Celebrate All of Life

It’s New Year’s Eve day and there is sooo much marvelous divine life to celebrate behind us and looking forward…

It is good to evaluate the past, learn from it and put the newly learned good into practice stepping ahead. This is what the Apostle Paul also sought to do:

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Philippians 3:13

Our Father is working to grow us thru all of life and hence we can celebrate all of life because thru all of it we learn!!! How exciting is that so that with each new day, each new step forward, we can step forward with being even more equipped from our past to make a difference in the newness of life and opportunity!!!

Our Father desires that we test all spirits and that we take captive our thoughts in obedience to Him, therefore, as we reflect back, glean what is good – write down what good things you learned from the past experiences or make a mental note and let go of the memories that drag you down or slow you down in your joy and enthusiasm for moving forward. If Paul would’ve continually focused on his past and let the enemy leave him there, he would’ve been sidetracked from focusing with fullness on what Father was wanting to do moving forward!!!

Seek to settle any lingering issues that need to be dealt with rightly to move forward anew. If they cannot be settled, move on to where our Father leads you!!! Clear cuts from what is of the enemy and what is of our Father is the best way to start and move ahead clean as Father tells us to:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

Romans 12:9

Our Father told His disciples this:

“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.”

Matthew 10:14

In other words, our Father was telling them not to waste their time where doors are closed for them. Our Father is a gentleman and He does not force anyone to accept Him into their lives. Thus it must be the same for us as His children!!! Where is He calling you to shake the dust off your feet and step out anew with the encouragement that our Father has great plans for you moving forward with Him with new opportunities in 2016???

Of course if someone runs after you and says come back, I really want to do life with you and Jesus, that could change the future divinely!!! Oh that thought just makes me smile!!! WOOOHOOO!!! Oh our Father always loves a heart that repents and turns the other way!!! Where is our Father leading you into the new year, dear ones??? I ask myself the same question as we look to life anew!!!

This I know, my heart is started on fire to go where my Father wants me to as this song says here.

 

The Father Who Cares

We serve a compassionate Father in heaven whose Holy Spirit’s presence lives within us each one as children of faith in Christ Jesus!!! He cares about each one of us as His kids and this is very evident in His love for Jerusalem whom He is said to have wept over because of spiritual blindness that kept some from trusting in Him.  His heart for Jerusalem’s people who turn from Him is recorded in His Word as this:

“How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

Matthew 23:37

Sometimes people struggle to understand our Father’s will in life and He works to reveal truth and help those who are willing to trust in Him!!! He is committed to us as His kids who seek to help others see the truth of Him so that they too may enjoy the blessings that we have in Him!!! As we journey thru life on this earth, His promise to us is:

“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

2 Chronicles 16:9

Have you given Jesus your heart of faith, trusting in Him as your Savior from the wages of sin the enemy of this world afflicted upon all people in the Garden of Eden??? It has flowed down thru the DNA of all generations and our Father’s heart is for all to see Him as our rescue from the enemy!!! Hence, it is:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

Thru faith in Him, His Holy Spirit DNA now lives in us as His children of faith and He sees us as holy, without blemish, without accusation and with no condemnation!!! Whooop!!! Whooop!!! Whooop!!! He desires that none perish, but He also protects His from evil. I am sooo thankful we are forever in the care of our Father!!!

He tells us that we are more than conquerors in all of life thru Christ Jesus who loves us. (Romans 8:37)

Oh that makes me kick up my heels with joy!!! 🙂

If Jesus is for us, who can stand against us?!! Nobody!!! Well, the enemy tries, but when we stand in faith in Jesus, He strongly supports us to overcome what is not of Him!!! YAY!!! He is a God who seeks the restoration of His people from the damage the enemy brought into the world still today and He does so as His children look to Him for help!!! Jesus desired to rebuild Jerusalem and He desires to rebuild the hearts of all people!!!  King David wrote this psalm about our Father:

“Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

The Lord builds up 

Jerusalem;

He gathers the outcasts of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted

And binds up their wounds.

He counts the number of stars;

He gives names to all of them.

Great is our Lord and 

abundant in strength;

His understanding is

infinite.

The Lord supports the

afflicted;

He brings down the wicked

to the ground.”

Psalm 147:1-6

As we continue to look to the Lord as His faithful kids, we can know that we are safe in the refuge of His wings as He tells us in His Word:

“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

Psalm 91:4

Oh I’m sooo thankful for the love, care and protection of our Father!!! What a sweet heart He has for us as His royal family!!! Let us praise His holy name for His favor upon us as His Word tells us we are:

“The Lord favors those who fear (reverence) Him, 

Those who wait for His

lovingkindness.”

Psalm 147:11

Is there somewhere you have seen our Father’s lovingkindness to you, family??? Let us give Him praise with this song here. Carry His loving favor for you with you wherever you go with Him with you today!!!

