Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)

Hello Father, I love You!

That’s what I have to say today.

“I LOVE YOU!”

As I go through my day I will feel Your love and embrace Your promises.

I will feel Your light bathing me with Your protection and compassion.

I will feel the fire of Your essence course through my being during the minutes of the day.

I ask for Your perfect peace and consideration in all that I undertake today and everyday.

The solace of your promises abound in all that I do.

If not for YOU I wouldn’t be able to do anything. 

Without YOU I cannot do anything.

With YOU I can do anything.

With You all things are possible 

Without YOU nothing is possible.

So…thank You Father.

I love You Father.

You are precious in my heart, mind and soul.

May I be an example of who You are in all  that I encounter today, everyday, always.

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Be not afraid of their faces:

for I am with thee to deliver thee,

saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:8

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Romans 5:19

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

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It’s difficult at times to wait as we ponder why a gap suddenly appears in our life.

We wonder, why there isn’t a surge of continuation in terms of our purpose in the Lord.  God sometimes will allow a broken path for His purpose as part of His grand design in fulfilling our servitude to Him.

****

What does this mean exactly? It means that there are reasons for all scenarios that will appear in our lives. It might mean God has a plan that is being set in motion and it’s not the time to release it yet.  He might be preparing us for the plan, and so it’s clearly His design to wait before bringing it to fruition.

****

A gap may be representative of His bringing us to the fire to test our faith.  Or there may be a rough edge that needs to be smoothed, or a particular issue that needs to be resolved before He moves us along once again.

****

We wait, and we must obey His will and remain faithful to His plans which invariably are for the best. During the “lull” times His hands are busy at work, although we might not see it yet.

He may be in the process of restoration in a particular relationship in our lives.  Whatever it may be, we must wait for His okay before we proceed. We must sit and wait for His clearance, and not rely on our “own mind-set”  we must rely on Him at all times.

****

When Abram listened to His wife instead of relying on God and His word  things got disastrous.

In Genesis 16: 1-6 –His wife Sarai informs him of what he should do to take care of her need to become a mother.  She wanted to produce a child for her husband so much so, she demanded he go into her maid Hagar so she might have a child. He listened to his wife’s voice, and not God’s voice or His promises. As a result, the maid Hagar despised Sarai, and things became ugly between the two. This wouldn’t have happened had he listened to the Lord, and waited for His instructions, and trusted Him.

****

Likewise with God’s children of today. There may be times we wish to jump over a hurdle in the road to get to the other side. We impatiently want to get it out of the way, so we can continue on our way with our own agenda.

 We want to react instead of waiting, listening, and being faithful to God. 

 Did we ever think that hurdle may have been placed there by God  to protect us?

Maybe He placed it there because on the other side of that hurdle was a great big gaping sink hole ready to swallow us up!

****

We are under the protection of God’s wings at all times. When we follow, listen, and walk in obedience to His voice and purpose. We are part of His grand scheme and His divine will and we should surrender to it readily. That gaping sink hole ready to swallow us up may be “ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15).  God always knows what’s ahead, we don’t. We need Him for all things.

****

The next time you see a hurdle in your path…look up, say “thank you God” because  you just might have narrowly missed that sink hole!

****

Then wait for our Father’s instructions so that His will be done for the true purpose in our lives.

Amen

*****

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct all your paths.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

The story of the dog in the well. We’ve all heard it being used at one time or aother in a sermon or homily. Yu know the one where a dog falls into a well, and the owner shovels dirt into the well not knowing the dog is at the bottom of the well.  With each shovel of dirt, the dog keeps shaking himself off and climbs on top of the dirt.  This keeps happening over and over until the dog is able to walk out of the well.  The dog’s mind set was on freeing himself from the predicament he was in…and he didn’t panic, nor look away…but instead, used the dirt being thrown into the well as a way to free himself.  And, ironically, kept looking “up.”

We can learn from this little parable.  What is it we can learn then?  To be resilient in times of trouble and to keep looking up, and keep focused on God.  We have to keep our eyes on him at all times.  He alone is the only One that can bring us out of circumstances that seem impossible.  But, we know that “all things are possible with God.”  When we wait, and trust…we will never fail, because He will never FAIL us.

