In Sync with Christ!

 I have been thinking the past several days about the perfect timing of God.  He never ceases to amaze me!  It seems the past few years have been full of hurry up and wait experiences.  I am a thinker and a planner, and like things organized  and to follow a plan. But life has not been organized or planned out the past few years.  Being under submission to the will of God has been messing up my perfectly planned idea of how life should go.  It is just NOT happening my way at all! I know with head knowledge that His timing and ways are perfect, but my heart hesitates to completely trust.  I have to keep telling myself that His timing is always right. He knows my weakness thankfully and  He never ceases to give me a word of faith just in the moment I need it.  His Word is always perfect in timing as well!  There are hopes, dreams, and promises that are yet unrealized, and at times I lose faith that they will ever happen.  Lately I have just had to throw them all up in the air, and let God catch them! I really don't want the dreams and hopes that do not include His will and timing. Things that are not in His Will grow strangely dim in my mind when I begin to draw nearer to Him. Although I pray daily, and study His Word,  in order to completely trust my life into His hands I still need to draw nearer to Him.  I must at times purposefully set aside everything and just "be" with Him. 

James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.

I own an Apple iPad and iPhone and thanks to iCloud I can share information between them when they are synced!  Any time the two devices are together that I have Internet access, they automatically sync.  It is phenomenal!  I don't have to do a thing more than just get them together and there all my information is on both devices. If we walk close to God and have kept our lines of communication open, then our relationship with God should work the same way.  We should automatically sync.  If not, something is broken.  I recently purchased a fitbit electronic tracking device which would automatically sync all my exercise information whenever I was near the hub which connected to my computer.  However, I left it connected to my shirt one fine day, and washed and dried it. ;( It is now a perfectly clean device that is completely useless. Complete fail! In my walk with God I must be vigilant and pay better attention to detail! Thankfully God keeps me on track with gentle reminders as needed! (which is often!)

Hebrews 10:22

 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

If we are in sync with Christ, then we can be assured that He will keep that which concerns us. In other words, He will take care of us and all that concerns us without us having to do anything more than keep our faith turned on! In other words, trust in Him with all our heart, for His way is perfect. He will perfect that which concerns us. So why do we worry and fret? Most likely because things are not going our way!  His ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts.  We must be in sync with Him so that when His ways differ from ours, we trust Him enough to go in HIS direction.  Usually that means... wait!... Don't go anywhere!  And that goes against everything we want to do. 

One thing I learned early on regarding my Apple devices is that I must enable my syncing option on both devices. From a spiritual aspect, God's syncing is always ready to go, It is on my end that I must keep it enabled.  I can very easily walk "out of range" and get off track very quickly.  I must keep myself abiding in Him and He will automatically abide in me. (John 15:7)  It is very simple to remain in sync with Christ if I remain alert and continually reaching after Him.   I must stay under submission to His will. I must continually seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. 

I find when I walk in HIS ways, when I stay in sync with Him, I feel completely secure!  It is when I get out of range and have been drawn away that I begin to fear the unknown.  The great "Unknown" never bothers me when I am close to Him, when I am perfectly synced with Him!

Lord I want to be synchronized with you. I want to walk hand in hand with you, and do exactly as you would have me do. I want to be in perfect timing with you. I want my will and ways to be deleted as you infuse me with the information that YOU have deemed your will for my life. I want to be continually synced to YOUR plan of action for my life.

I Can't Be Robbed of My Security!

As I was praying this morning and thanking God for his SAVING GRACE, I felt compelled to write the words I found myself praying and use them for my blog.  The ONLY REAL peace or security is in Him alone. If we have our hope in this world only, we are of all men most miserable.  Our security, our hope, all that we can really trust is all wrapped up in God, His Name -  Jesus, and His Word and the power and life that comes from Him alone.

  As some of you may know, our precious son ( I am dropping the in-law part, I hate it as it somehow implies that he is less than my daughter to me. That is not the case!) manages a bank in Mississippi.  Yesterday around 11:am his branch was robbed at gunpoint by two angry masked men. I won't go into all the details of that, but a gun was held at his chest and the men were angry and frustrated at him for sounding the alarm. When that happens to you there is no time or place for anything but  to call upon God.  He was forced to the ground and Shelly said he was certain he was going to die. In that moment, his prayer was "God you have to help me out of this!" -

This was what I found myself praying this morning - You are my Hope, You are All that I need!
I thank you, Lord for this day that you have given us to walk and work for you. I thank  for your peace and safety. I thank you for your security, and that our family is intact today. I thank you for Donna and Keith who taught their son to trust in you and call upon you when in trouble. I thank you for your mighty hand upon him and that you have called him and anointed him to spread your great gospel. I thank you for the great faith and patience that guides him and saved him to be able to rise up this morning and bless you and his branch and all those fearful employees. May your hand of peace rest upon every security guard, every single employee that is there and may you flow through Josh to touch each and every one of them.  I thank you for every battle and every tear that brought him and Shelly together. I thank you that you taught them how to fight! I know that together they are a mighty force of FAITH and STRENGTH that the enemy would like to stop!  I am thankful you have ALL power over heaven and earth and there is NO weapon formed against them that shall prosper and NO enemy that can come against them that will win!  I am so thankful that we have you to turn to in ANY situation.  Thank you for being their Comforter when their parents cannot be there. You are their Heavenly Father and You are ALWAYS with them. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are our rock, our fortress, our deliver, our keeper. You are THE GREAT I AM, Whatever we need you to be you are there.  I thank you for the security we have in you, your name, and that our words of thanksgiving and trust do not fall on deaf ears. 

