Monday, July 13, 2015

God Is For Me



We all do it. We have an entire armload of worries...
finances
health
children
marriage
future plans
employment
you name it...we carry it around like a sack of cement on our backs. 
It is so exhausting.
It is so...well...unnecessary.
But we do it anyway.
It is so easy to forget God in the equation.
We forget that we are IN CHRIST.
We forget that we have his WORD on the matter.
We forget that we have access to
the power of God in each situation.
We forget that He can give us new eyes
to see the situation how HE sees it.

What we don't forget is how human we are!
It seems to hit the replay button
over and over
until we are drowning
in ourselves.
YUCK.
We do not have to listen to that tune.

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will KNOW what is the hope of HIS  calling, what are the riches of the glory of HIS inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of HIS power toward us who believe."
~Ephesians 1:18-19

I don't know about you...but this morning I needed enlightened to say the least. The eyes of my heart had lost its focus last week and some things sent me on a spiral. How easily I had forgotten to listen to what God thinks of me and I gave into the chatter of my defeated foe. nasty stuff... not just for me...but for everyone around me.

******
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
pg.391 (July 13th-evening)
" When I cry unto Thee, then shall my enemies turn back; this I know; God is for me."
~Psalm 56:9

"It is impossible for any human speech to express the full meaning of this delightful phrase, 'God is for me.' He was 'for us' before the worlds were made; He was 'for us' or He would not have given His well-beloved Son; He was 'for us' when He struck the Only begotten, and laid the full weight of His wrath upon Him--He was 'for us,' though He was against Him; He was 'for us, when we were ruined in the fall--He loved us notwithstanding all; He was 'for us' when we were rebels against Him, and with a high hand were defying Him; He was 'for us,'or He would not have brought us humbly to see His face.

He has been 'for us' in many struggles; we have been summoned to encounter hosts of dangers; we have been assailed by temptations from without and within --how cold we have remained unharmed to this hour if HE had not been 'for us'? 

He is 'for us,' with all the infinity of His being; with all the omnipotence of His love; with all the infallibility of His wisdom; arrayed in all His divine attributes, He is 'for us', '--eternally and immutably 'for us;' 

He is'for us' when the clouds will be rolled up like a worn out piece of clothes; 'for us' throughout eternity. And because He is 'for us' the voice of prayer will always ensure His help. 

'When I cry unto You, then shall my enemies by turned back.' This is a sure hope and a well grounded assurance--'this I know." I will direct my prayer to You, and will look up for the answer, assured that it will come, and that my enemy will be defeated, 'for God is for me.' Oh believer, how happy you are when the King of Kings is on your side! How safe you are with such a Protector! How sure your case is when the Advocate is pleading your cause! If God be for you, who can be against you?"

sweet. sweet. sister.
you. are. in. Christ.
He. is. for. you.
And He wants you to know
that He is
SEATED
in heaven...
on His throne.
V.I.C.T.O.R.I.O.U.S
and you are, too.
So this morning-we can 
cry out to our Strong and Mighty God!

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
~Psalm 65:24
What a powerful verse.
What a powerful and mighty God that can do that. 
Wow.

Monday, July 6, 2015

A View from the Garden


The garden view is awesome this year and I didn't have to deal with the garden hose at all...
Ohio enjoyed (survived) the Great Flood of 2015.


yeah-this is our yard...a few days ago...

and oh--this is my husbands replanted soybean field too....
 rain makes life messy sometimes...
but sometimes it produces some great flowers in a garden
and weeds...
I love flowers...I dislike weeds...
alot.

Yup...the front of the bed looks great...but as you can see they are being held up by brilliantly green and vivaciously happy 
weeds.


Which leads to the garden...that I actually MOWED today...
yeah---the riding lawn mower.
And I am a farmers wife for crying out loud...
humiliating. 
I really should have a manicured garden since that
is our family tradition.
pshaw.....not this year.
I AM MANAGING A FAILING ENDEAVOR...
(stop laughing)

Each of us have a heart that looks like my garden...
A little bit fancy...
A lot of nasty weeds...
Pleasantly productive...
Particularly  pitiful....
That's how life is.
We live in the flesh and it is messy.
Yet God still chooses to use us.
...to live in us.

I AM IN CHRIST.
and even though I am a mess...
He counted it all JOY
to go to the cross
for me
so he could bear fruit in me...