It is a special treasure in life that others will be sooo glad to hear about if they haven’t yet seen it for themselves!!! I am sooo proud of your heart that seeks Him and shares His lovingkindness!!! That’s just like our Father!!! 🙂

The Victor of Life

Sometimes in life, we experience hard things, traumas, disasters, accidents and some of these things can leave us wondering where God is in the midst of them. Sometimes things happen to us as people because of our lack of good choice, lack of knowledge, purposefully putting ourselves at high risks that as Jesus said in response to Satan’s temptation: “It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus was tempted by Satan to throw Himself off the highest point of the temple when Satan said to Him “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  Matthew 4:5-7

Unless it is very clear that God is asking us to do something risky to carry out His will, His plan and His purpose for us making a difference in this world, He does not want us to live life recklessly, but rather with the making of wise choices to take care of our bodies as His holy temples. If He is calling us to do something risky, He will see us thru it and give us the exact number of days that are meant for us to have to complete our purpose in this life!!! Jesus was on a high-risk mission and our Father kept Him alive for the purpose of going to the cross for all people to have eternal life forever in His paradise kingdom with Him. There was a point on the cross when Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus at that moment represented all the sin of all mankind and our Father has nothing to do with sin, so Jesus’ body tasted death, but did God abandon Him??? Not at all, it was with the Father’s love that Jesus went thru what He did on this earth, descended into hell to retrieve the keys to freedom back from the enemy and He was raised up to new life and seated next to His Father in His heavenly kingdom where “He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:27)

Jesus desires that we as His children have a personal love relationship with Him not just us jumping thru hoops of rules and regulations to please Him. He has set us free from having to earn heaven on our own because we cannot!!! It is only thru our faith in His rescue of us on the cross, His death and resurrection that we are set free from the enemy of this world and the wages of sin that Satan brought upon all people!!! Those wages were death and forever eternal separation from God!!! That is no more our worry as His kids thru our faith in His love gift to us of Him taking our place on the cross!!! WOOOHOOO!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!! FOREVER HIS WE ARE!!! PUT ON THE DANCING SHOES AND SHOUT OUT HOOORAY!!! SMILE BIG!!! 🙂

Our Father’s wrath and judgement and power against evil along with the ability to give and take life, is evident from time to time when disasters are allowed in this world. These should be wake-up calls to the people of the world that God is and life is fragile!!! If this world were perfect without any hardships, why would people give any thought to God??? It is most likely that they would eat, drink, be merry, give into pleasures of the flesh without thought to what life is truly all about!!! If a baby is never told no in life, if it never learns boundaries or that there are dangers to fear, how does it ever learn to live life well and rightly with true life perspective???

In the Bible, there is a man by the name of Job of whom it is said was “blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil,” but the enemy of this world tested his faith and because Job recognized that His life was in the hands of an all-powerful, all-wise God that was beyond him and the very giver of his life, he bowed in respect to his Father, knowing that His Father was the source of all he was and all he had in life. Without God we would be nothing, have nothing, nor could we do anything!!! Job’s faith held up in the test by Satan and our Father’s blessings upon Job were greater in the end than they had been before because of His faithfulness in not losing hope!!! Hopefully as people realize the power of God and the promises of our God that are good, are wise, are of love and for our eternal victory, they will be moved to choose to look to Him, to walk with Him thru this life as their personal Savior who is not tempted to do evil. Our Father’s heart is that none perish, but evil will have no part of His kingdom!!! It is only open to those who have faith in Him as their Savior!!!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

Our Father is a kind and compassionate God who cried with Mary and Martha when they lost their brother to sickness and death and He raised him up again to new forever life. He also saw Mary’s heartbreak with her son’s crucifixtion and He gave her a new son to take His place when His life here was complete. Even in His leaving this earth, His promise is that He will not leave us as orphans, but that He would come to us and He has by indwelling us as His kids of faith with His Holy Spirit in our hearts to lead us, guide us, empower us and seal us to Him as forever His!!! “It is He who works in us to will and act according to His purpose and thru our faith in Him, He says He sees us as “holy, without blemish, without accusation and with no condemnation.”  Our Father takes care of His people and created us to be His people, His forever Kingdom family if we choose to be. He does not tolerate evil though and neither should we!!! Life and death is something that is a serious matter and our Father desires that we be ready for the day when He calls us from this earth to our eternal home with Him. Will you be ready??? It can happen at any moment!!! So no matter what happens in this life, for whatever the divine reason, as our Father’s kids, we can know this – we are forever safe in Him!!! Nothing can separate us from His love and in all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer thru Him who loves us!!! (Romans 8:37-39)

Until that point in time that we are moved from this earth, let us move thru life walking in Spirit with Him who is everything that is all power, all right, all good, all true and all love!!! We are here on a mission to share this good news!!! We are here with a purpose and His grace shall be sufficient always for us to carry it out as He moves with us thru it!!!

Should we face hardship in life, this we can know: Our Father is with us, never will He leave us nor forsake us and we know that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…” (Romans 8:28-29) Now how awesome is that of an opportunity to bring our Father glory in this world that sooo needs to know of Him and His plans for us that “are for our good and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) We are in the midst of a spiritual battle being fought in the heavenly realms our Father tells us in His Word!!!

Let us trust in He who loves us always as this song says here. Much love to you wherever you are!!! We are never alone – we have our Father and each other always and forever!!! Oh that thought just makes me smile!!! 🙂

“Behold I am coming quickly and My reward will be with Me to render to every man (and woman) according to what he (she) has done.”

Revelation  22:12 NASB

We are saved by faith and not by works. We get to be a vessel of our Father’s love and light in this world, not because we have to for salvation, but because we get to thru His power moving in us thru faith in His finished work on the cross that has forever saved us and made us His family!!! Exciting!!!

The Sickness of Sin

Warm greetings to you wherever you are today, precious family of saints!!! While it is cold outside in Idaho, I am thankful for the blessing of a warm home amongst many other blessings our Father has bestowed upon us!!! Just the fact that we are breathing is of our Father’s grace and gift of life to  us!!! I am thankful to have good health and have been pondering the topic of sickness in life. With the winter months upon us, there are colds and flu viruses around us, so I am a gal seeking to stay warm and avoid stressing so my immune system isn’t weakened and keeping my hands as clean as possible as I am out in the public.

