No fear this year!

Sometimes we "normal" people encounter irrational fears. These fears can cause us to make decisions in order to avoid these feelings next time. We go to great lengths to insulate ourselves from further pains.

The trouble is,there is no true injury, it is mostly imaginary.

Sometimes the decisions we make causes us to hurt ourselves and those around us. Sometimes very sane people can experience a "flight" response to the fears that are felt. Fleeing may the very worst thing that a person could do.


I am not writing about diagnosable mental illness; those that suffer with forms of paranoia are inundated with debilitating fears. I hurt for them.

I am referring to those of us that fear things that are not really there.

Fear of being alone, isolation, unemployment, rejection, infertility, public ridicule, poverty, failure, illness/death, condemnation... and subsequent damnation.

There are so many fears people can experience.

Let's resolve to not fear the year....when fears come knocking on our heart's door...let's raise up and yell at the fear, claiming our power over it.

Fear...be gone! Joy move back in...take over my heart and reign in my heart.

Quit worrying about how you are perceived. Just do the right thing.

Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. That is the definition of righteousness. Do the right thing; even when it hurts, even when someone might judge you. Just do the right thing.

If you don't have the extra money for a lavish gift for someone, then just give them a modest thoughtful gift.

Sometimes being lavish IS the right thing to do. Mary never regretted pouring the oil on Jesus...she didn't know it for his burial, but it was. That lavish gift which made Judas very angry, is still spoken of to this day.

There are some that watch their pennies so closely and their dollars are falling out of their pockets. You've heard, "Penny wise, dollar foolish", it is a true adage.

It may make no sense to give an offering sometimes, but when you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit, it is the right thing to do. If you are risking your housing or neglecting your obligations or children, of course, the prompting you felt may have been just your emotions.

The widow woman gave her last two mites. Those mites were all she had, but she was not neglecting her children. She gave and enjoyed doing it and again, we STILL talk about that precious old lady who gave her all.

Let your family see you being generous...and having joy in doing it... it's catchy and it's a generational blessing to pass down.

Be righteous, do the right thing.

Your heart's desires.

What does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord?
I love the end of this verse but to comprehend its meaning is a bit of a challenge.

Here's the challenge: Ps. 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

So many people never seem to attain the desires of their heart. They pine, long, yearn, suffer, dream and seemingly never feel fulfilled or satisfied. Even many Christians!

While in college years ago, I studied Chinese culture and its major religions. I read about Buddhism, and about Buddha, himself. Basically, he modelled a life of self-denial and taught "meditation". Meditation is the process of making a mental assent into another "consciousness"; thus losing the desires of this life. I began to understand the reasons for all of the self-abasement and "monk" lifestyle.

They are trying to satisfy the longings of their souls. They try and THINK themselves out of this world filled with frustrations and passions and into peace which some of them call "nirvana".

May I be blunt? This teaching is demonically inspired and is damnable!

We were made in the image of God and we are made with a longing for GOD. When we are filled with God's presence, we are infused with THE ANSWER we long for. God wants us to chose HIM. We must humbly invite him into our lives. He that hungers and thirsts after righteousness shall be filled!

People filled with the spirit of God have found the ANSWER. When in his presence, we are free! We can fly like a bird!

We begin to love what God loves; thus our desires change and we begin to see that what we used to long for has lost its attraction. We begin to be attracted to the things of God. When we delight or get "happy" about the things God is thrilled about, the former desires fade and we begin to desire new things. And these new and different things are very fulfilling.

God does give us the desires of our hearts.
Yes, he has peace and joy for us, families,love,promotions, education, freedom, travel, material possessions, healing
whatever YOU desire, he wants to give us.

BUT, we must seek the things of God first. All these things will be added unto us.

Does this mean that you become a little peculiar? To the world's perspective, yes. Be willing to swim upstream, get a backbone!

If that doesn't interest you, go ahead try and fill your soul with "things", or love affairs or false religions....it won't last and it won't work. IT IS A TRAP for your soul.

God himself fills our hearts and as we grow in the Lord and in the knowlegde of his Word, we get more and more joyful and happy. We have so much to look forward to. The sun shines brighter and brighter even on a cloudy day.

