No Fear

                    Are you in need of comfort and peace?
        Has fear tried to leave you anxious and feeling unworthy?

                   If so you are not alone.

     For many years, I let fear stop me.  Stop me from, being myself, stop me from making a difference, even stop me from praising my Creator, because the spirit of fear wrapped it's subtle snare around my thoughts tightly enough to convince me I wasn't good enough, wasn't smart enough, wasn't talented enough to do anything. It made it seem that what others thought about me was more important than what God thought about me.

                        But God said in Isaiah 51

     Eternal One: I am the One who comforts you and gives you peace. So why are    you afraid of human beings?

    The children of men are only grass; they’ll wither and die . Have you forgotten Me, the One who made you and the whole world, who stretched out the skies and made sure the earth’s foundations?

    Yet you constantly worry about others—how they hate and might harm you.

      But their anger counts for nothing.

     In an instant, those who cower in fear and trepidation will be free to go in confidence; they won’t die in chains or suffer from hunger.

      Because I, the Eternal, am your God, I can make the oceans roil with storm and roll with great waves. They call Me, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

    I have given you My words to speak and protected you with the shadow of My hand. I am the One who pulled the skies tight and made the earth rock solid. And I am the same who said to Zion, “You are indeed Mine!”    Isaiah 51:12-16

                Stop for a moment and take a look at yourself.

   Maybe you’ve left a door open in your life like I had, from books I read or movies I had watched that planted a spirit of fear in my mind?  

Perhaps someone else, spoke a word curse over you that planted a fear of failure in your mind?
Telling you that you would never amount to anything!
Never be good at anything!
Never succeed at what you set out to accomplish!

Isn't it time to let go of all that and let God bring you comfort and peace?  Let God heal the wounds you have?  Let go of everything that separates you from Him?

           Maybe you need to let go of unforgiveness?

Like I did.

          Perhaps you need God to show you unconfessed sins you may have committed?

Like I did.

                  He is faithful and just. Ask Him?

Psalm 139 tells us that He knows us.  He knows me!  He knows you!

O Eternal One, You have explored my heart and know exactly who I am; You even know the small details like when I take a seat and when I stand up again. Even when I am far away, You know what I’m thinking. You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming, and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know. You know what I’m going to say long before I say it. It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone.


          So that means God even realizes when we are anxious and afraid.


Let God show you and help you close any doors of unforgiveness.  Unforgiveness towards others.  Unforgiveness towards yourself.

Don't you think it's time to--Let God deliver you from fear.

His perfect love casts out all fear.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love]. We know [with confidence] that anyone born of God does not habitually sin; but He (Jesus) who was born of God [carefully] keeps and protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.



I could weep with joy as I write this because He loved me enough to take all my fear and fill me up with His love.

             Come on!
              Let go!
               Let God!

Any one or all these scriptures (promises) were written for you.  Talk to the one who created you to live and walk in confidence.

 Ask Him…….

You fill in the rest.

We need to fall in order to rise up!

Keeping It Real

Have you been having a hard time with fake people, fake news stories, and fake compassion lately?  If so you are not the only one! 

It is entirely Biblical.  Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:1-7

     And know this: in the last days, times will be hard. You see, the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious, arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be ungrateful, unholy, uncaring, coldhearted, accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. Expect them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than they love God. Even though they may look or act like godly people, they’re not. They deny His power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these. They’re snakes slithering into the houses of vulnerable women, women gaudy with sin, to seduce them. These reptiles can capture them because these women are weak and easily swayed by their desires. They seem always to be learning, but they never seem to gain the full measure of the truth. 

A very real message with a very real warning!!!!!

Do these sound like the people or situations you are dealing with?  

                                       Stay away from the likes of these. 

This advice given by Paul is as alive today as it was 2000 years ago.  We have to stop letting the things around us get inside us.  We are made to walk on the things we are drowning in!  

Social media and the nightly news have inundated the world with false compassion and false concerns about unimportant things, while millions of babies are killed through abortion, same-sex marriages are legalized and mass hysteria instills a spirit of fear over God's people.  People in "real" situations are used to promote "false" agendas.  Women's equality is promoted through demoralized actions.  Arguments about which bathroom to use is the hot topic while the children of the one true God are blinded by a baphomet spirit, that subtly tries to dim lines between male a female identity.  

God is seeking a generation that falls not rises to the occasion.  FALLS to its knees and PRAYS!

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, and if My people who are known by My name humbly pray, follow My commandments, and abandon any actions or thoughts that might lead to further sinning, then I shall hear their prayers from My house in heaven, I shall forgive their sins, and I shall save their land from the disasters. 

