He Takes My Breath Away!

A little while back before I started this blog, or even heard the sermon that spurred it into existence, I had a strange feeling.  As I was watching all that is happening in the Middle East I was hearing a slight whisper that all I have read in the bible since I was a teenager is true, and not only was it true, it was beginning to occur right before my eyes!  As a fallen away Christian who has not been in the fellowship of other believers for over 10 years, I still love the Lord, always have and I do know His voice.  He was there and comforted me when my mother died a few years back and believe me, when you hear God's voice?  It is unmistakable.  

Anyway, I had begun to pray that God find me worthy on that day when he calls home His Bride, the Church!  My life was a total shambles!  My days were filled with depression, illness and pain, and I was truly hopeless.  Well, little did I know that the post I shared the other day on how He "confirms" us was for a reason, and God always has one.  It dawned on me tonight that in order to find me worthy, He has to first build me, mold me, shape me and make me truly 100% HIS!

As I was in prayer, I closed my eyes and was transported to a place of when the rapture occurs?  I know that sounds weird, but I was atop a pink, blue, purplish set of clouds, running into His arms!  It was SO VIVID, that I know in my heart that it is truly a promise of a thing to come!  I'm a little freaked out, cuz its as if the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are watching as I type!  Actually when I stop to think about it, it's not really that much of a stretch cause I can almost always feel the protection of His angels.  They are protecting me from the devil, but I still make mistakes.  

I always try to correct them by apologizing to the one I offended and to God for offending Him and as I do,  I am back at His feet again, learning, listening and sharing with you all.

I do hope you are all finding solace, hope, and above all, Jesus!

Oh Lord, I am so small, just a blade of grass that withers in the wind...how is it that I have found such favor...something we all share as Children of Yours...please let all who read these words have Your Breath of Life blown back into their hearts, filling them with joy, love and unspeakable hope as they begin to hear You speak!  Thank you Jesus for your heart, for your sharing it with us, and for dying for me!  You are the only thing that satisfies me Lord!  

Jesus?  You Take My Breath Away!

The Bench Warmer

Are you at a crossroads in your Christian walk?  Things around you don't look familiar anymore?  Your country is changing before your eyes, you've lost your job, are afraid of losing your job or the stress of the situation seems to be your only friend and you are running out of steam?  Trust me, that is the devil and you should resist him and flee!  (James 4:7).   Also be humble and remember that you're not the only one in this country or the world going through these things!  So don't just sit there when you're neighbor's in the bottom of the 9th with 2 out and a moving van in front of his house removing his family from the only home they've ever known!  Jesus expects us to reach out for them, especially when it's something out of our comfort zone!  Tell them you're there if they need anything, help them move, just be a Christian!  GET OFF THE BENCH!

How about this plan:  Instead of feeling sorry for what you never got to do, or can't do anymore, get off that bench and get into the game of changing your world for Christ!  If God can use someone like me, and believe me, some of my story is pretty awful guys, then He can use you too!

Infuse yourself into God's word!  Remember, "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!"  (Isiah 40:31).

In 1  Corinthians 1:25, Paul said "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than man!"  Then in vs. 27, Paul proclaims "but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong."  God will choose the lowliest of the low and the weakest of the weak to get his job accomplished!  He wants to use us, but we must first have FAITH and only in HIM! 

So, are you a bench warmer who never or rarely gets called upon to play the game?  All you have to do is take the words of God and deposit them in the vault of your heart!  God wants to "confirm," you!  (1 Corinthians 1:8).  Look up what the word "confirm" means in Greek!   The depth and breadth of His word it knows no end, there are no boundaries!   So the time has come to stand, walk to the plate and knock a homer into the life of someone who needs Jesus!  Pray in faith for God to use you, and I guarantee you that He will!

Those who don't know Christ are in chains and some will mock you, but never forget that "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me."  (Matthew 5:11).  For when we are persecuted we gain favor with God! 

We are about to be Raptured off this rock!  Do you really want your family and those you know and love left behind? 

GET OFF THE BENCH!  BE COURAGEOUS & TAKE BACK THE FIGHT!

Grace is Greater than Dysfunction

There is something that is on my heart tonight.  Dysfunctional families their households and the grip of fear that is within.  St. Peter once warned, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  (1 Peter 5:8).

Are you living in a dysfunctional home?  Did you grow up in one and now you are afraid to even have children for fear you'll be just like your parents, or maybe you're already a parent and you have found yourself really losing it at your kids over something really minor?  