Delight thyself also...in the Lord....and HE shall give thee the desires of thine heart.....it's true, it's true, it's true.

ONE would've been enough....but he bought more....

The Hebrew brought their sacrifices to the priest. The animals were killed carefully with as little trauma to them as possible. The priest then offered them on the altar of sacrifice to atone for the sins of man who brought them.

BUT WHEN JESUS, the supreme and perfect lamb of God, OUR sacrificial lamb, gave himself to purchase our salvation, he not only willingly laid himself down, but he allowed his tormentors to abuse, torture, defame and humiliate him.

Why?
He wanted to buy some things for his BRIDE. Gifts of great value.
He bought our HEALING and PEACE.
Isa. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
It cost him dearly. His face was so disfigured, he was unrecognizable.
His back was ripped apart by a whipped laced with instruments designed to lash and cut.

Why would he do this? He had fallen in love with his bride and he knew that she needed redemption but also that she would suffer mental anquish and physical pain at times.
We are his bride; the bride of Christ.
What a God we serve, how I worship him today!
Why should we be filled with doubt and fear when we know of his ultimate love for us?
Be healed in Jesus' name. Be at peace in Jesus' name.

When we create, we are really alive, and we are like God.

Many times in life all we can do is stay afloat. Either emotionally, financially or physically, we are working so hard to just keep level; just keep from drowning...and that is totally normal and to be expected. However if we never have time to create, we may fail to feel well or whole. See, we were made in the image of God..and he is greatest Creator that ever will be.
It feels sort of silly to name some of his creations but for the sake of our very poor memories I will.

His animals, music, scenery, intricate flowers, sunsets and rises, love, atmosphere, heavens, languages, seasons....endless list....

But his greatest and most "challenging" creation of all was us; the human body and mind and soul.

So, since we were made in God's image, we may feel unfulfilled if we do not create. Find your calling and passion.

We know that getting saved and having a relationship with God is the best of the best and nothing will match that new life, settling, peace and joy to our souls, but we also need to fulfil our personal purpose...so, be like your maker....CREATE something, God will get the glory and you may feel more fulfilled than you ever have been before.

one day fine..the next day...horrendous.

Our dear Bro. Haney is suffering a disease that is all too common. Just a few days ago our neighbor was diagnosed with the same condition: inoperable brain tumor.

It is remarkable to me how quickly these things come about. My neighbor worked full time and one day just forgot how to drive to work. When her daughter suggested she go to the clinic, she remarked that she did not know how to drive there either. A few hours later at the ER, she was given the grave diagnosis.

One day fine; another day incapable of most anything.

I hear you Lord, you are reminding me to fill each day with love and joy and deal with difficult circumstances that come our way with GUTSY faith.

Dear Lord, touch our dear Bro, Haney, he is such a fine man with such integrity. And touch my neighbor Bev, who really needs your comfort and peace.

Who do people see when they look at you?

Strange question, unless you are a sold-out follower of Jesus.

If you have a made-up mind about this walk with the Lord, then you want people to see Jesus through your face.

You want your spirit to be under Holy Spirit control. Paul said he, "died daily", why?, because his flesh kept wanting to be in charge. He "died" out to the flesh through prayer and reading the Word. It works!

Our flesh usually drags us down paths leading AWAY from God.

If we had our way we would:

hold grudges,
live for the moment,
get even with our enemies,
follow after lustly pleasures,
watch and listen to anything that seemed pleasureable to our mind and body,
live for money, or power, or pride,
anything enticing...need I go on?


But.....we rise up after being in the WORD and in prayer.... with power and joy which gives us strength to live above sin.

And we may not even know it, but OUR FACES WILL SHINE.

So, truly, we look different to others when they see us.

Before my husband was saved, he ran into a newly spirit-filled friend and this friend's face was shining. He saw the light of God in his face. And when his friend invited him to a revival service, there was a pull on his heart. He was not turned off by the encounter; it was like a MAGNET to his soul.

