Always

But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain.
Psalm 3:3-4

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:11

Yesterday, I had to make a big decision. So I spent the day in prayer and worship. God is teaching me not to focus on the problem, but to look up to him instead. So each time I got bogged down in details, I looked up and worshiped. At the end of the day, I made a decision based on prayer and the advice of some wise people. I felt so at peace and was thankful for the support of people that love me and God's help in making this decision. I thought that would be the end of it.

No, it definitely wasn't. At about 1:00 AM, I woke up second guessing my decision. Oh my goodness, doubts were coming from every direction. It felt like I had foolishly given up an opportunity of a lifetime. So I cast this care on God and went back into worship. Finally, I was able to sleep again.

I woke up in the morning feeling so loved by God and my friends and went to work with confidence and excitement. That's when the problems began again. I couldn't make my key work. Customers started showing up and couldn't get in. I had to call my boss who was having her own trouble sleeping. She was kind of cranky when she arrived. As the morning progressed it seemed like several customers had taken grumpy pills. Everywhere I turned there was a disgruntled person.

Here is what I concluded. I think God gave me the decision in the first place so that I would be set free in some areas. On the other hand, I don't think the enemy was very pleased with my decision, so he decided to pick on me. One part of me struggled, but another part of me was rejoicing because the harassment of the enemy proved that I was on track. I know that he was trying to make trouble for me, but he mostly succeeded in getting me to hope in God and to be thankful for God's faithfulness and guidance.

Here is a song that I heard on the radio this morning. It really spoke to me in the midst of this whole adventure.

Through God's Eyes

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:4-5

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9

Yesterday, while dancing Zumba, I kept seeing myself as a person I know of that is overweight and clumsy. Then it occurred to me that my thinking was only making things worse. It made me feel heavy and clumsy. So I changed the picture in my mind's eye. I instead, visualized myself to be more like our instructor. I saw someone that was a healthy weight, coordinated, limber and full of energy. The transformation was amazing. All of a sudden I could raise my hands higher and dance more energetically. This morning, I am aware of the negative opinion I have of myself and life in general. I am excited to think about how life's dance is going to change as I begin to see myself and my life through God's eyes. "Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." (Psalm 86:11)

Love Never Fails

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
Psalm 63:3

I am so thankful for God's love and faithfulness. Ever since I read Proverbs 3:3 last week, God has been feeding it to me. It is a vital nutrient that I am lacking. There is no love like God's love. He doesn't love me in spite of me. He truly loves and enjoys me. There is no faithfulness like God's faithfulness. He isn't faithful and kind just because that is what a good God would do. He is faithful and kind because he is faithfulness and kindness. All around me people are saying, "Do it my way," and, "Be my expectation that I have for you." I am even saying these things to myself. The only place to escape is in God's goodness. Nothing can separate us from his love. Even if all humans failed me, he never will because his love is better than life.

Little Child

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Matthew 18:1-5

There is a little child within each of us. This child is unsophisticated, innocent and free. The child is unencumbered by shame, sin, lies of the enemy and striving. I prayed from the place of this child today. It is a place of humility and so sweet. When I pray from this place I am at peace and know in a greater measure that I am the beloved of God. I understand that the more I welcome this little child within me, the greater influence this child will have on me. I am being set free to be truly me.

Tongues

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
1 Corinthians 14:18

For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:2

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven." Matthew 18:19

I have been worshiping God in tongues this morning. I feel an incredible thing happening. It's like a place in me, that is truly me, is praying. It isn't muddled by the lies of the enemy, shame or striving. On the other hand, there is a purity and holiness in this prayer. It is also as if God is holding my hand and we are praying in unison. He is agreeing with my prayer and adding prayers of his own that my spirit is in unity with. It is really beautiful and sweet and some of the most peaceful prayer that I have ever experienced.

I think there is a boldness in tongues that we don't have otherwise. I remember, once, hearing a man tell about God doing a wonderful thing in his life. When he thanked God for it, God said, "It is what you asked for."
He asked, "When did I ask for it?"
God answered, "When you were praying in tongues."

Today's Assignment

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3

I will share with you the assignment that God gave me for today. I thought you might want to do it with me. Know God's love and faithfulness towards you and others. Choose love and faithfulness towards God and those around you. Choose love and faithfulness from mankind towards God and you. Meditate on love and faithfulness from every angle and let it be the one thing that you are the most aware of today. Put it around your neck and write it on your heart. Be aware. Savor it. I guarantee a beautiful, light filled day for anyone that dares to take this assignment on.

