to dismiss our immediate angry feelings and respond to others with mercy and grace instead.