Trust me, I am the queen when it comes to killing a persons spirit, but it's because I never knew anything different, and I had to be healed by God first before I could see that.  I am grateful that He called me to account and I got a chance to tell my children how sorry I was for the things I was doing, the things I was saying and how I just wanted them to know that no matter what I said or did, that I loved them very much, and that I was working on fixing ME, and that there was NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM!   It was me who lived in an abusive cycle for years as a child and teenager and I didn't know how to break it, but they were going to be the ones to go through another cycle and I decided I couldn't let that happen.  I felt like I had to at least try to  undo what I had done and try to break its hold over my life!  It truly burdens and hurts my heart to think of people who are doing the same things that I did based on false belief systems and the pain of abuse they were brought up with. 

Let God be your father?  He will Father you correctly and will help heal your hurts, your sins will be wiped away, and you can start over, your whole family can start over, and even if you say, "No, it's too late, my kids are grown and don't want anything to do with me," I say hogwash!  It's NEVER TOO LATE TO SAY YOU ARE SORRY AND LET THEM SEE GOD'S LIGHT IN YOU AND CHANGING YOU!  BELIEVE ME, WHEN GOD IS SAVING YOU, PEOPLE NOTICE!  ESPECIALLY THOSE CLOSEST TO YOU!

I would always tell my children I was sorry when I would lose it and curse at them for stupid stuff like not picking up their toys, etc., etc., and my parenting skills, sad set that they were, it was all I had, so I sought help and found a few books on the subject.  I discovered a very important FACT!  For every one negative thing you say to your child about themselves, it takes saying 5 positive things to them about themselves to wipe out the one  negative!  And you should all take heed to this because  Jesus said,  "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these"  (Matthew 19:14).

If you feel that you are going to lose it at your kids, stop, look up and ask God to help you break the chains that keep you in the flesh and not in the Spirit?  Whether you are a Christian or not, to harm a child, well, pay heed, for "It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin." (Luke 17:2). 

I do not say this to judge, but rather to nudge you toward the great blessings He holds in His hands, waiting to just dump them on your head!  Don't be a dummy!  (I've always wanted to say that! lol).  Do what I did, admit your sin, get down on your knees and ask God to break down the walls in your life, show you your sin and help you do better!  He will forgive you whatever you ask, whenever you ask and you should ask everyday because you are HUMAN and you are going to SIN BECAUSE YOU ARE HUMAN!  THERE AIN'T NOTHIN YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT!   So at least admit it?  Please?  For the sake of those who love you, and the people who work with you, the people who commute with you, and those in authority over you?  Get right with the Lord!  HE CAN FIX ANYTHING!  Let Him fix your relationship with your parents if it is possible, or pray that He works on it for you - leave it at His feet!  My parents are not just forgiven they are both now saved!  Remember, Miracles come in Can's, not Cant's!  (Joyce Meyer said that, and I'm passin it on! lol).

If He can reach down and fix me.....what could He do for you?  Have you asked Him lately?  Ask Him to remove your fleshly side, for even Paul commiserated that "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do," calling it the curse of the fleshly sin nature of all men.  DON'T LET THE FLESH WIN!  FIGHT THAT WILEY OLE DEVIL WITH THE WORD OF GOD!  

Thou art loosed!  "Whoever the Son sets free, is free indeed!  (John 8:36).  OH HIS GRACE IS JUST SO AMAZING!  REACH OUT TO GOD AND HE WILL FREE YOU!  THE WORK HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE THROUGH CHRIST'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION! 

If you are a child/teenager living with abusive parents, there is help!  Contact Rocketown USA  for help!  Don't be afraid, for God is with you children!  Reach out your hands, never give up and be strong!  God wants to raise you up!  Help is on the way!

God bless those who read this Lord, and parents, God wants you to know that you are His children and He cherishes all of you too!  = )

He's Always Been There

Early last night I had a really bad allergic asthma attack and wound up in the local ER.  I've had them before, and understanding exactly what it was and what needed to be done, I calmly climbed into my car and drove to the hospital for help. 

I was under attack by the devil the whole way and he was winning because panic was setting in.  He tends to spout things into your head like, "You're dying," is the first one.  Then it's "You can't breathe!"  Then it's "You're so stupid, sucker, you know you can't go through this without the pills....You're weak....You should be so ashamed!"   He had me in the palm of his hand there for at least 15-20 minutes after being admitted.  It was slowly getting worse, but then something happened as I began to ask God to save me from this attack.