He went to the service, heard the singing and the preaching, felt the love of God so strong, he fell to his knees in repentance and began speaking with tongues (filled with the Holy Spirit) in just a few minutes.

He has never been the same!

Please read this:
John 1:18 KJV
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father,he hath declared him.

God has made himself known to us, how?
By wrapping himself in the human body of Jesus the Christ; his ONLY body, flesh or Son.

Read the same verse in the New Living Translation:

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart. He has revealed God to us.


Even Jesus, as he walked this Earth wanted people to see God when they looked at him. He didn't want people to say, "oh, there's Mary's son, the carpenter!" John the Baptist, who was his natural cousin, even saw Jesus as God, when he walked toward him one day. John declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
Who do people see when they look at you?

Grasshoppers and Giants.

Grasshoppers have a view of the lowest particles on the ground, before they jump of course. Then they briefly see things through the eyes of a four or five foot tall person. But then they fall down again to see just the pepples and grass next to them.

I loved the sermon Bro. Toney preached at NAYC 2011. He asked the question: "Who told the Hebrew spies that they were the size of grasshoppers, anyway?" Joshua and Caleb didn't that is for sure!

Someone put that in their minds. They were normal, healthy sized men; all of them. Of the twelve spies, though, ten listened and believed the report that they were grasshoppers compared to the giants in the promised land they were spying on.

Numbers 13:33 "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

Satan lies to us...he whispers in our consciousness that we are small, powerless and insignificant. It is so true. For so long I thought it was just me that he lied to in that manner. But no, he's been playing that trick on people for thousands of years.

I want to see myself how I really am. I am made in the image of God.
He filled me with His spirit. Our great God lives in us, so he makes us great and big and powerful. We really are .....giants....!

Thanks Bro. Toney for that great thought.

God swore.

God made two promises.(In Hebrews 6)
In order to make it more trustworthy and official-sounding he sealed his promises with an oath. He swore not "on a stack of Bibles" nor on "his mother's grave" as we have heard people do, HE SWORE ON HIMSELF...Hebrews 6.
God cared so much that we would believe His Word that he came down to our verbal level and SWORE that he would keep his Word.

People let us down...all the time. They say one thing and do another. Businesses let us down. We have become a society suffering from mistrust.
I recently heard a friend telling of her home country where they have had to resort to hiring armed guards to patrol her fenced (gated) community to keep them safe. She chooses not to live there. Those that live within the fence have imprisoned themselves for safety. People cannot be trusted.

God has promised to bless us as his children and to multiply our lives. He swore he would. How much more proof do we need? He cannot lie. God will bless and multiply your life.

Let's play Simon Says...

Games are fun, especially when people desire to play and are willing to play by the rules.

I looked this up on eHOW.com.

How to Play Simon Says....

Instructions
The Basics
1 Line up the group across from you, 10 to 20 feet away.
2 Tell the players that they should all obey you if you first say the words "Simon says."
3 Tell them that they are out of the game if they follow an order that doesn't begin with "Simon says," or if they fail to do what Simon says to do.
4 Begin by saying something like, "Simon says, put your hands on your head."
5 Look to make sure everybody has put their hands on their heads.
6 Give another order such as, "Simon says, stand on one foot." Check again.
7 Continue giving orders. Mix it up and say something like, "Raise your right hand," without the preface "Simon says."
8 Call out the players who raise their hands.
9 Play until one person is left. This is the winner.
10 Let that person give the commands for the next round.


And now let's play a game where the prize has eternal value:
Simon was the first preacher to address the crowd that had gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost where the early Christians were filled with the Holy Ghost.

Listen to his commands and see if you could win "the game".

1. Simon (Peter) says, "Repent"
2. Simon (Peter) says, "Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins"
3. Simon (Peter) says, "And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost"

Read the rest of the text in Acts of the Apostles chapter 2....

I find that so many Christians trust the directions on how to be saved and born again from people that are not even quoting the Bible. They take scriptures out of context, they say, "Accept Jesus as your personal saviour", which is NOT EVEN IN THE BIBLE. No where did Jesus or the Apostles ever tell the unsaved to accept Jesus!

