God's Incomprehensible Love

My father was Italian, and he sang all the time, whether he was in the choir at his church, the shower, or his woodworking shop, he sang. I am glad for this pleasant memory of him.

Our Father God is in our midst, rejoicing and singing over us. He is quieting our stress, anxiety, fears, insecurities and shame with His love (Zephaniah 3:17). This is hard for our finite mind to grasp, but this fact of His love brings us a deep sense of peace and joy.

No one on this earth ever loved us that much, although some tried their best in their limited capacity. When the honeymoon is over, even our spouse gets too busy to notice us very much; yet, God always delights in us.

If we goof up, Satan makes sure that we tend to think that God is angry with us. It is possible to grieve God's Holy Spirit by our attitude, words, and actions (Ephesians 4:30); but He loves us even while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8).

In the midst of the fiercest storm, God holds us in the palm of His hand (John 10:28). When negative feelings such as depression, abandonment, abuse, vulnerability, anger, rejection, irritation, confusion, exhaustion, etc. assail us, God's cares about us (1 Peter 5:7).

At times, embarrassment, shame, disgrace, scorn, taunts, false accusations, condemnation, demeaning behavior, etc. seem to overwhelm us. Yet, negative times in life cause us to snuggle deeper under His feathers (Psalm 91:4).

Our faith in God's faithfulness matures and controls our thoughts and emotions. We learn to trust in Him more unreservedly, and to develop a more intimate union with Him alone. God continues to smile on us and to rejoice over us, if we do not stray from His presence (Psalm 44:14-18).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to keep our eyes focused on You rather than on our circumstances. Help us to use our negative emotions as a roadmap to discover the source of these feelings, and to care for our needs as we care for everyone else in our life. Teach us to celebrate who we are in You, and to strengthen our commitment to You and Your Kingdom each and every day.

Your consistent, incomprehensible love for us gives us courage to live in the present moment as we walk in Your Spirit and trust in Your Word. You break down every wall in our life and give us peace (Ephesians 2:14). You are our fortress and our deliverer, always the defender of the weak (Psalm 18:2; 82:3-4).

Thought for the Day:
God restores our soul from the degradation and abuse we experience in our life, and then He gives us a life-altering mission to accomplish for His Kingdom.

- Psalm 23:3; Ephesians 2:10

Letting God Be God

Most of us are not used to walking by the direction of God's Spirit, nor to obeying King Jesus each moment of our day, nor to making God's Kingdom a priority in our daily schedule. Like the man Jesus encountered, we believe, but we need Him to help our unbelief (Mark 9:24).

Our total surrender to God often takes place only after a catastrophe that strips us of every vestige of control that we possess. We are devoid of all natural resources, and without sufficient ability or direction to go on from this point.

This occurred for me when my husband of 22 years decided there was no option for us but divorce. I had no alimony, no job, no training to procure a job, no home to live in, and no place to go. This predicament forced me on my face before the Lord.

I needed His provision, protection and direction for where to go and what to do with the rest of my life. Up until this moment, I submitted to my father, and then to my husband every day of my life, with only a short period alone during one year in college.

To help me to overcome the fear that this foreboding time birthed within me, God taught me to live in the moment. He made the Serenity Prayer a reality in my life. If I could change a circumstance, I did; if I could not change it, I put it in God's capable hands.

God also taught me to live out the advice in Proverbs 3:5-6 for each new moment in time. I picked apart each phrase in those verses and made them the formula for my life:

1. To trust in the Lord with my WHOLE heart.

2. NOT to lean on my human understanding.

3. To consult the Lord for EVERY new moment of my day.

4. To have faith in God's faithfulness to direct my steps.

I also bought a heart-shaped box and wrote my concerns on slips of paper that I put in the box. Then, when I was tempted to worry about that issue, I would remind myself that I already placed it in the heart of God. This allowed peace to rule my heart.

Fear left as I realized that I was fine in this instant of time, and that God always supplied all of my needs. My faith grew as I experienced God's faithfulness. I started looking for His seed for a miracle in every trial, and I have never been disappointed.

