On My Heart
Following along a similar vein as the previous post Every Day in Every Way are some impressions I feel led to share. This is not a planned out post. I am simply going to type as I feel led. Please read prayerfully knowing these words are being sent with great love.
I am a people watcher, always have been. It's a family trait passed down from my grandma to my mom to me. Being a lifelong observer of people there are certain trends and/or patterns of behavior and thinking that come and go with the seasons of life. Certain areas and regions also possess various patterns of thinking and behavior unique to them. The community of Christ is no exception.
Recently within the community of believers in Christ I have noticed fear showing up with regularity. I have recognized fear slyly sneaking in through what are often considered acceptable thought patterns and perspectives. Basically fear is entering anyway it can gain entrance into a believer's thoughts and life.
Brothers and sisters in Christ BEWARE! Fear is not your friend. Nor is fear the normal stance for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Unless we allow it access, fear has no legal right to our thoughts and lives. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. We are filled with faith to be fearless through Him who loves us and gave His Son as a ransom for our redemption. God in us drives out every trace of terror. There is no fear in Love, and we who are in Christ are in Love.
Beware and be wise are the words I am hearing in my spirit this morning. Beware and be wise. Pray without ceasing. I sense God leading us to learn of Him and His ways. Doing so requires time spent in His Word studying and committing His wisdom and instructions to memory. As a young mom, I once attended a women's gathering where the speaker spoke an attention-getting statement on trusting God. This wise woman of God boldly spoke truth to those of us gathered that evening when she said,
Are we trusting God?
Do we know Him well enough to trust Him?
Are we spending enough time with Him to know Him?
Now is the time to know Him. Now is the time to learn and walk in His ways. Now. Not tomorrow. Now. Now is the time to be kind to the unkind, sweet to the sour, and loving to the unlovable. Now is the time to forgive the unforgivable. Now is the time to smile when we want to frown. Now is the time to give when we want to take. Now is the time to crucify ourselves and live a life of loving service to the King of Kings. Now is the time to look and listen for ways to notice and lift up others when we want to be noticed and lifted up ourselves.
God is God. He changes not. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is omniscient, all knowing. He is omnipotent, all powerful. He is also omnipresent, all present. God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. He provided for them even though they sinned. He gave them children. God saw and recognized Noah. He saved him and his family. God miraculously worked in the lives of Daniel, Elijah, Elisha, Caleb, Joshua, Moses, and many others who followed Him. He fed the Hebrew children supernaturally and delivered them time and time again, even though they were not consistently faithful and obedient. He supernaturally touched and healed over and over again.
He fed His children then. He feeds His children now. He delivered His children then. He delivers His children now. This is the God we serve. This is the One we have entered into covenant with. This is God. It is He. He is our deliverer. He is our savior. He is our provider. God. Love. And it is time for us to know Him. To follow Him. To intentionally serve, honor, and obey Him. It is time for believers of Christ to truly be believers of Christ.
It is time for us to know and understand covenant. To learn what holy is and live it. It is time. Now. Now. Right now. To shut our mouths and guard our lips. When we open our mouths, it is time to speak truth, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and love. To be merciful and triumph over judgmental thought patterns and words. To learn and remember truth. To order our thoughts according to truth, not opinion or fact, truth. It is time for these things. Now is time to live Jesus whether anyone else does or not. Now. Now is time for righteous talkers to be righteous livers who know what righteousness truly is.
It is not the time to speak the words of the world's news. It is time to speak the truth of God's Word. It is not the time to speak the knowledge of worldly thinking. It is time to speak the wisdom of God. It is not the world's time. It is God's time. God's. God's and God's alone. Not yours. Not mine. God's. Only God's. Only He. It is time for God.
In the beginning God was. When Cain killed Able God was. At the time of the flood God was. During the Roman empire God was. Throughout the eras of time God was. In the holocaust God was. On the killing fields God was. As evil men ruled, the righteous prayed, mankind strayed, God was. He was, and today...He is. God is.
God has not gone away. He is not absent. He is. Child sacrifice, beheadings, abortion, riots, tornadoes, blizzards, tyrants, terrorists, witches, warlocks, pagan practices, occult activity, none of these things alter or change God in anyway. He was good before. He still is good. He was here before. Still He is here today.
Evil ways are not new. They have been before, and God dealt with them before. He will deal with them today. He delivered His people before. He delivers them today. He healed before. He heals today. He protected before. He protects today. God is not dead. He is alive! He has not ceased working. He is active in our lives today!
Do not fear! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! God is alive! He is working! Rejoice! He is healing! He is delivering! He is saving! He is working everywhere in every way! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Rejoice for He is alive!
As we open our Bibles and learn more of God and His ways the works of darkness and evil will be chased out of our thinking and lives. When we walk in the Spirit we will not live according to the flesh. As we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are changed; we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. We will not be dull in our thinking and understanding. We too will be alive. Because of Jesus we are alive! Rejoice! God is alive, and so are we in Him!
I pray that you will open your Bible and check the Word of God to make sure for yourself what I have shared lines up with the Word of God. I pray that all of us will come to know God better so we can trust Him more. Along with you, I will be opening my Bible continually more as I intentionally choose God and His ways trusting He will reveal Himself in increased measure. It is a humbling honor to share the Word of the Lord with you.