Life

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;" John 8:31

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Luke 6:46-49

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:23-24

The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Proverbs 19:23

Last night I felt like God was asking me to choose his word. He wants me to know him through his word. I keep trying to find life and get to know God along the way. God wants me to come to him and his word for life. I am not to try and find life and then season it with God and his word. I am to know God and his word, and out of this will come life.

Blessed

Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.

“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets."
(Luke 6:20-23)

Come Up

3 In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you

7 But I, by your great love,
can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make your way straight before me.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
(Psalm 5)

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him.
1 John 2:27

God is our only constant. He is our source of hope. We can find all kinds of little things that bring temporary happiness; like success, good food, pretty flowers, or fun with a friend. He wants us to come up above the earthly and hang out with him in the heavenly. He wants us to worship him and know his goodness. Sometimes we get too entangled with the earthly and it becomes our focus instead of his kingdom. We want to plan a strategy. We want to worry over and try to fix everything that looks off kilter. He wants us to come up above and worship. Then he will send us forth. Some of the things that we thought were important will fade away and some will be part of our "to do list." It is when we are in the heavenly with God that we get the right perspective.

Be Blessed

1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.....
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
(Psalm 1:1-3 and 6b)

The other day, I was praying with a friend and God showed us that we were hanging onto doing things ourselves instead of surrendering to God. It took me until today to figure out what he meant. We both feel weak and incapable and we want to succeed at what we set our hands to, so that we can prove to ourselves and those around us that we are not duds. God is asking us to give it up.

People have many standards for success and even if we are very successful in one area, we are failing somewhere else. There will always be limitations to our humanity and there will always be many critics to tell we are doing something wrong. This is not where God wants us to hang out. He is calling us to come up above. He is asking us to read his word, believe it, meditate on it and declare it and obey it. He wants to be our center and our standard for life. We may never succeed according to man's standards. We cannot use this as our measure of success. We are to hope in God, not our earthly accomplishments or man's opinion of us. What a relief! Life is looking pretty good from up here with God. Hallelujah!

In Him All Things Hold Together

For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, "We are his offspring." Acts 17:28

In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:17

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:45

Without him we all fall down (J.J. Heller)

I am very aware of the fact that God loves everyone and cares for everyone. Many aren't aware of this. In God's great humility, he continues to care for and help the world, even if they don't know him. For some reason, this really touched me today as I pondered our loving God.

Here is a song by J.J. Heller that has really blessed me this week. I especially like the line that says, "You are stronger than any terrible possible scenario today."

Ask

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
Isaiah 65:24

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:11-13

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Armor Of Light

Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Romans 8:8-9a

Sunday morning I woke up feeling pretty cruddy. I was aware of my sinfulness and I couldn't do anything about it. Then I read the above scripture and everything changed. I saw that I was hanging out in the flesh and being very aware of my human limitations and failures. In my flesh I am doomed, but God was asking me to change locations and hang out in his Spirit. There I am safe. There, I am wearing Christ's righteousness. There, I am strong, loving , and good. This is because that is who God is. I am hiding in God and his goodness. He is wonderful and safe.

The next day, someone was rude and obnoxious to me. My tendency was to get hurt feelings. Then I remembered that I dwell in God's Spirit. I looked out of my God abode and found that I could see that woman through God's eyes. He had compassion on her, and at the same time, I was safe in God's love and approval of me.

This also brings this verse to mind. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12) God is our armor of light. Here is where we are called to dwell.

God Blesses Us When Others Curse Us

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10

W Jabez's mom gave him a name that sounds like pain because she was in so much pain when she gave birth to him. She basically cursed him. What really impressed me is that Jabez wasn't doomed by this. He prayed and God answered. No matter matter what was spoken over him, he prayed and God blessed him instead of cursing him. He will do the same for us. I am truly encouraged by that.

Rejoice With Those Who Rejoice

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Romans 12:15

A few weeks ago I made a decision to thank God when others have things that I wish I could have. So now I am beginning to see the good fruit of this. As I see people that are flourishing in areas where I am floundering or have failed, I bless them. I love my change in attitude. I have become excited about their success in life. I can hardly wait to get an update on how they are doing. Good-bye jealousy and self pity. Hello, loving my neighbor.

God Is Jealous For You

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:28-31

The line from a song, "He is jealous for me," really touched me just now. I am tired and vulnerable after working all week with very little sleep. God is in the process of setting me free from caring about what others think of me. A couple of days ago I came away from work deciding that if others have a bad attitude towards me that it is their problem, unless of course, I am truly sinful. The grace was there for later in the day when I was confronted in this very area.