Prayer:

Father God, how much better our life would be if we could learn from our parents to live this spirit-filled life, full of trust in our personal relationship with You, rather than to have to suffer through a life-altering experience to force us to cast ALL of our cares on You (1 Peter 5:7).

We would much prefer to live in this abundant, intimate relationship with You from a young age, rather than to suffer through a major upset before we let go and let You be You in our life. However, no matter what our age, to live up to our dying breath without ever having experienced this intimacy available to all of Your Saints would be an even greater trauma.

Thought for the Day:

Most of us are not aware of the depth of intimacy available to us with God's Trinity within us; therefore, letting go of control, recognizing His voice within us, and totally surrendering our life to God - letting God be God in our life - is the hardest discipline for human beings to learn.

The Gift of Faith

Faith is an ethereal concept, wispy at times, something on which we cannot get a tight grip. The meaning of faith seems to elude us sometimes too. God's Word tells us that faith is the substance of the things, which we hope for (Hebrews 11:1).

The hard part about faith is that in order to have it, there is no room for doubt (Matthew 21:21). Jesus chided people for their unbelief (Matthew 17:20). He actually marveled when He found great faith in people (Matthew 8:10; 15:28).

Actually, we do not have to manufacture great faith devoid of all doubt; we simply need to live by His faith in us (Galatians 2:20; Acts 3:16). Faith helps us to believe that our hopes are real, by causing us to put our trust in God alone.

Jesus told His disciples that faith is actually a cure for fear (Matthew 8:26). He builds our faith with statements such as the fact that God clothes us like the grass in the field, because we are of far more importance to Him (Matthew 6:30). 

This is certainly true in my life. I have a wonderful wardrobe of beautiful clothing that I purchased at thrift stores for $10 or less, or that came from hand-me-downs from other people. I relish each new outfit that He provides.

When Jesus saw the faith of the sick people who came to Him, He immediately healed them (Matthew 9:22, 29; Luke 7:50). He even healed people when their friends or family had faith for them (Matthew 9:2; 15:28).

Satan’s demons attempt to distract us or discourage us, but God is the author and finisher of our faith (Acts 13:8). His faith heals us in body and soul (Acts 14:9). We comfort each other by sharing our testimony of mutual faith in God (Romans 1:12).

Prayer:

Father God, You multiplied the number of Believers in the early church, and You continue to do that same thing all over the earth and throughout the ages of time (Acts 16:5). We thank You for opening the door of faith to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews. You make no difference between them and us, because You purify our hearts by faith (Acts 15:9).

You give us faith as You turn us from the darkness of this world to Your light, and from the power of Satan’s stranglehold on us to Your glorious freedom (Acts 26:18). In this life, we enter Your Kingdom through much tribulation, which helps our faith in You to grow (Acts 14:22). We are so glad that our faith pleases You (Hebrews 11:6)

Thought for the Day:

When we are full of the faith of Jesus, we can do the great deeds, which God directs us to accomplish, and many people come to Christ when they see us living out our authentic faith in Christ alone.

- Acts 6:8; Ephesians 2:10; Acts 11:24

More Intimate Relationships

Past failures, abuse, and disappointments will color our attitude about our self, our life, our world and our relationships. These perceptions may not be accurate; they may hint at the truth, but they are also tainted by Satan's lies.

He causes pride to rise up in our heart so that we will use destructive thoughts and behavior to protect us from hurt, judgment and vulnerability. We use control, manipulation, anger and other negative traits to get what we want.

This provides the devil with another door to further influence and even to regulate our thoughts, words and actions (Ephesians 4:26-27). He uses important people in our life - driven by jealousy, insecurity and ego - to throw us out of balance, cause us to doubt our self, and to negatively influence our decisions.

We are easily offended, and we harbor unforgiveness, which hinders God from filling our entire being with His fullness (Ephesians 3:16-19). The only way to combat this drift is to trust in the Lord, rather than to depend on our human reasoning (Proverbs 3:5-6).