As we look into our Father’s Word, there are examples of people who have been sick and healed by our Father thru prayer and seeking Him. There are stories that talk about people who had illness come upon them as they opened their lives up to the enemy Satan’s way of lifestyle for them, choosing to walk in his ways rather than our Father’s best.  The Pharoah’s hardness of heart and hard headedness towards the Lord and His people brought many plagues upon the Egyptians!!! Our Father does not take lightly the hate and oppression of His people!!! (Deuteronomy 7:15) If there is chronic sickness lingering in a person,  examining one’s heart and lifestyle habits and circumstances is certainly something that should be considered, however, there are many examples in the Bible of people who had sickness come upon them that were righteous in their heart and lifestyle!!! One such example was Job whom the enemy tested to see if he would denounce his faith in our Father if his health was struck. Job kept the faith and sought our Father in the midst of it, surrendering his life to the God of all creation who is all wise, all powerful and love!!! Because Job kept His faith and continued in what was right in the midst of his illness brought on by Satan, “the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.” (Job 42:12) There was also a man born blind that the disciples asked Jesus why he was blind, if it was because his parents or he had sinned. Jesus replied neither, but that “this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3) In deed his life did bring glory to the Lord into the world as he shared his testimony of how Jesus gave him eyesight!!!

Jesus has already won victory over the sickness of all people of faith and we know that in our Father’s kingdom coming soon, our Father says this:

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

Meanwhile, our Father’s Word offers this about being sick in this life:

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

James 5:13-16

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

“My son (daughters, too), pay attention to what I say, listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s (woman’s) whole body.”

Proverbs 4:20-22

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear (reverence) the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”

Proverbs 3:7-8

Our Father works healing through modern-day medicine to help many for sure, but our spiritual heart condition plays a big role in our health as well!!!

My prayer over you dear ones is in agreement with the heart of the Apostle John when he wrote:

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

3 John 1:2

Jesus understands illness and he is compassionate towards the sick. He wept over one named Lazarus in the Bible whom Jesus raised up from the grave!!! I have been healed many times over the years as I have sought the Lord in prayer and sometimes it has been with prayer and medicine and sometimes just prayer!!! This we can know – Jesus understands suffering!!! He suffered great pain on the cross for each one of us as children of faith to have forever victory over the enemy of us!!!

In this world we at times share in our Lord’s suffering and we shall also share in the bliss of our forever home in His eternal kingdom where we will share in all His glory and glorious riches that are ours thru faith in Christ Jesus and His unfailing, unconditional love for us!!! Let us keep our lives free from the ways of the flesh and influence of Satan as we await our homecoming because it will make for the best and healthiest lives for us in more ways than one!!! Father’s love to you wherever you are and hold dear in heart that our Father delights in us as His children of faith. Thru Christ, Father sees us as holy, without blemish, without accusation and with no condemnation and as a good, good Father as this song says here, He is always working for our best in life!!! He is never tempted to do evil. All the time God is good, God is good all the time!!!

The Christmas Spirit

Merry day after Christmas it is dear family of saints!!! Because we have Jesus born into life with us (God with us) recognized yesterday in our celebrations, we have the opportunity to have faith in His earthly finished life mission’s work on the cross to forgive us of all of our sins, rescue us from the wages of sin, reconcile us to Him to give us forever inheritance of a seat and His glorious riches to us in His heavenly kingdom coming soon!!!

In addition to that, His Spirit indwells our hearts upon faith in Him to seal us as His forever, giving us the authority over the enemy of this world!!!

The enemy Satan and his demons cannot take over our spirit in life unless we yield them the ability to do so thru our own personal choice of accepting that and rebelling against our Father’s power and authority that is supreme over Satan!!! We are in a spiritual battle being fought in the heavenly places and we can choose what side we want to be on for eternity!!! GLORY TO OUR FATHER BE THAT WE HAVE HIS POWER TO CLAIM OUR LIVES FROM THE POWER OF THE ENEMY WHO WANTS OUR ETERNAL TORMENT!!!

It is not possible for a person’s spirit to indwell another person, for example one might say “this person has the spirit of Jezebel” who was a Bible character mentioned as one who did evil in the eyes of the Lord and worshiped false gods. While a person’s spirit cannot indwell anyone, one person can certainly influence another person in evil ways by their alive presence in their life thru manipulation and control in ways contrary to our Father!!! The control of one person by another is only possible if our own personal choice allows that to happen though!!! We must always seek our Father’s Spirit of Truth – test all spirits for there are false prophets in the world!!! Someone who has lived and died has no power to indwell us nor do they have supernatural power to help us or influence us in any way. That power to help us is only the power of God and “greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world”!!! (1 John 4:4) To the powers of the enemy our Father tells us this: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

I share these things, dear ones, because I know loved ones who are confused in life and having lost family to death, rather than praying to our Father, they pray to their deceased family member. Jesus understands confused and misled hearts and He IS love, but I can’t help but think what a slap to our sweet Father that act of seeking the dead is to He who created us all and holds all life in His hands and longs to love us and help us thru faith in Him with unfailing, unconditional love. He is always there for us as His kids of faith and we can approach His throne of grace with confidence to find mercy in our times of need!!! He has sacrificed so much for us all to have everlasting life in Him thru faith and He wants to be our everything in life!!! BLESS YOU SWEET FATHER!!!