In the love of Jesus Christ,
Abundantly Blessed
I am a people watcher, always have been. It's a family trait passed down from my grandma to my mom to me. Being a lifelong observer of people there are certain trends and/or patterns of behavior and thinking that come and go with the seasons of life. Certain areas and regions also possess various patterns of thinking and behavior unique to them. The community of Christ is no exception.
Recently within the community of believers in Christ I have noticed fear showing up with regularity. I have recognized fear slyly sneaking in through what are often considered acceptable thought patterns and perspectives. Basically fear is entering anyway it can gain entrance into a believer's thoughts and life.
Brothers and sisters in Christ BEWARE! Fear is not your friend. Nor is fear the normal stance for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Unless we allow it access, fear has no legal right to our thoughts and lives. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. We are filled with faith to be fearless through Him who loves us and gave His Son as a ransom for our redemption. God in us drives out every trace of terror. There is no fear in Love, and we who are in Christ are in Love.
Beware and be wise are the words I am hearing in my spirit this morning. Beware and be wise. Pray without ceasing. I sense God leading us to learn of Him and His ways. Doing so requires time spent in His Word studying and committing His wisdom and instructions to memory. As a young mom, I once attended a women's gathering where the speaker spoke an attention-getting statement on trusting God. This wise woman of God boldly spoke truth to those of us gathered that evening when she said,
"You can't trust someone you don't know,
and you can't know someone you don't spend time with."
Are we trusting God?
Do we know Him well enough to trust Him?
Are we spending enough time with Him to know Him?
Now is the time to know Him. Now is the time to learn and walk in His ways. Now. Not tomorrow. Now. Now is the time to be kind to the unkind, sweet to the sour, and loving to the unlovable. Now is the time to forgive the unforgivable. Now is the time to smile when we want to frown. Now is the time to give when we want to take. Now is the time to crucify ourselves and live a life of loving service to the King of Kings. Now is the time to look and listen for ways to notice and lift up others when we want to be noticed and lifted up ourselves.
God is God. He changes not. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is omniscient, all knowing. He is omnipotent, all powerful. He is also omnipresent, all present. God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. He provided for them even though they sinned. He gave them children. God saw and recognized Noah. He saved him and his family. God miraculously worked in the lives of Daniel, Elijah, Elisha, Caleb, Joshua, Moses, and many others who followed Him. He fed the Hebrew children supernaturally and delivered them time and time again, even though they were not consistently faithful and obedient. He supernaturally touched and healed over and over again.
He fed His children then. He feeds His children now. He delivered His children then. He delivers His children now. This is the God we serve. This is the One we have entered into covenant with. This is God. It is He. He is our deliverer. He is our savior. He is our provider. God. Love. And it is time for us to know Him. To follow Him. To intentionally serve, honor, and obey Him. It is time for believers of Christ to truly be believers of Christ.
It is time for us to know and understand covenant. To learn what holy is and live it. It is time. Now. Now. Right now. To shut our mouths and guard our lips. When we open our mouths, it is time to speak truth, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and love. To be merciful and triumph over judgmental thought patterns and words. To learn and remember truth. To order our thoughts according to truth, not opinion or fact, truth. It is time for these things. Now is time to live Jesus whether anyone else does or not. Now. Now is time for righteous talkers to be righteous livers who know what righteousness truly is.
It is not the time to speak the words of the world's news. It is time to speak the truth of God's Word. It is not the time to speak the knowledge of worldly thinking. It is time to speak the wisdom of God. It is not the world's time. It is God's time. God's. God's and God's alone. Not yours. Not mine. God's. Only God's. Only He. It is time for God.
In the beginning God was. When Cain killed Able God was. At the time of the flood God was. During the Roman empire God was. Throughout the eras of time God was. In the holocaust God was. On the killing fields God was. As evil men ruled, the righteous prayed, mankind strayed, God was. He was, and today...He is. God is.
God has not gone away. He is not absent. He is. Child sacrifice, beheadings, abortion, riots, tornadoes, blizzards, tyrants, terrorists, witches, warlocks, pagan practices, occult activity, none of these things alter or change God in anyway. He was good before. He still is good. He was here before. Still He is here today.
Evil ways are not new. They have been before, and God dealt with them before. He will deal with them today. He delivered His people before. He delivers them today. He healed before. He heals today. He protected before. He protects today. God is not dead. He is alive! He has not ceased working. He is active in our lives today!
Do not fear! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! God is alive! He is working! Rejoice! He is healing! He is delivering! He is saving! He is working everywhere in every way! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Rejoice for He is alive!
As we open our Bibles and learn more of God and His ways the works of darkness and evil will be chased out of our thinking and lives. When we walk in the Spirit we will not live according to the flesh. As we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are changed; we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. We will not be dull in our thinking and understanding. We too will be alive. Because of Jesus we are alive! Rejoice! God is alive, and so are we in Him!
I pray that you will open your Bible and check the Word of God to make sure for yourself what I have shared lines up with the Word of God. I pray that all of us will come to know God better so we can trust Him more. Along with you, I will be opening my Bible continually more as I intentionally choose God and His ways trusting He will reveal Himself in increased measure. It is a humbling honor to share the Word of the Lord with you.
In the love of Jesus Christ,
Abundantly Blessed