Coupled in Life

Blessings of love to you, precious saints here with me!!! I am sooo thankful our Father has made us Kingdom family together and that we can work together to bring heaven to earth to bless our Father, bless each other and bless others. As I continue to share some generalized areas of ministry that each of us individually will typically step in and out of in the course of our life, today I am sharing thoughts for couples as taken from our Father’s Word. Diving right in – wooohooo, here we go and it is my heart that you will find our Father’s heart of love and light for your own heart as He speaks personally to you. It is with a heart that longs for all to be blessed that I share these things:

Wives:

If you have a husband, God desires for you to be his helper, to assist and aid him (Genesis 2:18-25), to partner with him (1 Peter 3:7), to be a faithful companion (Exodus 20:14), to encourage him and build him up as a man (Proverbs 14:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:11), to meet his sexual needs and please him (1 Corinthians 7), to respect him and put forward his opinions as is fitting to the Lord (Colossians 3:18).

Husbands:

If you have a wife, God desires for you to love her as your own body, as yourself (Ephesians 5:33), be considerate of her and her opinions (1 Peter 3:7, Ephesians 5:21), encourage her and build her up as a woman ((1 Thessalonians 5:11), not being harsh with her (Colossians 3:19), loving her as Christ loves the church – giving himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25), treating her with respect (1 Peter 3:7), protecting her by your stronger physical abilities (1 Peter 3:7), meeting her sexual needs (1 Corinthians 7), being faithful to her (Exodus 20:14) so that nothing hinders your prayers (1 Peter 3:7).

God calls us all to consider the opinions of all people and to not seek our own good, but the good of others, but this does not mean to put them above God or become a participant in sin (Ephesians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 10:24 & 33, Proverbs 14:16a, Exodus 20:3).

We are also called to show proper respect to everyone (1 Peter 2:17). Respect is defined as “to consider deserving of high or special regard”.  It is important to remember also, that if we desire the respect of others, we need to seek to be respectable – not making it difficult for people to respect us (1 Timothy 3:8, 11; 1 Thessalonians 5:11, 1 Thessalonians 4:12, Proverbs 11:16, Titus 2:2).

It is important to not take spouses for granted. Be thankful for your spouse (Colossians 3:15). If you find yourself focusing on negative thoughts about your spouse, take your thoughts captive to Christ and focus on “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). An exercise that is helpful in doing this is to go through the alphabet and for each letter, state a word that begins with that letter that represents a true good quality about your spouse (for example: A – She adores me and my children, B – He is bold, C – He is courageous, etc… by the time you get to Z, you have 26 good reasons to admire your spouse.   Have you ever considered that there are many lonely people in the world who would perhaps love to have your spouse? I see the sadness of lonely people all the time. Does any stranger walking down the street treat your spouse better than you do? Do you strive to be the “special someone” in your spouse’s life? Do you seek to minister to your spouse’s needs out of love even though they are not your needs? Do you realize that God loves your spouse as much as He loves you? Galatians 3:28 says in God’s eyes “There is neither male nor female.” He loves them both the same. God understands our spouses as unique individuals and He knows what will bless them, so ask Him to give you wisdom in how to bless your spouse.

Healthy marriages practice these things and seek to work as a team to “discern the best” (Philippians 1:10) and keep peace and harmony in their relationship (Proverbs 3:13-17). If differences are creating bitterness and resentment, marriage partners need to quickly (Ephesians 4:26-27) seek God’s wisdom through prayer (Psalm 119:25, James 1:5), the study of God’s Word and godly counsel (Proverbs 1:5, Proverbs 15:14 & 22, Proverbs 3:21) to resolve problems (Matthew 12:25) and restore peace (Hebrews 12:14).

