Posted in Relationship Not Religion!

The Holidays–Family Feast Or Famine?

The Holidays are intended to be a time of JOY, full of the GRACE and LOVE of GOD.

It should be a Divine Spiritual Feast of all those things! Then what is this famine I am referring to? Just a plan of the enemy to bring heartache and havioc. Already I see problems in families begin to arise, as the enemy of mankind, the devil, begins to send out spirits of deceit, dissention, contention, criticism and hopelessness–that he might kill, rob and destroy any plans for the GOODNESS of GOD to work in our hearts.

Tis a special season of recognizing and thanking JESUS for the Abundant Life, HE died to give us. Being aware of the devil’s evil tactics to tempt us into ‘self-pity,’ and judgment of others, gives us the advantage. (John 10:10)

I Peter 5:8 warns us to Be sober, be vigilant; because our adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour….Whom we must resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in our brethren that are in the world.

My take on that, is, that Peter is telling us we are not alone in the fight. Peter is not telling us to look for ‘demons behind every bush’ but not to be unaware of the possibility of a problem and to know in advance that as we submit to God, and resist the devil he must flee….(James 4:7)

And, that to me, means to be prepared, to repent quickly for our own unkind words or thoughts, to forgive quickly others in any offense or out right act of meaness, and pray blessings everywhere we go. That might mean we will have to give up our right to be right to show the meekness and love of God.

I love the Scriptures in Matthew 16 and 18 on binding and loosing….once done on our part is done in heaven. So that we can bind, rebuke, or say ‘no’ to the evil spirits in advance, in any area, and trust the Lord for the rest.

For instance I might pray that a gathering of my family would be blessed, that we would have favor with each other, and then bind the spirits of gossip, dissention, division and unkindness to be bound, and pray Angels will do spiritual warfare on our behalf. All in the Name of Jesus and for the Glory of God, in praise and thanksgiving.

I’m sure not recommending you stand up in the middle of THanksgiving Dinner and the rebuke the spirit of gluttonny…..ho ho, not at all. Thanking and blessing God with our praise paves the way to happiness and the joy of the Lord. Then being confident in who we are as children of God just be firm in our resolve to bring the love of God where ever we go, and stand fast against the enemy and any self-pity on our part, no matter what!

Those who do not have family are truly vulnerable at this time. I hope they too will be aware, and find friends to spend time with and share Jesus as well!

May our precious Lord bless each and every one with SHALOM peace, the Godly wisdom we need, and an over abundance of love to enjoy, share and give away!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, IT IS TRULY A WONDERFUL SEASON TO FEAST OF THE THINGS OF GOD IN GALATIANS 5:22 —LOVE, JOY, PEACE. LONGSUFFERING. GENTLENESS; GOODNESS AND FAITH–AS JESUS PRAYED–FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD, HERE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN! AMEN, WOW GOD, AMEN!

How Do We Own The Blessings?

I just posted a testimony of a family that served God for most of their lives…..children, grandchildren, etc.  Did they have  problems, I would imagine they did, and survived and were blessed through their devotion and faith.  www.5minutemiracle.com/mir/208.html

I am the first in my family, thanks to my middle son, Patrick, to have a personal relationship with Jesus.  Thanks to his personal love and affect of his relationship with God, the family has been drawn  into the Kingdom, and we see blessings and miracles often.  Do we have struggles, you can bet we do….but the  answer to 'own the blessings' is all tied up in relationship and the Grace of God.

Grace is unmerited favor; Grace is the empowering presence of God; Grace is the bridge between the wrath (God's settled opposition to sin) and the love of  God!

The first step is to ask Jesus and  the  Holy Spirit to come into your life and be Lord (owner) of all you do…..Owners are responsible for those things they own. This does not  take  away our 'free will' it just gives us access to our Heavenly Father (Creator of the Universe) and undeserved blessings, favor and joy!

And  as you get to know Jesus both intellectually and spiritually and most  of all experientially you and those  you invite into this Kingdom on Earth, will  begin  and continue  to 'own the blessings' of God outlined in the Bible.

Eternal security with Jesus is the most important, but why would we not want to help Jesus with others, our family and regain the earth for Jesus with our faith and devotion now, so that we  will have rewards in Heaven as He is promised?   "But without faith it is impossible to please him:  for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."  Heb 11:6   

That was a rhetorical question!  If I could break the bonds of my past, you can do it too…..start today….if you already have what we have discussed, increase and multiply with your example of Grace, Mercy and Favor, in and through our Jesus! 

Someone Knows you Are There….

One of the things I learned a couple of years ago, about marriage, I find very insightful about life.  In the movie SHALL WE DANCE, with Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, and Susan Sarandon, a question was 'asked' that went right into my spirit.  We just never know how the Holy Spirit will teach us or who or what He will use…..that sure is exciting!

Susan is Richard's wife (in the movie) and Jennifer is a dance instructor.  When  Richard comes home late, on a regular basis, Susan hires a Detective to follow Richard.  When she  finds he  is taking dancing lessons, she tells the Detective she no longer needs him……however, in their final conversation she asks him why he thinks people get married.  He answers because of love and attraction to that person.  Her reply is that we marry so we will have a 'witness' to our life.