In II Corinthians 4:18, it reminds us that we’re not to look at our troubles that we can see, but rather look forward to what we haven’t seen.  The trouble that we’re currently seeing will eventually stop, it’ll be over…but the sweet days to come, ah–they’ll last forever.

We need to trust in the LORD at all times.  Keep our eyes on Him,  be focused on His Word, and His voice as we go forward.

The Pastor said this morning, if we’re driving a car and if we were to take our eyes off the road and turn around while driving, eventually we’ll crash.  Why? Because we took our eyes off the road, and looked back instead of driving while looking forward focusing on the road/path ahead.

The LORD is our focus. The narrow path our journey, eternity is our final stop…our destination if you will.   But, we won’t get there if we are detracted by the world and take our eyes off of the LORD to the point where we’ll be stuck in the middle of nowhere spinning our wheels.

Attitude is a big part of the equation of being a faithful follower of the LORD.

Positive attitudes brings about cheerful and blissful outcomes, no matter what we may be going through at the time.  The mind of a positve individual will get to a better place a lot quicker than that of a negative attitude.

Think about birds.  They sing all the time nature.  It doesn’t matter what the weather is, they always sound the same, rain or shine.  It’s their nature. Their attitude is unwavering.

Be joyful in all that you do while staying focused on the Father, our LORD.

Nehemiah 8:10 –

The joy of the LORD is your strength

Proverbs 3:5-6

For God,

who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,

hath shined in our hearts,

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.     

2 Corinthians 4:6

God’s light reveals all and brings all into vision.   The realization of God’s plan for His children is a life altering awareness that those of faith embrace.

I heard a preacher say once, “whatever you do alone be keenly aware that God sees and is taking notes.  So, don’t do anything alone that you wouldn’t want others to see, most important and especially God.”

Darkness abounds in this tired and angry world and has been so since the beginning of time.  The same old scenario, goodness versus evil.  Light versus darkness.  Love versus hate.

It is a time old story, however–it’s our individual perspective on faith and God’s love that either gets us through successfully, or as an abysmal failure.

God is light. God is love. God is patience. God is compassion. God is merciful.

No matter how dark our surroundings…there is always a light in the crevices of our mind…so open your mind and let the light shine forth.

We’re never alone.

He’ll never leave us nor forsake us.

He goes before us in spiritual battle.

He stands with us as our protective  shield and buckler.

He holds us up with His right hand of righteousness.

He guides our paths.

He hears our prayers.

He knows our heart.

He is our Sovereign and Almighty Father of lights and love.

Trust Him and honor Him and obey Him in all things.  When you do…a “light” will spring to life in your body, heart and soul.

The illumination will bathe you in His perfect peace and His strength will guide you through the turmoil and keep you anchored in any storm.

Conversely, He is there with you in quiet and peaceful times as well.

“Father of light and love, thank You for Your hands of mercy,  for Your promises in Your Word, thank You for the gifts You bestow upon Your children since the beginning of time, thank You for all that You are, and all that You do, Father, shine Your light, guide, lead, direct, heal in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

God’s Gifts

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

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God’s love

¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:7-21 

***

God’s Light and Love

⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:7-

This Memorial Day we are honoring those who served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice.  Those fallen who now stand tall in Heaven’s grounds in the sight of Almighty God.

We as spiritual soldiers follow our Leader— the LORD almighty— who will reward those in His service here, and most important… in the eternity.

Honor the LORD in all that you do, and follow in the ranks of the faithful.

Live each day in honor of the LORD and observe His Word in all aspects of life, so when we’re called home to the Holy grounds, in His presence, we will be saluted and given our due rewards.

“Father, we thank You for the honor of serving You, and we thank You for those who serve our Country in honor of You, may Your light be a constant source of strength to our land of the Free, and may Your Glory and enduring mercy bathe us now and always, in  Jesus’ name, Amen.”

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You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy  2-10

(NKJV)

Be Strong in Grace

2 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ You therefore must endure^[a] hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴ No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. ⁵ And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. ⁷ Consider what I say, and may^[b] the Lord give you understanding in all things.

⁸ Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, ⁹ for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk on my high places…

Habakkuk 3:19

Boundless and jubilant without fear that’s How I feel knowing our Father is here!

Your Word sustains and maintains every aspect of my life.  With You, my heavenly Father, I can accomplish things through Christ who is behind my accomplishments.  Because without You…these accomplishments would not be possible.

