Healthy Hearts

One of the things that blesses my heart greatly is seeing others built up and encouraged in the faith and hope of Jesus.  I so appreciate the heart of Jesus as spoken through His saints. The Apostle Paul writes to his brother “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in our Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.  I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.  Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”  When you are in the world and you see people without the understanding of the preciousness of faith and having secure identity in Jesus, it just moves your heart to share every good thing we have in Him with them.  Sometimes people are not open to hearing about the free gift of best life possible offered them from heaven and sometimes there is persecution of saints for trying, but blessed be the saint who shares anyway.  Do not lose heart, but be refreshed in heart saints, knowing that our Father’s Word does not return void.  Our Father’s Spirit can do far more that we can ever imagine when a saint steps out and shares Jesus!  Perhaps you are not one that can travel great distances in the world to share Jesus.  It is a great refresher to those who are called to do so to have saints share with them in prayer and support so they can go help people know Jesus!  We all have those in our daily lives we can encourage as well, right where we are in life.  Just knowing you are out there sharing our Father just fills my heart with healthy doses of joy and encouragement today!  May our Father bless your efforts greatly.  How can people believe unless they hear?  Oh how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news! I believe with our Father with us, we can be a blessing to bring good health to many hearts!  Oh how refreshing is that!

Philemon 1:4-7; 2 Corinthians 4:13-18; Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:14-21; Romans 10:14-15

The Blessings of a Boss

If you have work and have a boss, we can all be thankful for the great opportunity to help someone carry out their purpose in life and be thankful for the mutual blessing that they bestow upon us in providing us opportunity to make a difference and be blessed with an income to help us in life.  I happen to have a great boss and I love my work.  In my reading today,  though, my Father moves me to share this morning about the importance of attitude towards those He has set in authority in our lives.  He desires that we have an attitude of His love, respect and appreciation towards those who employ us. He desires that we see our work as a way of not only blessing our boss, but also a way of blessing us and our Father who is the boss of all.  Yep, He is da man of all!  He helps our boss do a great job at his job of helping our Father carry out His purpose in the world!  How divine is that! Our Father tells us this should be our heart attitude towards those in authority in our lives who work to bless us with work.  He speaks through the words He gave to the Apostle Paul to Titus to teach people to “..always obey your masters and do your best to please them…do not talk back or steal, but show yourselves to be entirely trustworthy and good.”  In so doing, “the teaching about God our Savior will be attractive in every way.”  I so want my Father to be glorified through the work I do.  I’m praying for His help for me to be a blessing today.  I’m a happy gal thankful for my work.  How about you? Woohoo!  Blessed by both earthly and heavenly bosses today that not only help me pursue the best, but extend me grace!  Whose your boss?

Titus 2:9-10; 1 Co 10:31; Php 2:12-18

All Right

All the religions of the world base their acceptance by heaven upon performing many works. Yet the reality of history and the observance of how people struggle with sin creates serious doubt as to their truth. All leaders of religions that push many works have been found on this earth dead. There is a faith, however, that is unique and is not a religion.  It is faith in a relationship with One called Jesus, so named because He would save people from sin and death. The body of Jesus has never been found – because what He said came true. His body was resurrected from the dead and came up missing from this earth because He is now seated at the right hand of His Father. Glory! How awesome is that! Jesus calls me and you to the Truth, that He is the Truth, the Life and the Way. His Name is above all names. He, His Father and the Holy Spirit are One true God. He is the way to the Father  – Yahweh! He is God became a man and the only way to heaven with His Father and what a tremendous gift He has given!  How we get there is through faith in His simple grace offered – no other works are necessary to have the perfection of heaven not only in the future, but right here on earth right now.  His Spirit is present in the heart of all those who believe in Him. I don’t know about you all, but I sure am blessed with His life steeped in His sufficient loving grace for me. Nothing thrills me more! The blessings that we experience in life here in the now have much to do with our outlook. Paul understood this. He said it this way “Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom, but according to God’s grace.” Given these thoughts shared by Paul, I ask you as I ask myself 1) Do you make yourself a slave to the worldly wisdom of false religions in your conscience by telling yourself you must do many works beyond believing in the call on your life of resting in God’s work on the cross for your acceptance to eternal life in heaven? 2) Does that same worldly religious wisdom tell you when you fall short that you are a failure? Jesus doesn’t see it that way and neither should we see ourselves that way!  Let’s remember that He is the way of freedom from the dead works and He desires a relationship with each of us! A heart of ministry to our Father because we love Him, appreciate what He has done for us and wanting to bless Him back is the heart attitude to have in regards to work. He is the Truth and the life and the only way of amazing grace to us, saints! I’m clapping and cheering and forward moving in God’s plan of grace and freedom as enough for me today! I am so glad to be where I am with Him in life – all right with me! How about you? My happy heart sings out with this song today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9yrlYk-Bao