When we allow God's Spirit to fill us with His compassion for others, we learn to view life from their point of view. This enables us to love friends and adversaries alike (1 John 4:20-21; Luke 6:35-36). We walk in the Spirit and that prevents us from living in the flesh (Galatians 5:15-25).

We feel God's love more deeply, and we attract friends who actually care about us rather than using us for their own advantage. Our intimacy with God increases and grows beyond the limits of our finite imagination.

Prayer:

Father God, we want to learn to consult You each moment of our day, and to follow Your plan for our life (Ephesians 2:10). When we draw near to You, we can resist the devil, and he has to flee from us (James 4:7). Then, the "hungry lion" may no longer steal, kill and destroy our relationships (John 10:10).

Help us to love You with a heart of full devotion, not distracted by the temptation of worldly pleasure, praise, glory or benefits. We want to do Your will in everything we say and do each and every day of our life. We give You the glory for every positive consequence we receive from our efforts in life, and we return all the praise we receive back to You.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus Christ redeems us and protects us from the schemes of the devil, by enabling us to live our life worthy of His calling upon us (Ephesians 4:1); when we praise Him now because of everything He does for us every moment of our life, we can also look forward to an eternity in His presence, enjoying Him for who He is.

The Truth about God

There are so many scoffers and God-haters in this world today. Vehemently spewing their poisonous assumptions, they have less proof than the average Christian. They really believe the rhetoric, which they learn and parrot, as their own world-view.

They have no age-old documents, fulfilled prophecies, or risen Savior on which to base their assumptions. They simply have humanistic propaganda with a missing link, and the unanswered question of where did their exploding gasses come from?

Others are less bombastic; however, they still view God from a finite, human perspective, rather than as our holy and omnipotent Father. They attempt to understand Him and His ways through our limited human understanding.

Some people view God as a vindictive, dictatorial, distant, condemning, neglectful Being that is not to be trusted. Nothing is further from the truth if we are authentic Believers. He blesses His children all of the time.

Our Father God never tires of giving us all good things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17-18). We simply ask and receive, when we ask according to His will rather than according to the lusts of our flesh (Matthew 7:11).

God's wisdom provides us all with His Spirit, once we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord. The Holy Spirit searches our heart and intercedes for us to God, according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-28).

Jesus is our brother, our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1), and co-heir with us of everything that belongs to God and His Kingdom. It is through the blood of Jesus that we are blessed with eternal security.

Prayer:

Father God, You lavish Your children with Your love as we walk in Your will during each moment of our day. Your ways are higher than ours. We simply pay attention to Your still, small voice within the recesses of our mind (1 Kings 19:11-13). This allows us to reap the benefits of obedience and humility.

We begin to notice Your provision and blessings throughout the day, even in the little things that occur both naturally and supernaturally. Remind us that we can only tolerate the intolerable and bear the unbearable trials of life by keeping our focus on You, because You keep us in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Thought for the Day:

When we believe in God, all things are possible through Christ in us, and we can rest in complete confidence in God's goodness, regardless of circumstances in our life, knowing that He works out everything for our ultimate good.

- Mark 9:20-26; Romans 8:28

It Is Not ”My" Disease

I used to say, "My Fibromyalgia" or "My Autoimmune Diseases" or "My Arthritis." Then, one day, my Daddy God said to me, "Are you sure you want to own those diseases?" Of course, my answer was a resounding "No", that echoed through the halls of our home.

We all do it. We call the disease, "Mine." Actually, our Body is affected by the Crohn's, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Diabetes, Cancer, etc. but it is not "our" disease. We do not want to own those despicable, debilitating illnesses. They actually belong to the devil and our sin-cursed world.

These issues invade our body due to toxins in our food, water, cleaning supplies, the environment, body and facial products, etc. We use scented candles or air fresheners and breathe in their toxic fumes. Even our dryer sheets emit toxins into our clothes and air.

The glue on bandages and envelops, medication that the doctors prescribe for us, chemicals in the air we breathe, resin from a campfire, shellfish, genetically modified foods, aluminum in cooking ingredients and cookware, pesticides and fertilizers and preservatives, etc. all generate toxic chemicals that cause these diseases.