Today has been challenging because my insecurities were so strong. I am a unique character that is fairly open minded. God speaks to me through movies, books, and situations that others boycott. As a result, I have a different perspective on many things than the average person. So some find it their responsibility to correct me. This is one reason that I hide so much. I have not dealt well with so much rejection and criticism.

So what does God do? He gives me a job where I interact with all types of people for hours at a time. When God is teaching me something, he gives me a lot of practice. So today, this stuff was coming from every angle. By the time I got off work, I was thrashed. As I began praying, God said that he is jealous for me. He seemed to be saying that I can let go of their bad attitudes and turn to his love and approval. In fact, as I wrote this I heard, "You have no answer for them." In other words, I don't have to explain myself to them. He is actually upset with the people that treat me this way. He said to me, "Bless those who wrongfully accuse you." So I pray blessings on those who accuse me, both when I am guilty and when I am innocent.

He Loves Us

Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.
Psalm 48:9

God's love is my saving grace these days. My life is being changed as I rest in his love. Today, I was trying to make a decision. It felt like God was saying not to focus on the issue but to come up above it. I am to worship and rest in his love and then the way will be made known. We are always to keep our eyes on the God who loves us and cares more about everything in our lives than we do.

Friend Of God

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
James 2:23

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. James 15:15

God calls us friends. I really like the concept of being a friend of God. Last night, I hung out in God's presence and meditated on his love. I let myself feel his enjoyment of me as a person. His attitude towards us is the truth. Anything that contradicts this is a lie. He wants us to choose truth.

I remember being on my way to a woman's meeting and asking God, "Is there something
that you would have me tell the ladies?"

"I am still touched by his response, "Tell them that I am lonely."

Holy Spirit, My Helper

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 14:26

The Joy of the Lord is My Strength Nehemiah 8:10

Yesterday, I wrote about finding treasures within ourselves. I wanted to continue that theme. After I wrote the blog, I still had a difficult time for a few more hours. I kept imagining myself as that excited kid, looking for treasure. After awhile, I noticed that the Holy Spirit was truly helping me. I could sense his presence. He was full of enthusiasm and joy as we explored together. His joy was contagious, and I began to get excited and happy right along with him. My rough day turned into a victorious one. I am still happy.

An Empty Lake

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

In California, on my grandparent's property, is a lake that my grandfather created by damming up a river. We have had so much fun there, swimming fishing, picnicking,and so on. There are many beautiful memories. One year the dam was opened and much of the lake was drained. It was interesting to explore the exposed lake bottom. We found lots of garbage that was hiding beneath the surface. On the other hand we found some cool treasures. Of course when you are a kid lots of things are considered treasures. I think my brother even found a pocket knife. I thought the fishing floats were cool.

Today, I am aware of how life is like that lake. There are the days when things are flowing nicely and all of life seems wonderful. Then there are the days of suffering when it feels like all the garbage of our lives is exposed. All the old issues that were hiding raise their ugly heads. I am finding today to be a bit like that. I see the picture of the drained lake over and over. My tendency is to go have coffee, chocolate or good food, anything to mask the pain. God is asking me to leave it exposed. I am to talk to him about the hard things and ask him to take care of them. I am to confess what needs to be confessed and then move on. He also wants to show me the treasures that were hiding. I am tempted to just hang out with the garbage. It is all so confrontational that all I can do is lean back in his love. I have opened my Bible and am declaring that God is who his word says he is. It really makes a difference when I do this.

On these days of exposure God does such amazing work in our lives. We are delivered from the hidden garbage and able to find wonderful treasures. Today, explore your life like an excited kid looking for treasures. Ask him to open your eyes so you can see the gifts. Don't judge these treasures like and adult. Look at them through the eyes of a child. God has a great day planned for you whether your lake is full or empty. Enjoy.

You Are Beautiful

When I was a kid, I remember my brother crying because he couldn't love God enough. Later, as an adult I heard a friend say that he didn't want to just mouth the words of praise songs. He wanted his heart to be engaged and to really believe with his heart what he was singing. I know that my heart at times feels far from God too. These two incidences have really stuck in my mind and believe it or not, I have been pondering them all these years.

I have good news for all of those that don't feel like they love God enough. "We love because he first loved us." (John 4:19) I know, we have heard this lots. Hearing is good. Now let's declare this to be true. It is in God's word, isn't it? Lean back and rest in his love. Open your heart to his love and sit quietly soaking in his love. Don't go by how you feel. Go by what God says. You are loved. I even imagine myself on his lap, in his arms or even rest in in the palm of his hand and let myself feel what it would feel like if I knew his love for me. As we receive God's love for us, we will start to love him more and more. We will literally fall in love with him. "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him." (Psalm 62:5)

Here is a song about how God views you.