Our Father’s Word tells us that upon death, a person’s memory is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Also Deuteronomy 18:11 mentions those who consult with familiar spirits and necromancers. Familiar spirits are trusted spirits that are thought to be friendly or familiar. However, they are not people, but demons (Leviticus 20:1-6, 27; Isaiah 8:19; Isaiah 29:4). Newcromancers, often called sorcerers, mediums, fortune tellers, tarot card readers, horoscope writers, those who try to communicate with the dead are not part of God’s family Spirit and they are not walking as His children by faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26). We know as our Father’s kids that light has nothing in common with darkness!!! Instead, what is contrary to our Father’s Spirit is of Satan’s family, which includes those who deny Christ. To have anything to do with demonic influencers is to open one’s life up to demonic harassment. Our Father’s Word tells us that there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over to Father’s saints that have passed from this earth will not be able to and none in hell may cross over from there to heaven. (Luke 16:19-31) Satan does have power in this world to harass God’s people with evil, but our Father has given us overcoming power and authority to stand against him!!! YYYEEESSS!!! LET’S GO FIGHT AND WIN THE ENEMY, FAMILY OF JESUS!!! Thru Christ, we can do all things He calls us to thru He who gives us strength!!! Ruh, ruh, ruh!!! 🙂

Oh, sweet family of Jesus, our Father lives to intercede for us and empower us over the demonic influence of our enemy as Jesus told Peter when Satan wanted to sift him as wheat, “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32) Our Father helps us as His kids in our weaknesses:

“…the Spirit of God also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes  for the saints according to the will of God.”

Romans 8:26-27 NASB

It is my prayer that all of us as our Father’s kids keep our heart thoughts captive – in check in Christ as we continue in life after this joyous Christmas celebration with the Spirit of Christmas alive and in control in our each personal hearts. It will be in letting our King reign in our hearts that will bring a truly Happy New Year and everyday full of joy just like Christmas!!!  Our Father’s Word tells us His heart for us:

“For it is He who works in us to will and act according to His purpose.”

Philippians 2:13

Oh, our Father has and is always “saving our bacon” so to speak from the enemy of this world!!! YAY!!! LET US WELCOME HIS HOLY SPIRIT POWER AND TRUTH INTO OUR LIVES CONTINUALLY AS THIS SONG SAYS HERE FOR CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY!!! HE IS OUR LIVING HOPE!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Forever Kept Safe

Merry Christmas precious family of Jesus!!! Oh what a joyous day to celebrate God with us and His forever victory that keeps us as His precious children safe from the enemy at work in this world around us!!! His Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts thru faith in Him and He leads and guides us each as individuals, He leads and guides us thru His voice spoken to our hearts, thru His written Word, thru the godly counsel of others and thru life circumstances to put us in life where we need to be for safety and to carry out His will, His plan and His purpose for us!!!

To be open to our Father’s counsel is very important because it can be the difference between life and death, being safe and being harmed by the enemy in this world!!! One example we see of this is found in the Christmas story when an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said:

 “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

“So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”

Matthew 2:13-15

It is possible that this could’ve been a reaffirmation of tangible conversation that Joseph overheard from others around him or it could be that it was a very strong intuition that the Lord gave directly to him from out of the blue!!!

This we can know – when our Father speaks a message put upon our heart for us by the Holy Spirit whether it is directly from Him or spoken as a tangible voice thru someone else, we can have one of two responses:

1. We could respond to a person “Do you feel called by God to walk by me to keep me from screwing up?” and out of pride reject our Father’s guidance to us thru the message shared as we weigh it before Him for His truth in it. OR
2. We can respond with a heart of appreciation that all things shared to us contain a nugget of gold that our Father would have us consider before Him to give us insight that distinguishes between what is of the enemy and what is of Him!!! Our Father is all about protecting us as His kids so when He speaks to us to protect us from the enemy, it is good not to get defensive, but rather to have a heart of gratitude for something to consider as a way to help us as our Father’s kids. Even if a message is spoken by the enemy, it is opportunity for our Father to reveal truth over what is false and hence we gain wisdom thru it by taking it to our Father. Our Father used what was spoken of by Pharaoh’s hardness of heart towards Moses and God’s people to reveal truth over the enemy and the power of God at work in helping His people as He called them out of Egypt too!!! God works good thru all things, hence we can reject pride in not wanting to hear what others are led to speak to us as our Father’s kids!!! How awesome to be able to learn and grow wiser in our Father thru it all!!!

Oh it is a good thing that Joseph listened to the angel of the Lord instead of saying “Don’t bother me, I am sleeping!!!” Because He listened to our Father’s voice of warning to him, he, Mary and the Son were kept safe from destruction by the enemy working thru Herod. Oh our battles in life are not with the flesh as our Father says:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Ephesians 6:12

As we ponder our Father’s Word today, let us consider how our Father is perhaps sending an angel messenger into our lives to help us avoid the destruction of evil that wants to destroy Christ’s work!!! Where is our Father asking you to go with information presented to you for His safety for us as His kids of faith??? Is our Father perhaps sending you as an angel messenger to speak a divine word to guide someone else on the path to safety from the enemy??? You are His vessel of love and light in this world as He moves thru you, dear one!!! I am sooo proud of you for being strong, courageous and faithful to our Father!!!

Our Father will always lead us to where we need to be to carry out His will, His plan and His purpose for His kids of faith!!! Now what a Christmas gift is that to have our sweet Father’s protection and guidance at work in us, thru us and all around us for the divine life!!! Oh that all just makes me smile!!! I love this song here that talks about following our Father as He leads us in triumphant procession to victory!!!