                                                   Rise up!  Rise up!  Rise up!

5 More Minutes

    What if you had 5 more minutes left?
                   What would you spend your time doing?
 
    How about making sure you had the last word in an argument or what about making some more money?  Would you make one more post on Facebook or take one last selfie for Instagram?  Maybe you would spend your last 5 minutes making sure to tell someone how much you loved them?

     I was reminded how precious our time really is this week.  It was the anniversary of my father's passing and he had been on my mind a lot.  As a father, I often try to remember how he handled situations when I made bad choices or didn't finish my chores.  But, the thing that came back to mind the most this week was a reminder of how precious our time on Earth really is to us and others.
     My dad was a man of few words.  I don't recall him saying anything bad about others.  He didn't really say a lot unless he had a lot to say.   But what God brought back to mind was what he had to say in the last 5 minutes I spent with him.
      Cancer had weakened him quite a bit and he had returned to the hospital because of complications with his breathing, however in those last few minutes I saw strength not weakness.   With words of encouragement and love, he sent my sister out of the room to check on Momma, and asked me to sit on the bed with him.  Those precious last 5 minutes were filled with words of praise, memories of peace and reminders of what was important.    

        Maybe we need to use 5 minutes to apologize, encourage, inspire,or remind someone how much they mean to us?

        Too often, we get wrapped up in life so much we forget how to live it.  We worry so much about what the next year, week or day will bring that we miss the next 5 minutes.  Jesus reminded us to not worry about tomorrow because today had enough to worry about in itself.  He also reminded us that He had it all under control.   If you need a reminder, take 5 minutes and read Matthew 6:25-34.

Matthew 6:25-34
     That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Give up your worries, failures, regrets, selfishness,.......   Give it, (them) to Jesus and spend the next 5 minutes doing something important.

You can't have CHRISTMAS without CHRIST!

I Luke 2:1-4, 6-19 Around the time of Elizabeth’s amazing pregnancy and John’s birth, the emperor in Rome, Caesar Augustus, required everyone in the Roman Empire to participate in a massive census— the first census since Quirinius had become governor of Syria. Each person had to go to his or her ancestral city to be counted. The purpose of a census like the one Luke describes is to be sure that everyone is appropriately taxed and knows who is in charge. Mary’s fiancé Joseph, from Nazareth in Galilee, had to participate in the census in the same way everyone else did. Because he was a descendant of King David, his ancestral city was Bethlehem, David’s birthplace. Mary, who was now late in her pregnancy that the messenger Gabriel had predicted, accompanied Joseph. While in Bethlehem, she went into labor and gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the baby in a blanket and laid Him in a feeding trough because the inn had no room for them. Nearby, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds were guarding their flocks from predators in the darkness of night. Suddenly a messenger of the Lord stood in front of them, and the darkness was replaced by a glorious light—the shining light of God’s glory. They were terrified! 

Messenger: Don’t be afraid! Listen! I bring good news, news of great joy, news that will affect all people everywhere. Today, in the city of David, a Saviour has been born for you! He is the promised Anointed One, the Supreme Authority! You will know you have found Him when you see a baby, wrapped in a blanket, lying in a feeding trough. At that moment, the first heavenly messenger was joined by thousands of other messengers—a vast heavenly choir. They praised God. 

Heavenly Choir: To the highest heights of the universe, glory to God! And on earth, peace among all people who bring pleasure to God! 

As soon as the heavenly messengers disappeared into heaven, the shepherds were buzzing with conversation.

Shepherds: Let’s rush down to Bethlehem right now! Let’s see what’s happening! Let’s experience what the Lord has told us about! So they ran into town, and eventually they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the feeding trough. After they saw the baby, they spread the story of what they had experienced and what had been said to them about this child. Everyone who heard their story couldn’t stop thinking about its meaning. 

Mary, too, pondered all of these events, treasuring each memory in her heart. 

                   Merry Christmas

Why are we afraid of Silence?

1 Kings 19:11-12 

Eternal One: Leave this cave, and go stand on the mountainside in My presence.

The Eternal passed by him. 

The mighty wind separated the mountains and crumbled every stone before the Eternal. This was not a divine wind, for the Eternal was not within this wind. After the wind passed through, an earthquake shook the earth. This was not a divine quake, for the Eternal was not within this earthquake. After the earthquake was over, there was a fire. This was not a divine fire, for the Eternal was not within this fire.After the fire died out, there was nothing but the sound of a calm breeze. And through this breeze a gentle, still voice entered into Elijah’s ears. He covered his face with his cloak and went to the mouth of the cave. Suddenly, Elijah was surprised.

Eternal One: Why are you here, Elijah? What is it that you desire? 