Couples should also work together to manage their homes and children well (Proverbs 31:27, Titus 2:5, 1 Timothy 3:12). Ask God to show you the definition of “well”.  Sometimes people can go to the extreme of “too perfect” and some are “too relaxed” in caring for their homes and children. We want to make it our aim to bring glory to God in the eyes of our neighbors and those who might enter into our homes. Consider also the feelings of your family about your home. What makes your home comfortable to them? What ministers to them and to others who are visiting? Is your family embarrassed about where and how they live? If so, ask your family why and work through it together as a family. It is good when your family loves to be home and they feel good about bringing home their friends instead of being out with friends where there are all sorts of temptations. When they are in your home, you know what they are doing and who they are with. This also gives you the opportunity to minister to them and show them the love of Christ.

While there is lots to ponder here, in it all, the Holy Spirit will guide you as an individual and move your heart in what is right as He promises:

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

Philippians 2:13

It is also important to understand that our Father understands each situation and sees His people thru eyes of love and grace and is always with His to guide. I love it that we can always approach our Father’s throne of grace with confidence to find help in all of life!!!

Married and parents??? Blessings to you!!! Sooo proud of you for your perseverance in the heart of Jesus in the center of your relationships!!! I greatly admire that in you!!! 🙂 One of the ways our Father shows us His love is in giving us relationships in life!!! Here is a song about His amazing love for us all whether married or single as the bride of Christ of which we all are as His church!!! Marriage is a model of our relationship with Jesus!!! It’s all a divine beautiful love story for sure!!! One that just makes me smile!!! 🙂

 

 

Strong and Courageous Over Flesh

Oh how awesome that our Father has given us a great day of opportunity to be His royal family of saints together!!! Our Father loves us and cares for each one of us divinely and desires our best just like He did the Israelites in Biblical times!!! While our Father sees each one of us as His kids as special, He also knew that with there being sooo many people that all have their own personalities and ideas and opinions, that there would need to be a leader that sought out the heart of Jesus and communicated it with authority to God’s people so that they could all follow the Lord’s plan for them all to get them where they needed to be – to the land that would be prosperous and a blessing to them as His royal forever kingdom family – a land flowing with milk and honey!!! The Lord’s anointing for the divine plan for all of them was on Joshua as the leader. Joshua could have been terrified at that thought, but he rested in knowing the Lord was with him and never leaving him!!! God had promised him that He would see him thru what He was asking of him to do and that he would be blessed!!! The same is true for each of our Father’s kids of faith!!!

The other people that Joshua was in charge of leading, upon hearing the divine overall plan of God for them all thru Joshua, received their own personal anointing from the Lord personally to individually carry out their part in the divine plan given by Joshua to them thru our Father’s Spirit spoken to him. The divine life is always Holy Spirit-powered!!!

In one example of the Bible (Joshua 1:10-18), there were mighty men who were “officers over the people,” and Joshua as God’s chosen leader over them told them to “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, “Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.” Joshua encouraged his officers and reminded them of the blessings that would result in their lives thru their willingness to do what needed to be done for victory!!! “The Lord will give you rest and will give you the land.” I sooo love that about Joshua’s heart that desired to inspire and encourage Father’s people to do the right thing!!! Sooo sweet and of a good leader that is!!!

Knight with sword and shield

Joshua guided his men in what to do with regards to caring for their wives, their children and the possessions in the midst of carrying out the Lord’s call on their lives. I love it that our Father worked thru His leaders to take care of their families and steward well what our Father had given to them!!! He reminded them of who they were in God-given ability to help others, saying to them “you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all you valiant warriors, and shall help them until the Lord gives your brothers rest, and He gives you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land, and possess that which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.” Oh there is a time for work-life and time for restful home life, too!!!

I love the respect that these “officers of the people” said to Joshua, their anointed leader when they replied to Joshua:

“All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only may the Lord be with you as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous.”

Putting to death the flesh that opposes our Father’s leaders by being strong and courageous in the Lord leads to the divine in life!!! Rebellion against our Father’s leadership of His leaders is to rebel against the Lord and its result is always destruction – not for the leader, but for those who fight against Jesus!!! Jesus’ heart for all His people is a good orderly plan for life as He says in His Word:

“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

In light of these thoughts, how is Jesus speaking to you as a leader in leading those He has put in your care, saints??? What divine plans, encouragement and inspiration can you share with others to spur them on towards love and good deeds??? Is there a leader in your life that our Father is speaking divine plans to you through??? What steps are needed to bring it about in your life??? We can know this, in trusting in our Father, there is blessing for us all and He who is calling us to do the divine will enable us and provides all we need to make the divine happen!!!