Enjoy the gift of the presence of Jesus with you forever – never will He leave you nor forsake you or me!!! Christmas love to you wherever you are and wherever our Father has you going in life!!! Following our Father, our lives will be lived with divine purpose that makes a forever difference in this world!!! Oh that just makes Christmas for us everyday forever!!! 🙂

Just Be Held

It’s Christmas Eve, sweet family of saints!!! Oh Christmas is sweet in sooo many ways!!! DIVINE YUMMY!!! 🙂 If your house is like most, there is lots of candy around to enjoy and one particular kind of candy I recall in thought today is the candy cane – oh it is an interesting piece of candy in deed!!!

The candy cane is red and white striped and J shaped and is symbolic of Christ in these ways:

•  The white is symbolic of purity like Jesus who was born into this world as God Himself without sin. Through the cross that was the reason Jesus was born into this world, thru our faith in His sacrifice there for each person in the world’s sins, He sees us as His beloved children as holy, blameless, without accusation and with no condemnation, gives to us a forever without end reconciled relationship with Him as our Father, has rescued us from death and eternal separation from Him and indwells our hearts with His Holy Spirit to seal us as His and to guide us thru this life!!! Oh there are lots of benefits to having faith in Jesus as our Savior!!! If you do not have Him as your Savior, just talk to Him as a friend and tell Him you recognize Him as your Savior from sin, too and you want to have His presence with you to help you thru all of life until His Kingdom is ushered in in fullness where we shall all be together as His royal family and enjoy all the glorious riches of life without anymore troubles by the enemy of this world!!!
• The red stripe on the candy cane reminds us of His intimate love for us each one as His beloved children of faith. Intimacy (in-to-me-see) is a special love relationship that we each one have with Him thru our faith in His finished work on the cross for us. He reveals His Holy Spirit to our hearts only in divine ways and He sees our hearts laid bare before Him with His totally pure acceptance and love of each one of us. The red stripe is also symbolic of His stripes of whippings that He took upon Himself in receiving the wages of all people’s sins as His Word says:

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His stripes you have been healed.”

1 Peter 2:24

• If the candy cane is held like this J it is symbolic of the name of JESUS  that begins with the letter J. This is to remind us of the reason we celebrate Christmas!!!
• If the candy cane is held in the opposite direction, it symbolizes a shepherd’s hook that is symbolic of Jesus as our good Shepherd who guides us as His sheep to protect us from predators and harm, keeping us safe in His care and going in the right direction in life.

• Another yummy thing about the candy cane is that its taste is sweet to our taste and that sweetness is symbolic of the sweetness of our Father’s love, His grace, His power and His wise Word, His love letter to us – the Bible!!! In His written Word, He says:

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”

Psalm 34:8

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.”

Psalm 119:103

Joseph was a man who had chosen Mary, the mother of Jesus to be his wife before she had conceived within her the Christ child by the power of our Father’s Holy Spirit that created life in her!!! Joseph, upon finding out that Mary was with child was very fearful of rejection by society should it be found out that Mary was bethrothed to Him and show up pregnant before they were married. Isn’t it interesting how the humble King of Glory humbled the hearts of Joseph and Mary so that they could handle the position He gave them in life!!! Can you imagine if they had not had humble hearts about the gift of purpose God had given to them??? How different it would have been if pride and boasting was present:

As it was, Joseph was wounded by the enemy-produced fear of rejection and so he sought to control the situation by quietly divorcing Mary until the Lord revealed to Him the truth of the situation and the tremendous privilege that he had been given to lead and care for Mary and Jesus’ coming into the world to bless all the people of the world.  What the enemy sought to use to destroy God’s plan, our Father used for the good in Joseph and Mary’s lives, though!!! That is just how our Father takes care of us His kids!!! He is always working all things for the good of those called according to His purpose, too!!! Oh it is amazing how sweet our Father’s truths are as they bring into our lives victory over the enemy of this world!!! YAY!!! WAY TO GO FATHER!!! Joseph found relieve in being held by the love and confidence that our Father had in Him in choosing him to be man enough to handle the situation presented to him with the sufficiency of God’s grace, love, wisdom and power with him!!! Ruh, ruh, ruh!!! 🙂 It is interesting the timing of the census that required Joseph to take Mary and leave for Bethlehem. Oh our Father has a way of protecting His!!!

As I reflect upon this Christmas story on this Christmas Eve as Jesus is about to make His appearance into each of our lives, I ponder its application to our lives today and I ask you as I ask myself “How are we afraid of rejection by the people of the world, dear one???” “How are we seeking to control life on our own apart from God’s will to protect us from being wounded by the world of people???” “What would be the divine that could happen if we choose to just be held in God’s love, acceptance of us and His confidence in us to handle the privilege of His divine purpose for our lives and go with it into the world trusting our Father to take care of us???”

I love this short little video and song here that reminds me of the Christ child with His God-given earthly father and mother. How precious the gift they had of each other in this world!!!

How precious the gift we all are receiving with Jesus being born into our lives this Christmas Eve!!! WOOOHOOO!!! HOW EXCITING!!! WAY TO GO FATHER OF LOVE, POWER AND GRACE!!! MAKE THE DIVINE HAPPEN AS YOU DO DIVINELY!!! As for each of us, let us consider how we can prepare Him room in our hearts as the man who owned the Inn did in the Christmas story!!! While the Inn was full, he gave what he could – his lowly manger that was perfect for the birth of the humble King who gave up His heaven’s throne to step into the world to make a forever difference in the lives of all who believe in His saving grace!!! 🙂 Christmas love to you  sweet family, wherever you are!!! I am sooo proud of you and your hearts that seek after Jesus and celebrate the gift of Him with us!!! Just be held by His love, grace, power and grace to you as sufficient today!!!