As Jesus said, “with man these things are impossible, with God all things are possible.”

A sense of confidence lies deep within the heart and soul of the true believer.  When we walk in the Spirit it is a higher realm of life, and as we climb closer to the LORD, He brings us closer to Him.

Prayer, worship music, speaking to Him from the heart, and meditating on His word daily…these things are crucial to an intimate relationship with our Father.  He knows our heart, but we must bear our heart and surrender to His will and trust in Him every second that we breathe, this is faith and supplication in acknowledging His Sovereign Power and Holy Presence.

The power of faith can be astonishing and life changing when the Holy Spirit comes to live with You.  But it is OUR choice…we must ask Him to do so.  We must give ourselves to Him and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, for no one goes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.

The world seems to be crumbling around us, but it’s not fearful to those of great faith.  We know that God is in control.  We know that God has the final say.  We know the words of Jesus, and all of the prophets and great men and women in the Bible, who were inspired through God in the Holy Spirit.  We also know how the LORD always protected His own, even with the plaques in Egypt all around, His children were not affected by it.

So today…it is the same.  There is a decaying of morality all around us, and God is taken out of our courts, schools, and vocabulary.   But, as the Bible says, “I have written the words in my heart so I might not sin against thee” — The Word lives in the hearts of His followers.

So we will be watchmen and women until Jesus returns…until then, know that with Christ we can overcome and leap with joy knowing He loves us.

Rejoice, and look up for our redemption draws nigh!

Hallelujah!

He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and sets me upon my high places.

Psalm 18:33

***

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:18 

“ …but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

John 4:14 (NKJV)

While  reading the Bible this afternoon, the word “fountain” hit me like it’s never hit me before.  You know to which I’m referring.  It’s a moment that happens to each of us as a person of faith, when suddenly His Word will quicken and touch us right there and then!

Where the Word will jump out and touch your very heart and soul.  The soul in which He alone created.  He will give you a passage, or a Word, that will grab a hold of you in a powerful and meaningful way.

Fountain.  What does it mean to you?

We’re all familiar with Jesus’ words, “I am the living water, those who drink from me will never thirst again.”  He said it to the Samaritan woman by the well. And it’s mentioned, or referenced, throughout the Bible, in the Gospels, and in the Old Testament.

The Word is pregnant, it grows.  You can never know too much…each time you read a passage or a scripture, new things will open up to you. Depending on what the Father will want you to see, it’ll be tailored made most times for each person. He knows our every need and desire…most times before we even know.

Anyhow, with the word Fountain, I suddenly felt overwhelmed.  I realized more than ever that I have my own personal fountain. I’ve always known that, but I saw it in a different light today. Personal fountain to replenish, nourish and sustain.

 Living water!  And I will never thirst as long as I drink from it.

If I’m tired and weary, all  I have to do is take a sip of water and my body, mind, and soul will be rejuvenated.

If I need to feel refreshed, all I have to do is drink.

Our mortal flesh bodies need water to “physically live”  without water we will  die.  The body can do without food awhile, but water…physically it’s a MUST have.

But so too it’s a MUST have spiritually.

If we don’t drink from the Living Water…spiritually we will die. We can’t live or exist in the spiritual self without the water of the Living God.

As long as we sip and partake in His Living Water we will grow and flourish. The Precious and Living flowing Fountain is there for us to drink at will, 24/7! When we drink we will thrive beyond what we could ever have thought possible.

Drink, live, thrive!

Jesus…our fountain of life, our fountain of joy, our fountain of LOVE.

Amen!

We love him, because he first loved us.

John 4:19 KJV

It is a grand thing love.  Love and all it encompasses is at once glorious, and joyful.  It can also bring pain or disappointment.  The ups and downs of love is a lifelong journey.

The various aspects of love shows in so many relationships, through parents, family, friends, co-workers, so on and so on.  If asked the question, “who loved you first?” –most individuals would say, “my parents”  But think about it.  Who loved us first?

The answer should jump out with clarity— GOD!

He was the One who knew us before we were in our mom’s womb.

He was the One who knew us from the beginning, before we were born!

He was the One who loved us from the start.

He was the One who gave His only begotten Son for us!

Now that is LOVE!

Take a moment to think about that.  The Father, our LORD, our One and Only, forever and always…loved US FIRST!