Oh with Jesus with us each one, we are powerful to have the best life and we already have forever salvation and unfailing love thru our faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross!!! We have already received all the glorious riches of His kingdom land that will forever be flowing with sweet milk and honey!!! Forever blessed we are – let’s help others to have that forever blessing in life too, starting with a blessed life in the here and now!!! Sooo proud of you for your love for our Father’s heart first in all of life!!! Where Jesus goes, I will follow personally as this song says here.

Freedom in Relationships

My Father lays it upon my heart today the importance of relationships and the influence that they can have on our lives. Our Father made us to be in close personal relationship with Him as a priority in our lives and when we draw close to Him and love Him with all of our heart, with all of our soul and with all of our mind and with all of our strength as He tells us is the greatest Word in all the Bible, we find the unfailing, unconditional love that gives us the strength, the love, the courage and the wisdom to deal rightly in all other relationships in life!!! Oh our Father is sooo smart and that is why He tells us:

“…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 12:2NASB

The Apostle Paul then goes on to share with us in Father’s Word:

“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of yourself that you ought to think; but think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

Romans 12:3NASB

When we see ourselves as our Father sees us in the close intimacy (in-t0-me-see) perfect love relationship we have with Him, we see ourselves as His beloved children of faith in whom He delights!!! We also see that thru our faith in His finished work on the cross for the sins of each one of us, we know that He sees us as saved sinners that have the issue of the enemy Satan to contend with as long as we do life here on this earth!!! Our Father sees us as holy, without blemish and without accusation and with no condemnation in Him thru our faith in His sacrifice for us to set us free from the wages of sin!!! He also gives us choice in life and His Word (the Bible) to help us make the best divine choices in how we live life here on earth. When we have made mistakes, our Father desires that we realize it, accept it, learn from it and move on into life making better choices in the future, being the wiser from what we learn. There are natural consequences for our choices and our sweet Father wants us to have the best life possible in choosing His ways for ourselves. We are already saved from the wages of sin thru His work on the cross, so we will never be cast away from our Father’s love and acceptance, nor will we ever be cast away from being part of His royal family in His paradise kingdom coming soon. YAY!!!

Having said that, our Father desires that we love and help each other as His kids in this life though and when we are choosing to walk in ways that are contrary to our Father, it is good when we are open to listening to others who love us enough to warn us and help us to see our Father’s heart for us!!! Our Father tells us:

“As iron sharpens iron, so one a person sharpens another.”

Proverbs 27:17

Oh I sooo love it when my family of saints help me in life to see clearly the divine life!!! Sometimes it can be hard to hear when we have messed up at first, but if we can see it as their love for us, we can take it before our Father and ask Him His view of it and if it is valid criticism before Him, we should seek to turn from the wrong and walk in the best life!!! I sooo love that thought of living life best!!! Our Father tells us that wounds from a friend can be trusted in Proverbs 27:6. If we turn a friend away that speaks our Father’s truth to us in love for us, we may lose one of the best friends we could have!!! YIKES!!! WATCH OUT!!!

It is never easy to speak hard things of godly correction to people we love and while seeking to help those we love, sometimes it can go well if they listen to what our Father lays on our heart to speak to them and they seek our Father, perhaps godly counsel about it, too, repent or turn the other way and do what is right in life.  While our Father tells us iron sharpens iron and a person sharpens another, He also warns us:

“Do not be deceived.” “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

1 Corinthians 15:33NASB

When the effect of a friend upon us is negative, we must be careful the negative influence does not change us from what is of our Father. Consider that to not speak Truth in love and to continually just go along without helping godly change to happen, we may be actually condoning ungodliness to continue!!! YIKES!!! LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER BEST AND DIVINE!!!  Ungodly influence may make it necessary to even separate ourselves from a relationship if godly change doesn’t happen. Often we can enter a relationship thinking that perhaps we can influence them or help them change, but the reality is that we cannot make people change. We can speak Truth in love and faithfulness, but only the work of the Holy Spirit can help a person and help them to see the Truth and even with that, He still gives them choice to choose His Truth or not. A good example of this is in the story of Joseph and Mary when Joseph was wanting to secretly divorce Mary because she ended up with the Christ child before they were married. The Lord was able to help Joseph see the divine in the situation and He changed Joseph’s heart. Hence, Joseph was open to choosing to continue in the relationship with Mary. YAY!!! WAY TO CHOOSE JESUS, JOSEPH!!! I BE BLESSED BY THAT RIGHTEOUS CHOICE!!! I’VE GOT MY DIVINE VICTORY DANCING SHOES ON AND WHOOPING IT UP WITH GRATEFULNESS!!! THAT CHOICE MADE A FOREVER DIFFERENCE TO ME AND MANY!!! 🙂 Another example to consider is the example of King Herod who had the light of the three wise men present him Truth about Christ born into the world and he chose in his heart to reject and destroy Christ’s partnership with him, hence, the Lord advised the three wise men not to return to King Herod, but to go a different direction.

Our Father gives us His heart and His Spirit’s power at work in us for our best life, forever set free in Him from sins bondage control upon us. His loving heart for us is to choose His heart:

“You shall not follow the masses in doing evil.”

Exodus 23:2NASB

We have freedom of choice and power to overcome bondage to sin!!! There is a day coming when our Father will also separate those who are His from those who choose to reject Him rather than trust in Him as their Savior. Our Father does not partner with those bent on evil intent to destroy His kingdom and His kids, nor does He expect us to partner with evil as His kids of faith.

If you should find yourself in a questionable relationship, here are some thoughts to consider about whether or not it is appropriate to end a relationship:

• Don’t end a relationship just because someone speaks Godly Truth to you. We may lose one of the best friends we could have. We must realize that everyone misbehaves sometimes, even ourselves. Our Father says to deny our personal sin is to be a liar. (1 John 1:8)
• Don’t tell a friend Truth and walk away all mad never to relate with them again. Give them time to respond. If a friend acknowledges the problem and tries to change, be there for them to encourage them and support them in their efforts to live in godliness!!! This is not a good time to end a relationship.
• If someone is continually or habitually intent on working against our Father (not just slipping up and making an occasional mistake) gradually separate yourself from them and widen your circle of friends to include those that are healthy for you.  If immediate severing of a relationship is necessary, tell the person you wish them well, but want to spend time with others in your life. Seek to end relationships without being unfriendly in the process. If paths cross again, be friendly instead of being an enemy. This is in keeping with our Father’s heart:

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people.”

Romans 12:18NASB

• Find courage to end friendships when you must and tact to do it peacefully as possible. Ending with bitterness, anger and confusion is not the best way!!! Clarity in what the problem issues are helps both sides to have possible successful repentance, resolution and reconciliation.
• If someone chooses not to change or do life with you in the future, don’t force them to, but rather rest in Father’s love and grace for you as sufficient, pray, move on in life and find joy and the blessings of being with people who love and care for you and desire the divine contributions of love and godliness that you have to add to their lives as Father guides you in loving them. He has made us to be in relationship with people and when two people look to Christ as the center of their relationships, it always brings the divine blessings into each of our lives that our Father intended when He said:

“…love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Secondly… “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 12:30-31NASB

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

John 13:34NASB

Much love to you all wherever you are today, dear family!!! May our Father guide you in His wisdom, give you peace, strength and courage to carry out His will, His plan and His purpose for you in all the relationships He places around us!!! Always hold close to the power of God’s love for you above all as this song says here.

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!!!