Sweet sister,
the power you have access to
brought Jesus back
from the dead!!!
He wants us to know
that YOU ARE HIS.
BLOOD BOUGHT.
SPIRIT FILLED.
SEALED.
EQUIPPED.
The down payment that tells you that you are His bride...the sealing of the Holy Spirit inside of you. 


"...I am sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge of our inheritance..." 
Ephesians 1:13-14

God gave each believer a SEAL.
A GENUINE MARK
OF AUTHENTICITY.
HIS STAMP OF APPROVAL.
Irrevocable.
He gave you the free gift of the Holy Spirit to let you know
YOU ARE HIS.
no doubts.
NO SECOND GUESSING.
Living inside of YOU...
and He will NEVER leave.
NEVER
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." 
~John 14:16

Flesh and Spirit.
Painfully jumbled together as we climb upward to the high calling of being IN CHRIST.

I am thankful he doesn't look at my weedy mess and declare my
insufficiency .

I am IN CHRIST
and HE is sufficient.

I am IN CHRIST
and I am SEALED WITH...

THE HELPER.
COMFORTER AND COUNSELOR- John 14:16
TEACHER-1 Cor 2:13
LEADER- Romans 8:14
GUIDE TO TRUTH- John 16:13
GIFT GIVER- I Cor 12
COMMANDER- Acts 8:29
CONVICTOR OF MY HEART- John 16:7-11

And if the Holy Spirit is living inside of you...He will faithfully deal with the sinful weeds that are choking the life out of you.
Not because he is mad at you.
A garden can't weed itself.
It must have a caretaker.
I didn't walk out to my garden
and rant because it was full of weeds...
The garden was just doing what gardens do.
 And my sinful heart does what sinful hearts do.
I sin.
Our Perfect Caretaker pulls the weeds
and it is painful yet productive
Because
God knows that when those nasty weeds 
are gone...
you will be more aware of
of His presence! 
You will experience the glory of His goodness!
...and be overwhelmed by the grace
freely given to you IN CHRIST.
Sweet one, you are going to fall more
deeply in love with JESUS.

So press on sister to the high calling of 
KNOWING WHO YOU ARE 
IN CHRIST!!
It is a
great place to be.
..weeds and all.






Saturday, June 27, 2015

Foundational Thinking



Today's headlines...you read them. HISTORIC DECISION BY THE SUPREME COURT--MONUMENTAL. Fundamental Change...Foundations are shaking. Everyone is weighing in on the issues. yak-yak--blah-blah...he said/she said.It is somewhat irritating if it weren't so important.

...and I sit and ponder what the future holds for America...for our children and our grandchildren

...and my heart simply burns with a deep ache for what lies ahead.

...and my eyes sting with tears--because marriage is at the very heart of God

...and I look around at a world of wars, chaos, evil and disease...

...and I open THE WORD...
to the beautiful book of Ephesians...

...and the heart of God speaks so softly--and sings so sweetly of His GRACE AND PEACE to me. (Eph 1:2)

...and he tells me that He chose me to be IN CHRIST before the world began...and he sees me as blameless and holy before Him. (Eph1:4)

...and He tells me that I am His Child because His will is kind  (vs5)

...and I am redeemed through His blood and forgiven lavishly by grace (vs7-8)

....and I find my position...once again...

I am in Christ.
I am IN Christ.
I AM in Christ.
I am in CHRIST.

That phrase wraps around my heart like a warm blanket. It calms the inner storms and gives me a peace that can't be taken away.

In Christ-I know who I am.
In Christ-I know who He is.
In Christ-I know where I am going.

The courts can make rules--the governments of this world can go to war--our leaders can boast and celebrate over what breaks the very heart of Our God. We save whales yet kill the unborn child....we hug trees yet hunt down Believers...they can take away our right to pray in schools and remove the manger scenes from public places. They can sterilize Holidays and History books...

but our God wins.
period.
He has the final word...
because HE IS THE WORD.

IN CHRIST. That is my position. My foundation is the person of Jesus Christ. He can't be moved-broken-sterilized-taken away-over ruled-legislated or silenced. He isn't subject to opinion or culture and won't change with the political climate.
HE WAS
HE IS 
AND HE IS TO COME.

HOW FIRM IS YOUR FOUNDATION?