Enough for Me!

2 Co 1:12; Jn 3:16, 14:6

A Powerful Question

It is another adventurous day of doing life with you all today and how we as saints reverence our Father’s will for our lives speaks volumes about our commitment to Him. Those are hard words to hear and as we all know, all fall short of living up to the perfect law of His holy standard of performance and that is why Christ died on the cross for our sins. I think that often times we also fall short of living up to the standards of accepting His forgiving grace for ourselves as well.  Our Father sees us as holy and blameless, without spot or blemish in Christ Jesus.  That’s the good news of His Gospel! Even so, our Father does not want us to live a life of willful sin, as He wants the very best for each of our lives. We all must rely upon the grace of our Father for when we fall short and for strength to live as Jesus would. Bless Him!  He understands us fully from His own experiences in life and so longs to help us have a blessed life!  He is there for us to help us as we seek Him.  As we go through life, this is a powerful question to keep in mind as we reflect upon living our lives “What would Jesus do?”  We learn a whole lot about Him in reading His Word and praying for Him to give us His wisdom and discernment as we do life. I so want to do as Jesus would do. How about you? I am a gal resting in His loving grace as I seek and explore His answers to life today with ya! How do you do today?

1 John 1:8-10, 2:4-6; Ro 2:4-10, 3:21-31, 6:1-23; 1 Pe 4:10-11; Col 1:21-23

The Voice

Life can get very busy easily and there can be so many voices speaking into our lives.  Sometimes that input is good and sometimes not so good, sometimes one says this and the other says that.  Job is a man who understood this.  He heard the counsel of what others had to say, but it is important as saints that we take the time to do as Job did when he said to His Father “You said, Listen now, and I will speak.”  He was putting into practice what Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.”  Seeking Godly counsel is helpful, but there is great blessing and encouragement in life to slow down enough to be still before the best counselor of all, the all-wise, faithful lover of our soul who wants the very best for each of us and here what He has to say to each of us as individuals. Nobody knows the heart of the Father for us like our Father and as we seek Him with all our heart, we will get the best advice available for our lives.  His best and blessings to each of you. Seeking to find Him with ya today.

Pr 20:18; Job 42 1-16; Psalm 1:1-3, 46:10; Jer 29:11-13; Ro 12:2

Old Faithful

Near where I live is close to West Yellowstone National Park where there is an old geyser by the name of “Old Faithful.”  It is a cone geyser known for its predictability in erupting gallons of hot water on average presently of every 90 minutes to great heights of 106 to 185 feet into the air, lasting from 1.5 to 5 minutes.  I chuckled as my Father shared this thought with me this morning that sometimes we as His saints can be so excited about our faith in Him that it is just flat hard not to spout off or erupt into sharing Him with the world around us.  When you are excited about Jesus in life, it is hard to keep it contained!  Our Father desires that we share Him with others so that others know Him and so that others are encouraged in Him, but as saints we must always be mindful of doing so in love.  He says it this way “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone.”  If we are faith full, it is also important to always be mindful of the importance of love.  Our Father says “if I speak in the tongue of men and of angels but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”  He then goes on in 1 Corinthians 13 to explain what love is and isn’t.  He ends it by saying “now these three things remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”  I am an old faith-full kind of gal praying for my Father’s guidance with ya all to live a life of faith, hope and love. I want all that erupts from me to others to be predictable in bringing my Father awe and glory and until such timing as He guides me and provides what I am to erupt with, I am resting in my Father’s grace and perfect warm love for me today that will keep me still and contained. How about you?  Are you an “ole faith-full saint?”Praying with ya all today!  Love to you all!