 

 

Bacon Saved

Hee, hee, hee!!! I chuckle this day as our Father speaks to my heart about a group of brothers that found themselves in a bit of a predicament!!! It all started with a little brother named Joseph who had been given our Father’s grace in a very special unique way that was different from his brothers, his father’s other sons. Young Joseph was also said to be more loved by his earthly father than the other brothers because Joseph was his son of his old age and his father made him a colored tunic.

Because of this and also the divine revelation given to their little brother thru dreams about the future, Joseph’s brothers were jealous and hated him. One day when the father sent Joseph to go check on his brothers who were pasturing the flock for him, the jealous brothers saw Joseph approaching from afar and schemed to kill him, throw him in a pit and tell their father that a wild beast ate him. One of the older brothers of Joseph spoke against his murder, so they ended up stripping him of the colored tunic that their father had made Joseph, throwing him into a pit and when a group of Ishmaelites were passing by, they sold Joseph to them. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt and sold him to an Egyptian officer of the Pharaoh.

Because the Lord was with Joseph in his circumstances, he became a successful man, a ruler of Egypt and was ultimately set over all the land of Egypt!!! Shazam!!! Talk about a divine Father at miracle work for His kid of faith thru prayer – well, our Father did one in this story!!! WOOOHOOO!!! GO FATHER!!! 🙂

Now our Father works in mysterious and amazing ways and this new divine God-given position came in quite handy when it came famine time and Joseph was able to be a dream come true to his brothers when they found themselves in a place of need, having to go to Egypt and ask for food. Guess who they had to ask for it from??? Yep, none other than their little brother Joseph whom they had sold out of their hearts and lives moved by jealousy towards him!!! Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him, so after dealing with his emotions, having them go thru some divinely discerned steps to test and teach his brothers’ hearts about honesty and at the same time accomplish the needed steps to deal rightly with the situation, he provided for their needs abundantly and moved them to Egypt to be near him and to care for them all well with the glorious riches of the Lord’s provision for them!!! Oh, have you ever heard of God’s grace moving in a heart??? It did thru Joseph!!!

After being reunited together again as family, their father passed away and the brothers out of fear of not knowing how Joseph would act towards them now that their father was dead, the brothers put words into a sent message to Joseph written in the personage of their dead father saying: “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.” And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of God of your father.” Joseph wept when he heard those words. His brothers stepped forward and bowed down before him just as the dream given to Joseph as a boy had revealed and they said to Joseph “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph seeing their worried hearts over their sin, Joseph spoke words of grace to them again, saying:

“Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Genesis 50:19-21

Oh our Father’s sweet loving grace is sooo beautiful in life to us as His kids of faith!!! Joseph’s words had to have been much to all their relief in more ways than one to see that the Lord had saved their bacon, so to speak – that means to save someone’s skin or neck or hide!!! Oh now that thought just makes me smile!!! 🙂

Oh they all came out smelling like a divine rose full of the fragrance of our Father’s love, power, grace and purpose!!!

That is what our sweet Jesus does for us as His kids as we look to him to help us in life!!!

What does our Father speak to your hearts as you reflect upon this story, sweet family??? In our life relationships, we are all human and we are in the midst of a spiritual battle between Satan and our Father. Satan is always seeking to destroy families and relationships and our Father is always working to save them and bring into them forgiveness, love, peace, purpose and His forever blessings.

As I reflect upon this story, these questions I reflect upon: Where do we need to trust our Father in difficult circumstances to “save our bacon”??? Where do we need to extend grace to bless others around us??? Where do we need to ask for forgiveness??? Where do we need to work together to bring about our Father’s will, His plan and His purpose??? Much love to you all wherever you are!!! I always say that everyday is like Christmas with Jesus with us as our Savior and this story of sweet reunion and reconciliation sure has a familiar ring to it as I think about how our sweet Father sent His One and only son into the world to save us, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life with Him in His eternal kingdom with us all as His beloved children of faith!!! Now if that don’t just wag the tail on the end of a puppy, I don’t know what will do so!!! 🙂

I love happy endings and all the in between, too – being in our good loving Father’s care always as we experience life together as His kids of faith!!! Father’s grace – it always finds us to save our bacon as this song says here!!! YYYIIIPPPEEE!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS SPIRIT TO YOU DEAR SAINTS!!!

YOU ARE ALL AWESOME AND WITH GOD WITH US, WE ARE ALL POWERFUL BY HIS DESIGN!!!

 

Delighting in the Glorious

It has been a busy day today as our Father has given me opportunity to be with several special people throughout the day and the thing that stands out to me today is that each one of them is sooo gloriously and divinely created and special in their very awesome own unique ways!!! I smile in great appreciation and respect for our Father as I think about His creation – it is all good!!! Have you ever looked upon animals and observed all of the very unique qualities and the divine distinct differences that each one has??? So it is with people, too!!!

Can you imagine if a lion looked upon a mouse and said I want to be like that and no longer liked itself as a lion, saw itself as less than the divine it was created to be, inadequate, or lacking in ability to do what it was supposed to do in life because it saw itself through trying to be a mouse or imagine perhaps a giraffe that said I want to be a turtle instead of how God made me!!! Why who would harvest of the high-up produce Father gave to the giraffe if there was no giraffe??? Who would eat the divinely provided produce to be harvested next to the ground if there were no turtles doing their part to eat what is theirs?!! There would be lack where our Father desired to have orchestrated completion to His creation and its purposes!!! Two things would be as a result upon the discontent, wishful mindset:

• They would miss out on the unique greatness of what they could be and do differently from any other given to them by the grace of God!!! There would not be the divine them to be and do what they were created to be, so the world would forever miss out on what God wanted to offer to the world thru them!!!
• In their discontent wishful thinking, they would also spend their life preoccupied with not being able to do things that is not for them to focus on in life, seeking at the being of a clone of God’s design rather than a special Masterpiece of their own. Being themselves, they would be focusing on what they were purposed to do and having the divine joy that comes from knowing they are representing God’s good creation thru them and it is not falling by the wayside of discontentment.