And the best part about it is…He has never left our side from the beginning of time to this very moment, and He NEVER will.

As Jesus told us so beautifully in Matthew 28:20, “And, lo…I am with you always, even until the end of the world.”

He is ever faithful, and He has never deserted us.  He has never disappointed us.  Sure, maybe at times a prayer isn’t answered “according to our time” — but it will be answered according to HIS TIME.

His time…is perfect.

He is perfect.

He is our first love then and now.

And always.

WOW!  To be loved like our Father loves us…what a feeling!

Amen~

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For His faithful love to us is great; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever. Hallelujah!

God knows us so well, he in fact knows us better than anyone in this entire world.  We have relationships with various individuals, and each one stands in a purpose of its own.  For example, a relationship with a spouse is intimate and one of closeness in all aspects, and it’s special for sure.  Then there are relationships as a sibling, being a daughter/son, being a friend, a co-worker, a boss, an aunt/uncle, grandparent, the list goes on and on.  However, none of these relationships with these individuals come close to a relationship with the LORD.

He knows us in ways no one else possibly can.  He sees us in secret when we are undergoing issues that we keep to ourselves.  I’m sure most will relate to times of woe when we are alone with our thoughts, hurt, or pain.  Where we cry secretly, and pray quietly.  Or times when we  rejoice inwardly, in the privacy of our room.   No matter what we are experiencing…our Father witnesses it, feels our pain, as well as our joy.  And, He is always there to hold us and bring us through it all.

The times in which we seek to speak with our Father…and pray…and read His Word are times of peace no matter the circumstances.  We seek His face with our heart and soul.  We desire His presence, and we seek the wisdom of His ways, and strength of His power to transform our very soul.

The LORD is the “go to” for “necessity” in which to LIVE.

I can’t think of anyone who would be willing to listen, hold you up, and love you unconditionally every single minute of your Life.  Well, of course there is the love of a mother, and father, who come close.  But it’s on a different level.  There is the love of a spouse, again a different level.

But the love of the FATHER in heaven, it transcends all else.  Amen.

Next time you speak with the Father…whether it’s aloud in song, alone in prayer…or verbally in the quiet of your room…know this…He loves you.

He loves you so much that it’s beyond our scope of vision or mental capacity to understand the depths…so just tell Him “THANK YOU” and love Him with all of your mind, heart and soul.

Amen~

“Father, O how thankful I am to be the apple of Your eye in which You sacrificed Your only begotten Son for your children’s salvation, thank You, help me to remind others just how amazing Your love is, and to be an example of Your light, in Jesus name, Amen.”

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

For He chose us…. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His [children].”

(Ephesians 1:3-5)

Peace, joy and love…What comes to mind?

Three words to describe our Almighty Father.

His peace is unlike any that the world has to offer.  As Jesus said,  in the Gospel of John:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ”   John 14:27

With those loving words coming from Our Lord of lords, and King of kings, and Savior, can we feel anything but peace, joy and love?

This world is running wild with turmoil, angst, troubles with evil minded individuals who seek to harm us.  But with Jesus, who gave us power through His  name, over evil, we can face anything with Christ who strengthens us.  (Philippians 4:15)

The very foundation in which we build is crucial to the overall way in which we function and live. When we build on the Rock, as Jesus states in Matthew 7:24-27:    “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock”—we are within the safety of His arms,  and therefor can live in security knowing and realizing that we are His and He is ours.

And nothing can separate us from God.  Nothing.

Because we have built our existence around Him, as He created and commanded us to do so, we feel peace, joy and love, irrespective of the circumstances that tend to engulf us daily.

Love Him.

He loves you!

Praise Him.

He loves you!

Feel His peace.

He loves you!

When you accept Him into your heart you open the door of endless joy peace and love.   When  you let Him in, He will come in like the loving gentle Spirit that He is.

Noise and anger in the world?  Not with God.

Having God in your corner is like having a “filter” on the world and the mute button on.  Instead, you’ll have your own personal private retreat of peace, joy and love.

Open His book…and let Him in, then watch what happens.  I promise you this, you’ll never be the same again.

But, don’t take my word for it, TAKE HIS.

Amen~

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:

if any man hear my voice, and open the door,

I will come in to him,

and will sup with him, and he with me.

(Revelation 3:20 KJV)