 

Shepherds of His Heart

October is Pastor Appreciation month and as I ponder that today, my Father speaks to me that it is good to realize that our Father calls Pastors to shepherd certain groups of people He has placed them in the midst of and the same is true for all of His leaders!!! They are where they are by divine appointment!!! Are you a shepherd??? If so, what group of people has He put in your life to shepherd or oversee their care and be of support to, dear one??? How is He calling you to do so???When our Father calls a shepherd or provides to us a shepherd in life, this is His heart in doing so:

“And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

Jeremiah 3:15 NIV

It is our Father’s promise to us that when He raises up a shepherd, they will be those who have a heart like His, who will be moved with a heart passion to feed you with the knowledge and understanding of God!!! Now how sweet of a heart is that!!! This however, is not left to the shepherd to do on their own, it is the power of God at work in them just as our Father worked through Moses, Joshua and the Apostle Paul and the other disciples!!! When the disciples were called to go into the world as shepherds and overseers of the church, Jesus told them this:

“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Luke 24:49 NIV

Knowing that it is our Father’s Spirit that leads His shepherds and He does not lead them contrary to what His written Word says, we can have confidence that our Father’s Spirit is going to guide them as He indwelled them through their faith in His finished work on the cross to enable His indwelling of His Spirit into their hearts as His holy temple!!! His supernatural power will be given to them to enable them in each situation they are in by giving them a heart attitude that is for the people in their care, giving them the ability to relate to them, to communicate, delegate, motivate, confront, train and develop others for service, giving them His vision, His plan, His strategy, how to direct teams and also empower others.

There is lots of pressure on shepherds and they all need to be encouraged and shown appreciation, so I want to encourage you today to appreciate those Pastors/shepherds over you as our Father leads you to!!! Who are they??? How is He leading you to show them appreciation and/or support???

lf our Father is calling you to be an overseer of His flock, be assured that He will enable you and empower you as you seek Him in each situation that He creates divine opportunity for you to be in!!! Now how exciting is that to have the God of the Universe choose you as His vessel through whom He wants to do all of that to bless those He has entrusted to you!!! YOU are chosen special for such a time as this for such a place as where He has you in life!!! Who has He put before you??? In what situation do you need to trust Him in to enable you and empower you to do that which He has called you to??? If He has called you to it, He will see you through it powerfully as you look to Him and the two of you together are going to be supernaturally divine right where, when and with whom He puts you with!!! Ruh, ruh, ruh!!! Know that this heart appreciates you for all you do to bless our Father and others and this is Father’s heart for you:

“God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love that you have shown Him as you help His people and continue to help them.”

Hebrews 6:10 NIV

Bless you and know Father always has your back!!! He is for you!!! As you remain in Him and He in you, you will bear much fruit!!! 🙂 More than conquerors in Christ Jesus you are, through Him who loves you!!! Love this song here that talks about how special you are to our Father for being willing to go into the world where He has you!!! Power on!!!

The Ultimate Father

Good morning, beloved saints!!! What a precious gift of life that we have today, but even more ultimate is it that we have the ultimate Father in all the universe loving each one of us with His perfect love!!! Our Father who is in heaven and whose Spirit fathers each one of us in His presence within our hearts like no human father could ever do tells us in His Word to rejoice in this way:

“Sing to God, sing praise to His name,

extol Him who rides on the clouds–

His name is the Lord

and rejoice before Him.

A Father to the fatherless,

a defender of widows,

is God in His holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families,

He leads forth the prisoners

with singing…”

Psalm 68:4-6 NIV

Jesus is a Father to all earthly fathers to help them be fathers to their children and He is a father to those who mother as well. Bless Him for His love and care for them!!! He has a heart for those who have no earthly father, too and He desires to be their ultimate Daddy to love them and lead them and guide them through all of life to help each one have victory in all of life!!! Nobody can say that they are fatherless!!! Now how special is that for us!!! He is our divine Daddy!!!

