Faith

Hebrew 11:1 Now FAITH is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:6 And without FAITH it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.


Romans 1:17 For in the Gospel a righteousness is revealed - a righteousness that is BY FAITH from the first to the last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live BY FAITH!"


What about how I perform? Where is the scripture that says I have to do...?

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, THROUGH FAITH - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.


Ephesians 3:12 In Him and THROUGH FAITH in Him we may approach God with FREEDOM and CONFIDENCE!


If I am sure of anything, it is the REALITY of GOD'S love through JESUS CHRIST! God tells me in the book of Hebrews that this certainty is FAITH! He continues to tell me that because of my faith, I can PLEASE GOD! Crazy? Me?


The Book of Romans says the first to the last in His Kingdom will be righteous BY FAITH! So even if I'm the last, I, too, am righteous. (I know, crazy! me? - who knew?)


Ephesians reminds me I didn't DO anything!!! My heart just knows Christ... I know Christ! And in Him + my faith = FREEDOM and CONFIDENCE to approach God! Does anyone else read this stuff???? and believe??? 'Cause knowing it's all true is simply mind-boggling!!



PRAYING TODAY FOR YOUR FAITH!!!!!


Song for Today: Where There is Faith (by 4 Him)


I believe in faithfulness
I believe in giving to myself for someone else
I believe in peace and love
I believe in honesty and trust
but IT'S NOT ENOUGH!
For all that I believe
may never change the way it is
Unless I believe Jesus lives

(chorus)

Where there is FAITH
There is a voice calling, "keep walking"
"You're not alone in this world"
Where there is FAITH
There is a PEACE like a child sleeping
HOPE EVERLASTING in He
who is ABLE TO BARE EVERY BURDEN,
to HEAL EVERY HURT IN MY HEART
It is a WONDERFUL, POWERFUL PLACE
Where there is FAITH!

There's a man across the sea
Never heard the sound of freedom ring
Only in his dreams
There's a lady dressed in black
In a motorcade of cadillacs
Daddy's not coming back
Our hearts begin to fall
And our stability grows weak
But Jesus meets our needs

if only we believe(chorus)

Sorrow?

PSALM 16
Keep me SAFE, O God, for in you I take refuge.


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.

The SORROWS of those WILL INCREASE who run after other gods.

I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.



Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup.

You have made my lot SECURE!!

The BOUNDARY LINES have fallen FOR ME in PLEASANT PLACES!

Surely I have a delightful inheritance.



I will praise the Lord, who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me.

Because He is at my right hand,

I will not be SHAKEN!



Therefore my HEART IS GLAD and my tongue rejoices;

My body will also REST SECURE

because you Lord will NOT ABANDON ME to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.



You have made known to me THE PATH OF LIFE;

you will fill me with JOY IN YOUR PRESENCE

WITH ETERNAL PLEASURES at your right hand.



WHY WOULD ANYONE RUN AFTER OTHER GODS?
WHO WANTS THEIR SORROW TO INCREASE?
'CAUSE THIS IS ALL TRUE!!! JUST TEST IT!!

Loving you all and praying for you today...
that He would make known to you the path of life
and fill you with joy in His presence
and eternal pleasures at His right hand
and you are LEARNING TO TRUST!

Song for today...
LEARNING TO TRUST by David Meece

There's a father in your sweetest dreams
Who's always there to meet your needs
He never ever lets you down
There's a mother in your heart of hearts
Who always plays the perfect part
She never lets you hit the ground.

This is the need of children
These are their tender dreams
And Oh, how it hurts when they don't come true.

That's why I'm learning to trust in You
In everything I do
Learning to trust in You
'Cause I know in my heart that you're true
I'm learning to trust in You

But sometimes it's so hard to do
Father, little children must grow up
and to grow we've got to learn to trust
And to trust, we've got to cling to you.

And when You tell me You will hold me close
It's the very thing I need the most
But it's the hardest thing to do.

I've got this pain inside me,
It speaks to me loud and clear
When there's so much to gain
There's always so much to lose.

(chorus)

Keep calling me, drawing me closer
Don't let me hold back
Whatever it takes I must break through

The heart of a child is broken
But his time has come
Whatever he lost, I'll find in You!

(chorus)

Saved!

I wrote on Isaiah 26 yesterday, but if you go back just one chapter to Isaiah 25, verses 8 & 9 are worthy of memorization!!!!

He will swallow up death forever. The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces. He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day we will say, "Surely this is our God, we trusted in Him and He saved us. This is the Lord, we trust in in him; let us rejoice and be glad in His Salvation!!" Isaiah 25:8-9

I have been reflecting on salvation. What does it mean to me saved? This world is full of so many things from which we need saved. There is cruelty, torture, defeat, betrayal, and hearts are terribly broken every day. How can He save us from the darkness in this world? Or does He just mean to save us at the end?

I love Josh Wilson's song "Savior, Please!"

Savior, please take my hand
I work so hard, I live so fast
This life begins, and then it ends
And I do the best that I can,
but I don't know how long I'll last.

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone,
God I need You to hold on to me

I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without your love.
Savior, please keep saving me.

Savior, please help me stand
I fall so hard, I fade so fast
Will you begin right where I end
And be the God of all I am
because You're all I have

(chorus)

Hallelujah
Everything you are to me
Is everything I ever need
And I am learning to believe
That I don't have to prove a thing
'Cause you're the One who's saving me.
Hallelujah!

Isaiah 26

My Bible labels this chapter as a "Song of Praise"! For me, it is more of a song of my life!

Verses 1-2 We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps the faith.