As our Father’s kids, we should not let the enemy, flesh or world drag oneself down with discontent of being what we are not instead of enjoying the exhilarating opportunity to be divine YOU and me with all our Father’s fine unique embellishments of how He created YOU and me to be!!! Amen?!!

We can admire and appreciate God’s grace in others without letting it take away from His grace in ourselves is what Father speaks to my heart today!!! There is a fine line between admiration, envy and jealousy in our relationships.  Each of them can be defined in these ways:

Admiration:

Admiration is to personally feel respect or approval for someone or something about a person. It is to look at something or someone with enjoyment or delight as King David wrote in Psalm 16:2-3 “I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.  As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.” Our Father admires us and “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Every good and perfect gift is coming down from the Father of heavenly lights.”  (James 1:17)

Admiration of what our Father has created is good – what would change it from a good thing to a bad thing is to act upon the admiration in an ungodly way, a selfish way or to look upon it with distress when it shouldn’t distract from one’s own good. To view it with distraction from one’s own good would be called envy.”How can we praise our Father’s divine that we see in others to build them up in good ways and speak truth to ourselves, too???” Envy is different from admiration of what God has created.

Envy:

Envy differs from godly admiration in that it always has the attachment to it of an ungodly sense. Envy is a two-part relationship. It is seeing our self as inferior to another because the standard we use to see our self is not the true worth or quality of who we are created to be in Christ. Rather than resting in Christ’s truths, we compare ourselves with that of others based on our own way or the world’s way of thinking instead of our Father’s.  For example, I know there have been times I have thought with distress that I wish I had legs like that girl, thinking my own were inadequately created compared to hers, yet other people have seen the divine in my legs and complimented me on my own legs for being different from the divine way our Father made mine longer than theirs!!! lol Another example could be to distress wishing that I am sometimes male instead of a female!!! I have to repent of that in not appreciating my own uniqueness and His special creativity in me – in that it is to put down my Father’s perfect divine goodness and wisdom that He created into me for His purposes on earth for me, knowing that He has the best plan of good for me, my life, my purpose, my mindset and for others He places in my life.  He has a completely different setup for someone else’s divine creation!!! Both are divine Masterpieces and our Father’s heart for us when we see His divine in others is to rejoice when others rejoice!!! 🙂 Envy aims at wishing or rejoicing in the destruction of another’s good to better one’s own good in their own eyes. Our Father’s heart is to also mourn with those who mourn. (Romans 12:15)

Our Father’s Spirit made to dwell in us was not given that we should be given to envy. Questions to consider: “Do we perceive we are lacking in worth or qualities that we see in another that we want for ourself???” “What does our Father say about that???” Envy differs from jealousy in ways, too:

Jealousy:

Jealousy is a three-part relationship. It is to desire to have the same as another for oneself and in relationships, it includes a subject, a rival and a beloved. For example: In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain was moved by jealousy and killed his brother Abel because of jealousy for his beloved God’s approval. Our Father told Cain, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7) There was room in God’s love for both of them had Cain chose correctly. We know that in choosing our Father’s finished work on the cross for our sins, that we are forever accepted by our Father and our sacrifices for acceptance are no longer necessary!!! Bless Him!!! Religious leaders in the days of Jesus and His disciples were jealous of wanting the people’s approval and they moved with their envy to kill and persecute Jesus and His disciples. Had they chosen correctly, they could’ve had a love relationship with Jesus, His disciples and the people, too. Our Father is said to be jealous of us over any other relationship in our lives!!! He wants to be our first love as He should be!!! His is a righteous jealousy and he actively moves out of jealousy in good ways for our best interest!!! Jealousy is to be moved to seek or desire eagerly, to burn with jealousy!!! Jealousy could be an unhappy or angry feeling caused by the belief that someone  you love (such as your husband or wife) likes or is liked by someone else. If that feeling moves us energetically to act in sinful ways because of that, it would be to move in sinful jealousy without godly reason. Our Father calls us to love one another as He has loved us. Liking someone or being liked by someone is not sin so long as godly boundaries are not crossed. If godly boundaries are crossed, that is a different story. For example: If I have been jealous to want to have a brother, sister, family and ministry team that I like in my life because I like them and enjoy working with them, there is no sin in that if that is what my Father desires for me. If I continue to strive for that in an ungodly way, in that it is where my Father is saying no and those people are saying no and closing a door, I am in sin to continue to pursue that which is not of my Father. Our Father gives us the passion of heart and creates circumstances for us to be where He desires us to be. That is not wrong to have that divine heart passion for what He desires for us!!! For us to have the heart passion for ministry is sometimes a process for our Father to take us thru. Sometimes He has to completely close all doors on relationships before our heart finally is moved in agreement with our Father that the answer is no or He can keep open or reopen doors to bring about that which matches our heart desire.  Perhaps our heart isn’t desiring to go, but our Father’s voice is sooo loud for us to go, we can’t not go even though we may be afraid and need to step out in trusting Him!!! For me, if I wanted to partner with those relationships for any purpose other than what is for our Father’s divine heart for me, I would be moving in sinful jealousy to have relationships that belong to my Father for myself!!! I sense my heart is right in my heart towards relationships before my Father at this point in time and seek to keep my heart open to His voice and godly counsel as He leads!!! Bless Him for His heart to help us all in life as we seek Him!!!