Then we take antibiotics and other chemicals that have their own lethal side-effects. How do we get off this merry-go-round? We stop using chemically-laden products, and go organic and chemical-free in everything that touches our body through our mouth, nose, skin, etc.

Even some "healthy" foods such as dairy, eggs, legumes, soy, nightshade veggies, corn, grains, etc. can contaminate our body. Fruit and veggies treated with chemicals retain those chemicals when we eat them, which affect our health.

Thankfully, Medical Doctors who go beyond putting "bandades" on these diseases, and who were trained in school to treat only the symptoms of the issues, are now declaring war on what they were taught in medical school.

These Functional Medical Doctors are going after the cause of the disease, not just treating the symptoms by using medications that bring their own set of new symptoms and diseases. Trusting in God, our Great Physician, is the best place to start to heal.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for showing us that when we "own" the disease, we are inviting Satan to allow the illness to imbed its hooks even deeper into our body and soul. He does not want us to effectively serve You, so he bombards our life with altering drugs and chemicals that cause even more diseases to attack our body.

Your wisdom from above is penetrating the consciousness of so many functional doctors nowadays. We need them in every location and we pray that You will open doors for everyone to avail themselves of the expertise these medical professionals are discovering to heal themselves and their patients. Most of all, however, we put our total trust in You.

Thought for the Day:
We do not want to "own" the diseases inflicting our body with ill health, so it is wise for us to follow a healing protocol, which frees us from toxic chemicals in our environment, home, workplace and personal products. - Amy Myers, MD

Until the Storm Passes By

Jesus promises that while we live in this world, we shall experience trials, tribulation, setbacks, pain, weariness, fear, discouragement, insecurity, etc. (John 16:33). Many times we create our own chaos by the choices we make. We can control these.

Our attitude about the negative experiences, which happen to us by uncontrollable issues, is what makes us or breaks us, gives us a wondrous testimony or a wearisome one, deepens our intimacy with God or pushes us further away from Him. It is our choice (Philippians 4:8).

Full surrender to God is the hardest discipline that any of us needs to master. It is only by exhibiting complete faith in God's faithfulness that we can survive the uncontrollable circumstances that plague us; however, when we yield to God, then Holy Spirit power is released.

God's Spirit also comforts and encourages us by helping us to remember Bible verses we have read, by giving us little God hugs throughout the day, and by explaining to us why we need this most recent trial in our life (John 14:25-26).

For instance, my daughter chose to divorce me from her life. She said that even seeing my email address disturbed her peace. She was disappointed in my evangelical practices and beliefs, because she knew from her upbringing that I could not affirm her current choices.

When I consulted the Lord, who allowed this to happen to me, He made it clear that He permitted this rift for my benefit (Matthew 10:21, 35). I no longer had to observe the choices she was making with her life, and attempt to support her. 

Another trial occurred when I totaled my car. I had eleven broken ribs, a punctured lung, half a face full of glass, and a concussion that together took three months to heal; however, God took away the pain immediately, and proved to me that my fiancé would love me unconditionally.

God plants a seed for a miracle in every trial. Watching the miracle blossom builds our confidence in God's love for us, strengthens our faith to face the next trial, and reduces our reliance upon our human capabilities and other people.

Prayer:

Father God, at times our trials serve us a gut-punch that sends us reeling for days or even years at a time. Yet, through every storm, You calm the wind and rain of adversity (Matthew 8:23-37), You prove Your love for us, and You walk in us and with us until the storm passes by. We count on Your provision and protection throughout our lifetime.

Thank You for giving us the mind of Christ in order for us to see life through Your perspective (1 Corinthians 2:16). Remind us to take up Your yoke, and to walk lock-step with You through every moment of every day. As our faith in Your faithfulness grows through every trial, thank You for Your loving kindness, for Your comfort, and for intimately involving Yourself in our life.

Thought for the Day:

When we walk in the Spirit each moment of the day, we immediately consult the Lord as we face various trials and adversity; this enables us to sail through the storms without fear, and to look for the seed for a miracle that God plants in each obstacle and issue, which we face.