Col 4:2-6; 1  Cor 13

A mazed

Wow!  If you are like me, I am so happy that my life is full each day of many things to ponder, many things to do and many opportunities. My life has great purpose, but with all the choices available, it can seem sometimes like a big maze.  In the midst of it all, though, my Father’s Word “amazes” me in such good ways. He reminds me that “everything is permissible for me” –but not everything is beneficial.  As I reflect upon that and pray for my Father’s guidance in choosing the best for each moment of my day, I am again “amazed” by His advice in what to do and I rest in His promise to me in His Word that in times when life seems a maze, “then I will call to Him, and the Lord will answer. When I call for help, He will say “here am I.”  No matter where I am in life, even there, His hand will guide me and His right hand will hold me fast.”  Jesus as the Truth, the life and the way who guides me just has me amazed in the maze of such a  blessed life! This song is laid on my heart today, so I am sharing it with you. Click here to listen.

1 Co 6:12; Pr 4:11-12; Is 58:9, 11; Ps 139:1-10; Jn 14:6

Same but Different

I marvel at our Father’s creativity in how He has created each one of us.  We are all the same, but yet all so different.  That is just part of the fun and fascination with the mysteries of our Father!  He has made us each so different in how we look, our personalities, our likes, our dislikes, our style, our creativity and giftings with which to bring Him glory and the same great Holy Spirit living in each one of us who are in Christ Jesus.  Given how we are each the same and yet different in our own wonderful unique ways, our Father calls us to all work together to do great things in this life with Him and what a joy and privilege that is! This we can all know – that our Father loves each one of us unconditionally.  In Him, we are fully loved and accepted, forgiven and empowered to have victory.  I’m a gal resting in His grace for who I am today and stepping out in my own God-given style, how about you?  His love to all you same different people today! Be confident in who you are! He has made you fearfully and wonderfully!

John 4:27; Romans 12:3-8; Colossians 1:21-23, 3:12-17; Psalm 139:14

Glorify Him

I admire the Apostle Paul this morning for His great concern for the well-being of the church.  He was a man who recognized his Father’s call upon his life to let the Holy Spirit work through him to make a difference.  As a saint, he wanted all the insights that the Father had given to him to share with the people around him to be passed on to them so that they could benefit to the fullest potential. This is why. Paul saw our Father’s heart for saints this way: “To them, God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  This speaks to me that Paul recognized that Christ successfully working through saints was the hope to bringing the Father glory.  Our Father is glorified just in who He is and in all He does on His own, but He has chosen to make known many riches of Him through mysterious ways through Him working through each of us as well. If we as saints are not faithful to share what the Holy Spirit is giving to us to share, we are taking away from great things happening!  We are holding back great potential if we keep to ourselves what should be passed on to bless others.  So, I ask you today as I ask myself, what is the Holy Spirit asking you to share to help others reach the best potential in life for their sake and to bring our Father the greatest glory?  We are powerful saints because of our Father working in each of us. Let’s believe in us as our Father does.  He wouldn’t be living in us if He didn’t think we could handle life with His power working through us.  Let’s go for it – it could be world-changing and bring great blessing to our Father, to many and even to each of us! Woohoo! I’m a gal moving out with Him and ya all today! You are each so special.  Love to you all!

Col 1:24-29; Jn 14:15-31; Mt 5:14-16; Php 2:13

Trusting the Father

Do you ever find yourself in a quandary of what to do in life circumstances?  Sometimes it is difficult to even know what to pray! I think it is common to everyone and today my Father gives me great encouragement that His Spirit is faithful and committed to help us even when we do not know what to pray for.  How?  Jesus prays for us with groans that words cannot express.  Now how cool is that!  He hears us and helps us by going to His Father for us. He always has our back and best interest at heart. He searches our hearts, knows the mind of the Spirit and the Spirit intercedes for us all in accordance with our Father’s will.  That’s powerful, awe some stuff right there!  I am so thankful our Father is there to oversee and helps us in the very best way.  I praise Him with ya today for taking such good care of us all.  I’m sharing my heart with Him and then letting Him decide what is best.  He is someone I can trust to work all things for my good. How about you?

Romans 8:22-30, 12:1-2;  John 14