I was raised in an unrighteous city with few walls or ramparts of protection. My salvation did allow me to enter into God's strong city. How I longed for righteousness and to keep the faith!!

Verses 3-4 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal.

As a teenager eager to serve Him, my trust was soring! My mind still harbored the battlefield from the unrighteous city where I was raised - no wonder there was little peace for me.

Verses 5-6 He humbles those who dwell on high, He lays the lofty city low; He levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. Feet trample it down - the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.

I came to the Lord so self-assured. I was smart, capable and ready to do anything He asked of me and do it well! Unfortunately for me, God humbles those who dwell on high, even casting them down to the dust!

Verses 7-9 The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you, your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you.

I have yearned for Him both morning and night, but other believers have had such greater victories in finding smooth, level ground and patient peace. Could it be I was holding on to the unrighteous ways of my childhood?

Verses 10-11a Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteouness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it.

Could these verses be speaking to me? Was there some part of me buried so deeply within me that still remained "wicked" that I was unable to learn righteousness even though I lived in the land of uprightness? If so, Lord knows I did not see it!

Verses 11b-12 Let them (the wicked??) see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them. Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

Is this what has happened in my life? Has God reached down out of His crazy love for me and let me see how deeply He showers His love on His children? Has He also, in His wisdom, put me to shame for my pride and hidden stronghold. I have felt His heat... the heat He reserves for His enemies but sometimes graciously gives to those who need disciplined to see His Truth! Will He now establish peace for me too? I am sure all that has been accomplished for good, He has done for me!

Verses 13-14 O Lord, our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. They are now dead, they live no more; those departed spirits do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them.

There have been so many gods that have competed in my life for the spot of #1. I must confess, my self-protection from hurt won out most of the time. Today, Lord, it is Your name alone that I honor! Please bury all the evil temptations and strongholds and wipe out their very memory.

Verses 15 You have enlarged the nation, O Lord, You have enlarged the nation, You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.

Is this what you do Lord? You actually enlarge our pasture and widen the fence as we draw closer to you. The more responsible we become the greater freedom we have to roam further territories in ministry for your kingdom. What a gift. Forgive me for crossing your fence and trying to enlarge your pasture before I was ready.

Verses 16-18 Lord, they came to you in their distress when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. As a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, O Lord. We were with child, we writhed with pain, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth; we have not given birth to people of the world.

His discipline is PAINFUL! Please, don't ever doubt it! Birthing 5 children comes nowhere close. Besides birthing brings new life and joy. The pain of my discipline brought forth wind - including failure, hurt and brokenness! Far from an individual's salvation nor new life.

Verses 19 But your dead will live their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. Go, my people, enter your room and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by.

So even though I started off proud and was trampled to the dust, God is calling me AGAIN, to wake up and shout for joy! How many chances are you going to give me Lord? How can you possibly be so good?! Not only do you resurrect me to life and joy... You are willing to do so before things get really bad here. Thank-you Daddy.

Verses 21 See, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.

I believe in God's grace and His perfect forgiveness that came through the death of His Son on the cross. I now believe in His power to discipline those whom He deeply loves and can't bear to see wander astray. Thank-you for your discipline Daddy, as painful as it has been.

Hebrews 12:9-11 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may SHARE IN HIS HOLINESS! No discipline seems pleasant at the time (there's a little bit of an understatement:), but PAINFUL.

Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it!!!
Really Lord???? I am holding on to this truth, believing that one day I, too, will experience a HARVEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PEACE - and that will be a beautiful day that will be as the moments following each of my births - all pain forgotten... joy beyond words... pure delight for having survived to receive YOUR GOOD & BEAUTIFUL GIFT!

10/10 & Abundant Life!!

What a great date!?!?

Next year will be 10/10/10!

I love 10:10!

Reminds me of John 10:10!

"I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly!" - Jesus (John 10:10)

Thankfulness

As the fall settles in, it is such an awesome time to just sit back and be thankful. This year has been intense, but so was the year before, and the year before... will I learn to be thankful even in the midst of intensity... even if the intensity means intense pain? what about intense fear? or intense sorrow? grief? despair? Jesus and His disciples knew true joy, peace and hope - even in the face of circumstances that must have also produced deep sadness, unrest and, perhaps, at times, to the disciples, may have even appeared hopeless.

Many of you have walked closely with me the last few months. I pray that you were able to experience His joy, peace, and hope even in the midst of the circumstances that at times may have appeared hopeless. I need to ask for your forgiveness as I was unable to see His hope through much of it. I took self-protective measures that I believed would keep me safe, but in fact, proved to be almost deadly. I am sorry. I am sorry for the fear, sorrow, grief and despair it caused in your lives. I am sorry for attempting to rob you of His joy, peace, and most importantly, His HOPE! I am sorry for the deep sadness, hurt and unrest my behaviors brought into your lives. I repent and can confidently ask for your forgiveness at this time knowing that God is at work within me. He is taking the pain and brokenness that I had kept so deeply hidden and shining His light into the darkest parts of me.

AND I AM THANKFUL! I am thankful for the intensity of this time. I am even thankful for the pain, fear, intense sorrow, grief, and despair that have surfaced. They have deeply challenged me to CHANGE... as scary as change is to me:)

I am thankful, too, for the support my loved ones have given even during circumstances that had to have appeared hopeless at times. Thank-you for believing in our Lord! Thank-you for believing in His presence in me! Thank-you for loving me through my sinfulness and rebellion. Thank-you for loving my family when they so desperately needed to be loved and cared for and I was rendered helpless. THANK-YOU! I love you, and I thank you! I am so thankful.