As I sat waiting, I started to get increasingly panicked.  Just then they came in for a moment and  left the curtain open just enough so I could see another patient across the ways in a distant room.  He looked way worse off than me, and my heart felt immediate compassion on him, so I started to pray for him.  I used the promises of Ezekiel 37 and the Valley of Dead Dry Bones!  I opened the palm of my hand and blew towards him, praying that God's breath of life would reach him through me, just praying it.  I do not know what God has in store for any of us, but when God gives you a command to pray in a certain way, you do it!  I might look like an idiot at some point, but I don't care.  I'd rather be ridiculed for Christ then feel comfortable in my "complacency", which is the "death to all Spiritual Growth."  (A. W. Tozer).  I know God is faithful and He will work miracles in those peoples lives because I was obedient!   As for my failure, and the panic attack and the nebulizer....I did feel very defeated, and ashamed that I had somehow failed God by not trusting Him more.

Then out of nowhere, I suddenly had this thought this morning and as the river of tears began to fall I prayed, "Jesus...oh Jesus.....you went through all of my panic attacks on the cross, you felt that horrible feeling of the devil grabbing you by the leg, pulling you under the earth kicking and screaming..oh Jesus, I'm so sorry!" I actually was grieved for the panic attacks he suffered on the cross because of me, because I know how awful they are!  He had every sin of every human being that would EVER live in his very soul as He died for us!  Is it any wonder that He died of a broken heart?

This realization had me in tears.  Not only did Jesus feel our sins, He felt our disappointments, our hurts, could feel our tears, our shame, our rejections, our worst fears that keep us paralyzed in sin, our physical infirmities, our panic syndrome, our mental illness....can you just imagine what He went through on that cross?  It truly never occurred to me, but if all things are out of sin, and Jesus died for all of them, that would include all of the medical infirmities brought on by incorrect living, addiction, all the bad things we have done, bad words, and thoughts that not only hurt ourselves but can hurt other people as well, and the pain it can cause them, which might cause them to sin in their hearts with unforgivenss of others, which causes so much pain, not just to the person we have wronged, but to Jesus too.  "What you do to the least of these my brethren, you are doing it unto me."  (Matthew 25:40).  That doesn't just include the "good" things we do folks, it includes the bad stuff too and He weeps for us that we just don't get it you know?

I am finding victory over a beat up body, abuse riddled, guilt riddled, pain riddled, panicked riddled and asthma riddled now apparently (lol), crippled in every way possible, I mean, I truly am a broken human being, but He is fixing all the damage that has been done, either through the devil's attacks through others, or the attacks I placed upon myself for so many years, saying to myself I couldn't be better than I am.  Well, I'm here to tell ya, the Lord has been there all along, and now that I am listening, "I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you (and me!), will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 1:6).

My healing is in Christ Jesus and no other.  I await the moment when I can just touch the hem of his robe.  It's okay, I will get victory over it, but it is so comforting to know He is already there!

Be Still and Know

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness shall be added unto you."   (Matthew 6:33).

Seeking God first is what we have been called to do as Christians, but have you ever stopped to think about that second part? 

In Ephesians 1:4, Paul outlines just a few of the blessings in store for believing Christians.  The blessings in store for us can't be counted, of course,  for they go into eternity with us, so how could their number have an end, but here is just a very short list of the best blessings!  I have rejoiced over and over reading these passages!   Here is what Paul said we could expect to attain as believers in Ephesians chapter 1: 

• Chosen to be Holy and Blameless in Him before the Foundations of the World
• Predestined to adoption as son's of God
• Sons & Daughters of God through Christ
• Forgiveness of our Sins
• The Richness of His Grace
• His Wisdom & Insight
• He Reveals the Mystery of His Will to us
• His kind intentions poured out on Believers through the mercy of Christ
• We will Inherit the Kingdom of God through Christ
• Predestined According to His Purpose
• Sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of Promise
• We are God's Possession
• We have the Hope of His Calling

We Have the Hope of His Calling.  Wow.  If you read through the entire chapter of Ephesians 1, you will see these promises flowing from the page and I hope for the first time, you weigh what it means to have all of the above working for you!  For if God is for us, who can be against us?  (Romans 8:31).

You know something?  Some times God and all He has done for us just kinda leaves me a little speechless.  Thank you Jesus for your love, and for all You have done for us Lord!  Your ways are so wonderful...quiet our hearts Lord so that we may all have a word from You!  


Be blessed and have a terrific day everyone!  God Bless You All!