Thank you Lord for the exact moment in time that you rescued Josh from the hand of the enemy.  You were right there and know the thoughts that guided the hand of that gun, and YOU RESCUED HIM.  Thank you Lord, for all the things you were to him yesterday.  Thank you for that peace that passes all understanding.  YOU ALONE are our shield!  YOU ALONE are our SECURITY!  In moments like this there is no time or place to go for any weapon to ensure our security other than the almighty powerful name of JESUS and before we even call upon you, you are right there in an instant changing the course of our life.  You ALONE have us completely in your hand.  There is none like you.

 I am so grateful for every step of this life you have led us down.  I trust you with ALL.  Thank you for the path even though sometimes I don't like where it looks like I am going, YOU ALWAYS KNOW WHATS BEST FOR ME!  Lead me Jesus, I will go WHEREVER YOU LEAD, or I will STAY WHEREVER YOU LEAD!  For every mountain, you've brought me over, for every trial, you've seem me through, for this I give you praise.  I praise you from the mountaintop, I praise you on my way down into the valley!  I will follow you wherever you lead because I KNOW in whom I have believed.  I know that ALL things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are the CALLED! I cannot praise you enough, I cannot find the words that suffice to express the gratitude I feel for you today1 Oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer. MY HOPE!

My Security is IN Christ!

What a lovely day!  I woke up early with a song in my heart which reminded me of why I am alive! I live to worship HIM! Beautiful song sung by our New Life Choir last night, sung with such anointing that I still bask in the spirit of reverence that resulted from the New Life experience!

Upon awakening, I immediately went to my phone and there was a reminder to read my Devotion!  I opened my Bible app and MY scripture was up!  Philippians 4: 13 It's going to be a real good day!

"I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!"

I can accomplish the whole part of anything that I face, or whatever God brings me to do for Him, because of my fixed position in Him, my anointed Messiah.  This knowledge and faith I have in Him gives me freedom, confidence, strength, rest and courage to do even greater works for Him.

Then my thought process took me to II Cor. 10: 4
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty through God, even to the pulling down of strongholds.

Then to Romans 8:6-7
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace,  because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.


We must let the law of Christ rule in our heart for to refuse it is spiritual suicide.  The only way to be free from oppression, is to walk in His laws and to meditate upon them day and night!  His Word is life!

If you are feeling oppressed, inadequate, fearful, or anything less than "I CAN!", there is reason for concern.  God has given you every tool you need to walk in the spirit of peace. You just have to take hold of the Word (the tool) and USE it!

You see, because of my FIXED position in Christ, I am free from the oppressions and strongholds that once had me frozen in place!  I am released because I figured out the "I CAN!".  Now that I walk in freedom, my faith soars, and this releases even more strength for me to accomplish ALL that He has brought to me to do for Him! 

Oh How I love Him
How I adore Him.
My breath my sunshine,
My All in ALL!

Hope you walk in freedom today and are living the blessed life that God intends for you! YOU CAN!

Your Breakthrough! From Fear to Faith!

Hello, all!  I have enjoyed a nice long mental and physical vacation! I spent the time kissing my baby grandson Mason! I enjoyed time talking, cooking, and shopping with my lovely daughter, Shelly, (who I can say has become one of my closest friends), and being picked on by my sweet son-in-law, Josh, who I am so very proud of! He is a wonderful daddy and husband and adores my daughter! What more could a mom ask for? They are doing such a great job of raising a family, putting God first. I am so blessed to have them walking with Christ and being productive for His Kingdom. There is no greater blessing than to know your children are giving their entire life to further the cause of Christ. I admire their perseverance and tenacity. I learn much about patience when I am with them as I watch them walk daily waiting patiently on the Lord as a waitress would patiently wait on a patron of a restaurant.  My time away was so refreshing, and I am renewed and happy to be back home  in the swing of things. 

I cannot tell you how much I missed my blog sessions with God!  Nothing like time alone with Him, His kind of music, His Word, and just letting Him do the talking!  I have spent a few days now dwelling on the thought "What is holding us back?" I feel the Lord is showing me and I pray He speaks to you through my ramblings! 