Oh this is lots of food for thought and I hope this helps in some divine way as Father has laid it upon my heart to share as it has helped me to understand the differences between admiration, envy and jealousy. It has to do with our heart and only our Father can reveal our hearts to us each individually and what is the right to do in our interactions with people that He puts into our lives. “God works in us to will and act according to His purpose.” (Philippians 2:13) Our lives are a learning and growing process!!! Above all of our relationships, our sweet Jesus is the One in all the universe to be greatly admired and adored this Christmas and we can all have His peace and rest in heart knowing that He loves us all with unfailing, unconditional love and never will He leave us nor forsake us!!! YAY!!! Know that you are divinely loved forever and we are all His forever kingdom family!!!

The power of our Father’s perfect love for us helps us to be able to see Him, ourselves and others in healthy godly loving ways!!! This song talks of the power of our Father’s love here. Let us draw near to Him to hear His beautiful heart that delights in each of us and can help us each to delight in the glorious of our Father in each of us!!! It is what will bring us the right heart – the divine heart that will bring with it divine peace that just makes us smile!!! 🙂

 

 

The Divine in Numbers

It’s a day in which we can see it as a holy joyful day, dear family of saints, for our Father sees us all as His holy kids of faith as we look to His finished work on the cross for us to rescue us from the wages of sin, reconcile us into a perfect love relationship with Him, indwell us to empower us and guide us divinely to be His love and light into the world and bless us with forever life in His victorious heavenly kingdom!!! YYYIIIPPPEEEE!!! Jesus said His heart for us as His kids is “that His joy may be in us and that our joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) Jesus also told us that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses into in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Jesus gives us the power of Him in us thru our faith in Him, not so that we can promote ourselves in this life, but so that we can promote Him into this world.

Oh He is sooo awesome and “perfect/purrfect” for all the world to see!!!

Given this roaring Holy Spirit power of the Lion of the tribe of Judah as Jesus is referenced in the Bible (Revelation 5:5), our Father’s heart wants us to understand that while His power in us can enable us to do all things that He calls us to do as an individual, our Father has never desired that we choose to see our self as the complete church in our self.

To see our self as the complete church in oneself, could look like having an outlook that “one person hears from God and nobody else does.” That is certainly not of our Father because He calls us to be family and to love each other, help each other, to seek godly counsel from each other, to strengthen and encourage each other and all the more as we see the day of His return to earth approaching!!! His Word tells us:

“…so in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Romans 12:5

In Christ, we have one mind, one heart and one Spirit in common as His divine family of saints – His divine eyesight!!! His sight is the best!!!

When we hear the heart of others, we should not dismiss what they share with us as not being from God, dear ones, but to take what is shared before our Father and ask Him for His heart in it for us as His kids. He tells us that He works good through all things and therefore, there can be a nugget of gold in all things that are put before us. It may be that something shared is something that is true of us, that is true to our circumstance, a warning of caution that something that could be or become, a motive check or test of our heart in a situation or something perhaps our Father wants us to see that maybe doesn’t pertain to our own life, but in seeing it, it could help someone else should our Father want to speak it to them thru us as He guides us!!! Now how exciting is all of that to hear to consider for us all as family to help us see the divine as Father reveals it!!! The point of all of this is, that no person is an island by themselves on the ocean of our Father’s grace flowing upon the shores of our hearts as His kids of faith. It is His living waters that saturate the holy ground of our hearts for His divine purposes!!!

When we see each other as a gift from our Father into our lives, we can appreciate the power of His grace in each one of us. It doesn’t matter how young or old one is or how long they have walked with Christ, our Father’s Spirit of power can speak and work through any of His kids in sufficient ways to get His will accomplished through each one of us!!! Is there power in one with the holy One Jesus – the answer is yes!!!

Oh with the gift of His Spirit with each one of us individually at work, it is just like Christmas everyday – evergreen thriving life with everlasting life blessings for us each one!!! 🙂

Is there power in all of our Father’s kids together – the answer is yes!!! Is it all from Jesus’ grace – yes!!! Therefore, there is divine in all numbers of our Father’s family of saints and that includes you and me, sweet family!!! We need our Father and each other always!!! Apart from Jesus, none of us could do anything, neither would we be anything or have anything!!! Who is that mighty powerful ONE – none other than JESUS!!! 🙂 Oh I am sooo thankful we have Him and that our Father has created us to be His forever family!!! Together we are a powerful family to make a divine difference in this world for our heavenly kingdom home!!! Oh now that all just makes me smile!!!

As we whom Father has put here consider these thoughts, we can know that each one of us is oh sooo special and we each shine Jesus in our own unique way that we and the whole world needs!!! YYYEEESSS WE CAN!!! Shine on as the you and Jesus team Christmas gift to the whole world as only you can!!! If the gift of you is never opened up and shared in the world, the world will forever miss out on the divineness of you and Father team!!! Oh I am sooo excited to see and hear the gift of the power of God in you and thru you!!! Let us behold  all the good our Father has for us with Him in us!!!

Much love to you precious saints!!!

Oh fire us up with your power, Lord Jesus as this song says here!!! WOOOHOOO!!! Oh that all makes me feel so warmed by Father’s powerful love and grace upon us all each one together – our forever family heavenly home fires burning within us bright!!! RRROOOAAARRR STRONG AND COURAGEOUS WITH HIS SPIRIT AFLAME IN YOU!!!! 🙂