All people on earth struggle with the enemy of this life and our Father’s heart is that we accept the understanding

“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 NIV

In having that understanding, we can have forgiveness for ourselves and others and look to Him to heal all hurts in life — perhaps that hurt is that you are fatherless and just need to see that you are not!!! Let that Truth bring you healing today!!! You have the ultimate Daddy who loves you perfectly and who has washed away all our sins by showing the ultimate strength of stepping into this world and going to the cross to rescue every one of His kids from the wages of sin that the enemy of this world placed upon all people!!! Oh now what a blessed Father we have who did all of that for us, so that He could be our forever Father who dwells with us in heart to enable us to live life powerfully and with confidence that we are His beloved family forever and whose eternal dwelling place is our forever home where we are always welcomed with His open arms as He says:

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Hebrews 4:16 NIV

Are you a father or a mother??? If so, where do you need to rest in our Father’s loving grace for you and empowering grace for you as a parent to the children our heavenly Father has placed with confidence into your care, knowing that He with you can raise them successfully??? Where do you need to trust our Father to work divinely to help your children in ways that are beyond you??? Where do you need the love and guidance of Jesus, your divine Daddy today??? He is your constant Father always with you for you to draw close to!!! Bless you, saints!!! Keep being Daddy, Daddy!!! Oh, we know He will because He promises each one of us this:

“Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5 NIV

We are dearly loved children of God just as this song says here!

Bask in His love for you today, precious family!!! Blessed are we all to have His love and grace for each one of us!!!

The Good Life!!!

Oh, happy day, saints!!!!!!! Finding the good life – it seems a determination that everybody is always a seekin’ and I want to encourage your hearts today that it is attainable with our sweet Jesus!!! We’ve got it all through Him!!! Oh, He just has a plan for each one of us to have the happy life always that is key based upon two things to seek after:

• righteousness – righteousness that is 100% ours through faith in the blood Christ shed for us on the cross that sees us all as holy, without blemish, without accusation and without condemnation – free from having to perform for acceptance by Him!!! HAPPY!!!

• love – God IS love and He loves us all with unfailing, unconditional forever love! Woohoo!!! Love love!!! HAPPY!!!

Knowing that all the ways of Jesus are right as He is holy and the standard of all good, when we choose to walk as He tells us is best in the Bible through His help in us, we reap His best in life’s circumstances. HAPPY!!!

What is the best of Jesus’ heart for us:

• life
• prosperity
• honor

HAPPY!!! Now those are three great things that we all get to enjoy together through our faith in Jesus 1) forever life dwelling with Him present with us in our hearts now and on into His Heavenly Kingdom, 2) inheritance into all the glorious riches of our Father’s eternal Kingdom and 3)honor in being sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!! Royal family are we in Him!!!!!!! Sounds perfect to me and all of that just fills me with HAPPY today as in this song here!!!

Proverbs 21:21

SMILE!!! JESUS LOVES US AND IS HELPING US ALWAYS!!!

 

Holding on to the Good

New day greetings dear family! Here we are pondering again together!!! I sooo love this time we have together to ponder the good things of our Father’s Word to us!!! My Father speaks to me this morning about holding on to that which is good in life. Each one of us who have faith in Jesus are His holy temple in which His Holy Spirit dwells. What a privilege and honor that is to carry about with us the King of kings and the Lord of lords!  I chuckle as I think about how we might be in our houses if we knew that the most important dignitary in the world was going to visit our home. I can imagine that we would all want to have our house in good order! My Father speaks to me of the similarity to having Him dwell in us as His holy temple. He is deserving of nothing less than what we would do for royal dignitaries visiting us. In fact, He deserves more – our best!!! He brings to me the thought today “Do we fill the holy temple of us with junky thoughts or thoughts that are in order with His holiness and righteousness?” It is said of Mary, the mother of Jesus, that as she heard and experienced the good things the Shepherds that visited Jesus in the manger said concerning her son, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Choosing what we fill our thought lives with makes a difference on our outlook moving forward as our Father’s children! As the Apostle Paul did, so let us put behind us the past and move forward with the new and divine. We can all look at Paul and see that this choice was a good one for his life. There were times he shared of his past experience if it helped move victory for Jesus forward and we can all certainly learn good from our past experiences, but Paul chose not to dwell continually on past mistakes. This seems a good thing to do in each of our lives as well, precious saints! Our Father’s Word says this about our thought  life:

“Rejoice in the Lord always.”