Often in our walk with God in the area of reaching out to others, a thought or an idea will pop into our head and we quickly quell it without realizing it was from God and that the motivation for squelching it came from fear.  If questioned or told we are full of fear, or called cowardly, we will quickly rise to dispute it.  It is difficult to admit that fear has guided you. In fact I am so surprised at how many people have reached out to encourage me in my blog privately, because we just don't really want others to see or know that fear has sometimes ruled in our heart. I often use myself as an example, but just as often my words are shared from others who wish to remain anonymous! Fear is a bad word in anyone's world, but rest assuredly, if you are stopping yourself from doing something productive for the Kingdom, fear most likely is being allowed to rule you.  It is that simple.  We are emotional beings and fear is an emotion we feel, certainly, but know it is also a spirit outside of emotion which comes directly from the enemy of our soul who is very knowledgeable of our emotional weaknesses. I cannot get into the depths of this with just one blog, but I will try to address one aspect today in hopes that the recognition of it in yourself will lead you to the freedom Christ has intended for you.

What is really holding you back from stepping up to the plate in the area God is leading you to be productive? I am so bold as to say the war is going on entirely in your head and you have most likely not even voiced it to anyone else. If there is something God is prompting you to do and you have not yet stepped up to the plate, and are miserable in your indecision, you are being guided by fear.

Examine this thing that you feel to do:
Is it something you are equipped for in reality? 
    Fear will tell you you are not equipped, but in reality you are perfectly capable of accomplishing it! Doesn't the scripture say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me?" Well, there ya go!
Does it require you to reach outside of yourself to touch others?
Does it involve you stepping outside of your comfort zone?
Will it be a stepping-stone for others?
If your answers are all yes... then it is high time you responded!  If God is still dealing with you, it is not too late. Just get on board with it. Do the first step and you will be hooked!

One of the first battles we must fight when God is leading us higher into His work is this:
"Is this of God or is it just me?"... Most of us stop and won't get past this silly question!  Yes we must have wisdom and know God is leading us, but really, I ask you,  is it going to be the Devil who is calling us to do a work for Christ? I don't think so!  So right off the bat, (lot's of baseball references today!) let's get past that question once and for all.  If you are feeling to take action for the Kingdom of God, it is GOD who is compelling, even tempting you!  Yes I said tempting you!  He is holding a proverbial carrot before you and leading you upward saying, "Would you like to go higher in Me? Do this one thing I ask."  God's instruction is always simple and can easily be done one step at a time.  He gives clear direction! And in scripture how many times does his direction involve the word "GO!"? "Go thy way..., "Go and sell", "Go and tell no man"!  Go and do that one thing!
Many times we fail right here because we are so busy praying "God, is this you?" and the moment passes.  God tells us in scripture to walk in prayer.  If one is walking in prayer, faith and wisdom will be no problem.  We will be instant in following the prompt of the Holy Spirit and won't have to question the validity of the voice of God! So next time God prompts you to go pray with someone, or simply give them a hug, Tell yourself, "This is God wanting to flow through me." and then GO!  DO THAT ONE THING! 

How often have I been prompted in the Holy Ghost to go speak a word of encouragement to a sister, or go pray with someone, and I have sat miserably, heart pounding, questioning God, because I was afraid of the rejection of that person.  Yes, in all honesty, that is what we are afraid of!  Rejection! You and I are simply afraid of one another! ha!  There, I said it!  We will never ever get anywhere in this walk if we do not quit comparing ourselves among ourselves and get up off of our duff and go be loving and kind to one another, walking in love and in the guidance of the Holy Spirit to let HIS LOVE flow through us.  Will we ever get the message that this life is NOT about I, Me, MY?  What does it matter in the scope of salvation really if you are rejected?  He was rejected, despised, abused and crucified! Yet still we sit in service after service fearful of one another, fearful of our guests and fearful of allowing God's love to flow freely!  It's the silliest thing when put in print, yet it is what will shut down a move of God.  Have you ever been in a service where the spirit of God was mightily moving, and then suddenly it just uncomfortably shut down?  That is because someone was quenching the spirit which was trying to flow through them. 

Many times I have been in a place of business and felt so desperately to speak to someone or invite them to church, or just a simple thing like speak a word of love to them, but I have stopped, frozen in place, questioning!  Truth be told, my flesh was looking for an out!  My fleshly desires do not parallel with my spiritual being.  Pastor Paul Springer preached a message while I was in Mississippi about the two twins that live inside of you.  Everyone has a twin.  The good twin and the bad twin. It was a beautiful message and has captured my thought path these days.  The twin you feed is the one who will rule the temple! We must step past this flesh if we are ever going to thrive in living for God. We must feed the spiritual man in prayer and study of His Word so that we can be free to walk in faith and in wisdom.  Next time you are in a battle of what to do, mentally put your flesh down (the bad twin) and step over it.  You will quickly find freedom and fulfilment as you (the good twin) are freed to walk in faith toward that thing which God is prompting you to do for Him!

 Anyone feel the need to stop and pray for yourself right now?  I do!  Let's do it.... Let us stop right now and pray for ourselves.  Pray for the good twin!  Pray for freedom from the fear and flesh that tries to rule us.  Ask God's forgiveness for not walking in prayer and for not being guided by faith.  In prayer, picture yourself laying down this obsession with feeding self (the bad twin) and walking forward in faith and confidence that God will use you (the good twin) as a river of life to flow to others showing them the way to HIM!  That's what it's all about! 

Lay down self and make space for His love to freely flow through you! The breakthrough from fear to faith is simply a matter of time spent in prayer and then taking action to let Him flow!