There may have been more, but that  went into my spirit, thinking how God said it was not  good for man to be alone; I am sure for many reasons.  And, I realized, one of the reasons, I liked being married so much was that I had another person to think about, consider and love.  I was a witness to his life….his joys, his pains, his routine, etc. and it was fulfilling to be a part of that.  I also like the idea that the same was true for my husband–he knew and understood me in so much and was kind and patient in the bad times, loving, fun and appreciative in the good times.

Now, that I am a widow and alone there is no witness to my daily life.  No one knows when I get up, what I  eat or what I  do…..there is a vacancy there.  My small 5 pound dog, Sparkey, is great company, but it certainly is not the same.  I have family and friends who call or see me, but their schedules do not allow for a daily visit….nor should it…..they are very busy and very loving to me.  Of course the Lord is always with me, and I am so grateful for that–and feel His presence often–but we do live in a physical world, and association with each other is  super important.

I am writing this because if you are married, I how you will take another look at your partner and appreciate even one more gift God has given us in having each other.  And, we who are alone appreciate the friends and family no matter how much time we have with them.  Having a witness to your life is another reason to bond to that  person for the mere sake of down-to-earth well-being.  Being alone is definitely not an excuse to feel sorry for ourselves (I tried that and it is no fun)  but to recognize the benefil of others and  work on being a better mate, friend or family member.

Well,  this was fun,  and I pray we  all have witness to our lives, and we live our lives with gratitude, joy and blessings, a witness to who ever is watching!

Pressing in  and pressing  on…..

The Day Of Vengenance For The Four Murdered By Pirates….

Phyllis Macay, Bob Riggle, Jean and Scott Adam were kidnapped off of their yatch and killed by Samoli Pirates.  The officials will deal with the legal side of this incident, but what about God–what does He say about this?

My take on all of this is first of all, God didn't allow this…..evil men used their free will and influence from demonic forces to do this act.  (The devil was a murderer from the beginning; John 8:44.)  "The devil made me do it" does not excuse the men–they will answer for their deeds to God and man.

The people involved were distributing Bibles across the world, so pretty safe to say, they are now in Heaven.  With Jesus, celebrating the awesome reward to gracious living in helping to build the Kingdom of God here on earth.  But our prayers are with the families and friends who have suffered great loss.

As for God, Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."   Doesn't mean all things are good, but that God can take the 'pieces' and work them for good–He brings good out of what the devil means for evil. 

We find God saying in Deuteronomy 32:35, "To Me belongeth vengeance….".     What I learned and find so wonderfully startling about God is His Day of Vengeance…..take a look….."The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance…..and comfort all who mourn."  Isaiah 61:1-2  God's vengeance is to extend His Grace and Glory to an undeserving world.

God will recompense the deaths of these dear people with hundreds, maybe thousands of salvations, healings and miracles. That is His vengeance.  We can pray this will bring an end to the Pirates and their deadly activities.  We can pray they are captured and stopped from doing more harm, and while in prison, they will find Jesus and rest for their souls from the wickedness and evil they have done.

We can pray even more for all the peoples of the world to know and love Jesus as we do.  Our prayers will open the way for the Holy Spirit and His Angel army to move on the principalities and powers in high places, breaking their power and changing the world.  Ephesians 6. And, our prayers will agree and bless God's day of vengeance, in this matter!

Our prayers can be the greatest memorial to those who gave their life, so that their work continues after their death, as it was in life!

 

Can We Agree to Disagree ?

There are so many ‘heavy’ things going on in the world, and what a diversity of opinion.  WOW!  Do we lose when we just ‘agree to disagree’?

Years ago I spent some time in fasting and prayer, setting aside every thing else.  Finally, I was ready to end that special time with the Lord, and went to bed.  I woke the next morning sensing the Holy Spirit and quickly went into prayer on my knees.  This is what I heard,

“You have never loved Me, you love what is right!”

I was totally undone, repenting in tears.  I knew what He meant….it was clear to me, even though I had never had such a thought before.  When Jesus convicts us of error, we want to change.  We do not feel guilt, but a desire to change.   That was the beginning of a long walk to judge less, and forgive more.  Jesus is the essence of love, yet He defended what was important to Him.

So our job is to stand for what we believe and know,  is the heart of God….setting an example….not overwhelming others with our position.  We must have the leading of the Holy Spirit because we definitely would not agree with moral sins, by ageeing with  them to keep peace…..however, most of the time we can bring peace with the love of God and good humor.  Our greatest strength to change the world is prayer….and more prayer!

Can we agree to disagree….yes, sometimes, and no not all the time!  May the Lord give us love, charity, kindness, and mercy….and boldness to stand when it is necessary!   Cursing or condemning those we do not like or agree with,  is wrong and those words can rebound on those who speak such things.   Rebuking the demonic in prayer, and blessing our enemies will bring great rewards!  Declare what we want, in blessings, thank God in all things!

Pressing in and pressing on…..