    Today's world is non-stop and NOISY!  The only quiet we can find is often after we go to sleep?  However, even our sleep is sometimes bombarded by leftover noises from our life.  Blaring TVs selling youth serums and stronger bodies, endless pain and suffering from biased news casts or senseless movies filled with all too realistic story lines.  Endlessly playing in the background to cover up our Silence.

God is still speaking to us just as He was Elijah on Mount Horeb, not in the wind, nor the earthquakes or even the fires of life but in a still small voice.

A voice best heard in the Silence.

Why are we afraid of the silence?

Does it make us remember loves lost,  past regrets, or our many mistakes?  

Maybe it reminds of fears?  

        Fear of death?     Fear of life?    Fear of failure?

    For whatever reasons, we constantly numb our minds with noise.  Any and every distraction to cover up the quiet.  Stillness is a word to be feared and avoided.  Every waking moment must be filled or we aren't being productive members of society.  

    A wise man once said,"silence is golden", but every golden moment is filled with echoes of distraction.

Why?

Because.......

Silence makes us Stop.

   Silence makes us Listen.

        Silence makes us Reflect.

Silence can bring us Peace.  If we would only listen for HIS still small voice.

Let's try it out!     Listen!    NO.   Stop and really Listen.

     Can you hear God's voice whispering?    

              "I love you."     "I have great plans for your life."    "I'm here waiting patiently for one moment of silence, so you can hear me."

If you don't know him it's as easy as ABC.

Admit ....... That you've sinned and need forgiveness

Believe ..... That Jesus died on the cross and rose again for your sins to be forgiven.

Confess ...  Tell someone that you've asked Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour

                                                            Just Listen 

Cracked Pots

2 Corinthians 4:7-9
But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us.
We are cracked and chipped from our afflictions on all sides, but we are not crushed by them. We are bewildered at times, but we do not give in to despair.
We are persecuted, but we have not been abandoned. We have been knocked down, but we are not destroyed.


It can sometimes feel like LIFE is beating you up.  I bet you've felt like this at least once lately.  It has nothing to do with age, gender, marital status, position or even attitude.  We are earthen vessels and sometimes the choices we make in life or the directions we take can leave something damaged.  We can become broken by life, cracked by circumstances.  But in the hands of a master gardener a cracked pot can spring forth in beauty.  

Consider a tulip bulb?  It is nothing when it's planted, ugly, plain and seemingly dead when th gardener puts if into an earthen vessel.  Many months of cold lifelessness and it shows no signs of the beauty within.  The vessel its in can be chipped and cracked by the weathering of time, of life.  Yet at just the right moment, after just the correct amount of time the bulb sprouts with new life and the true beauty within becomes evident to all who see it!  

In the hands of our God the Master gardener, we contain a beautiful treasure waiting to spring up out of cracked earthen vessels to reveal the treasure God has planted inside each of us.  

Maybe it's time for you to seek out the Master, ask him to stir up the treasure inside your earthen vessel.  Don't be ashamed of how much damage you see, don't let the shame of how badly you think things appear to others keep you from finding out what your treasure is.  Just seek God.  Just give the Gardener what you have.  Just trust Him to bring out the beautiful treasure and reveal His glory in your life.

If you don't know him it's as easy as ABC.

Admit ....... That you've sinned and need forgiveness

Believe ..... That Jesus died on the cross and rose again for your sins to be forgiven.

Confess ...  Tell someone that you've asked Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour

Angry angry angry

     Anger.  How does allowing our flesh to get angry, hinder our Christian walk?  Is it ok for Christians to get angry and perhaps “get back at someone” for a wrongdoing?  The world says that if someone hurts us we have every right to retaliate and let him or her have what is coming to them.  What does the Bible say about anger?  Is it ok to get angry?  Let’s take a closer look at what the Bible says about anger.
     There are several scriptures that address the issue of anger but Ephesians 4: 26-31 explains what is expected of us when we get angry.  "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.  He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
     According to this scripture are we to be condemned for getting angry?  Are we no longer a “Good Christian” if we let our flesh get angry?  The world would look at us and say there is no way we are Christians if we allow ourselves to get angry.  But the Bible says we are not to sin in our anger.  What does that look like?  What does that mean for us?  Yes we are going to get angry and upset with others.  Jesus got angry at the tax collectors in temple but we are not to sin in our anger.  Ecclesiastes 7:9 says “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.”  We are not to go around just looking for something to fight and argue about.    If you find yourself in the heat of anger and seem to not be able to control your temper just do what God did in 2 Kings 17:18  “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence”.

Remove yourself from the situation.  That is what the Bible says we are to do.