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

Oh, I’m a gal wanting to move forward in life victoriously as Paul did and as Mary did, holding on to the good things of Jesus to ponder and treasure! What are the good things about your life and those around you that can be pondered and treasured in your heart? I’m a gal seeking to ponder all those good things with ya!!! Let’s treasure life with Jesus where we are today!!! Much love to you all – you are a treasure!!!!

Luke 2:16-19; Philippians 4:4-8

 

 

Resting in Grace for Loving

Hi, dear family ~

I want to talk with you tonight in follow up to my earlier post today regarding criticism to help keep Christmas cheer happening for us all! I have enough experience in life to realize that this is a good topic to keep in mind this time of year as people gather together in celebration! I believe it is an issue that everybody faces unless you are a person who never sees another person and I share these thoughts because I love ya and I want to share points that are good things for us all to keep in mind for victory in life! I talked in my last post about constructive criticism and tonight I want to talk about non-valid criticism. Sometimes people are right and then we need to accept and respect their coming forward with what is good for us and for our relationships to continue. Learning good things is good! We can move forward with gratitude for the enlightenment and with thanksgiving for our Father’s grace for us! Oh, I sooo love that!!! But sometimes, people are wrong! Because of insecurities, people can often tend to always think other people are right and they are the ones wrong. This is why it is important to take all criticism to our Father who has the correct viewpoint! If in question, seeking counsel regarding another’s viewpoint can be helpful and is Biblical! If our Father shows you that the criticism is valid, go with it and make changes to get on top of life! If it is non-valid, rest in the freedom of the knowledge of that and God’s grace for you! Do as Jesus guides you to do in the matter, keeping in mind each scenario can be different in how you deal with it, unique to the situation. What works in one situation may not be right in another. The important thing is to seek to deal with it in a Godly way.

We all have the emotion of anger! Anger in itself is not sin. God shows anger in several places throughout the Bible. Anger is an emotion that God has built into us each that is an indicator that something is wrong that needs to be resolved. Our Father tells us “In your anger, do not sin.” It is important to learn how to handle the powerful emotion of anger correctly. Taking time to cool off and reflect before speaking or acting can be a very beneficial thing to do and can keep things from escalating!  Often people say things out of their lack of full understanding! We all need light!!! Due to each person’s perception, inner struggles and battles with Satan, often what they really need is someone to just help them understand the truth in the situation, reassure them, sympathize with them, seek to understand them and love them. It is good to not take criticism lightly! Healthy relationships are important and resolution to problems is a divine thing! It doesn’t always happen, but giving it our best effort is a good thing!!! Jesus went to great efforts to reconcile us to our Father!!! Bless Him for His sacrifice and perseverance!!! Blessed kids are we!!!

Beware that there are overly critical spirits in the world — those who are continually criticizing and pointing out the failures of others without the wisdom, kindness and love of God. It is good for all of us to  talk to God about if any criticism is really valid before it is shared. A person who tends to be critical all the time, should ask God before criticizing if it is really needed or not.  If we are really struggling with bitterness, our Father tells us to get rid of it – that is a time to have a talk with Jesus, pray and move how He guides us to deal with it.  Godly counsel from other Christians is valuable if needed and timing of that is important! Our Father’s Word gives us a guideline in how to deal with sin towards us in Matthew 18:15-17.

Peace and love in relationships is very important! Amen? If you are one who has received criticism, I want to encourage you to deal with it correctly and do not allow Satan to use it in victory over you, saint! Look for the “nugget” of gold (the wisdom) and not a “loophole” for denial. Our Father says “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Seek to work through matters with understanding towards ministry to the other person to resolve the problem and provide a solution to keep it from happening again. Our Father tells us “Make every effort to live in peace with all people and to be holy.” There are lots of people who need you to keep running, so don’t let Satan win out there – let Jesus win – be light!!! Focus on that point!!! Live and learn well from Jesus and throw off what is of the enemy! Jesus will give you the encouragement you need if you ask Him to help you. Much love to ya!!! Rest in grace, peace and love and have fun with people!!! They are a gift to us and our Father loves us all very much!!!

Ephesians 4:26; Proverbs 15:1; Hebrews 12:14