If you really want to know how it was done, follow the example of the Apostles; do what they did.

they repented...
they were water baptized in Jesus' name...
they spoke with tongues as the Spirit game them utterance....

if you want to know more...
I suggest you open this pdf....
http://www.intohismarvelouslight.com/resources/InteractivePDF_KJV.pdf


p.s. This game may have originated from long ago using Bible references???? Anybody know?

Popping up

You see or hear some terrible news of someone acting in an ungodly way. You are shocked but in time you step back and ponder. I ponder so much that it hurts my head sometimes. As one ponders and takes the entire picture into perspective a hidden motive may become more obvious. Under the evil popping up out of the ground, one will find the love of money.


The love of money is behind all evil... I didn't write that; this is Scripture. "ALL EVIL"?, my pondering mind says. Yes, all evil.

Here are just a few examples of loving money...

-a mother sees her friend's nice things; yet she struggles, she is tempted to leave her marriage and seek after a wealthy new guy...
-a father is tired of being so financially strapped that he is tempted to just "chuck" the marriage and fatherhood.
-A single man marries the wrong lady. He marries another because she has connections and money.
-A single woman does not marry for love but for advantage.
-A preacher fails to preach biblical truth since truth may offend his parishioners ie:support base.
-People can step on others in their effort to climb the ladder of success.
-A skilled physican goes into the field of medicine that TAKES life since there is guaranteed income.
-A person takes a job where the focus of the company is inherently destructive to individuals and families.
-People are tempted to dress immodestly to attract another for personal advantage.




When a believer gets the money section in order, he/she is so much stronger. I know some people that are blessed abundantly and their children are blessed as well JUST because they have the MONEY question settled.

This is not a blog about tithing....but honestly, giving God our first fruits is so fundamental, yet people nit-pick about it. If the patriarchs got it...and the New Testament church gave even more than their firstfuits or tenth, why do we question the power and truth of the tithe?

It reminds me of speaking with tongues. It makes no sense, yet it is a God thing. When we surrender all of ourselves to God, we begin to worship him and it's no time that we lose ourself in the Spirit of God and a beautiful utterance comes out of our mouth.

Advice from a friend; don't mess with money. Trust God, give him the first fruits, and don't covet. Just tell the Lord when you need or want something. He will provide. He's the best daddy you could ever dream of. "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."Luke 12:32

Next time you see evil popping out of the ground...look at the roots,you will find the love of money. Put God back in charge and trust HIM for all of your needs.

You are favored.

What is your favorite?

We all have our favorites. Teams, restaurants, stores, brands, authors....

You are God's favorite. How can I be so sure? He told us over and over.

This is why we can be a victim of jealous behavior. Others can sense that you have God's favor too, and see his blessings on your life. Remember Joseph's coat of many colors? Joseph was highly favored, yet hated by his own brothers.

So, walk right into your promises, right into that blessing, walk right into the path that will lead you to the joy God has planned for your life.

Warning: His favored children can also be trusted with huge challenges. God knows that you will not doubt him when things seem difficult.

We know that our God will not send us down a path for no reason. He does not PLAY games with his children. He has a purpose for every pain and twist and turn in our life.

So, we have learned to praise him mightily,though it may be tough, and our tears may flow. But we praise him all the more for a rough path and apparent closed doors knowing that HE alone is the giver of all good things.


For the LORD God [is] a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory:
no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.Psalm 84:11

...no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
...no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
...no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Do you get it yet?

You are favored, you are the apple of his eye....

Why I wear skirts and dresses.

I don't wear skirts to look weird and to not fit in...I really don't like sticking out in a crowd. I'd much rather fit in.

I don't want to be out of style, and be considered strange.

And I am not one to want to offend anyone. I love harmony and peace. I hate to cause division and I loathe arguments.

But I REALLY don't want to offend my Lord and my sisters and brothers in the Lord. And I am not one bit ashamed of the choices I've made.

These are a few reasons why I choose to wear shirts/dresses....each of these reasons should have a paragraph or more added for clarification, but for brevity sake, I will just list them.

1. History: my Mother and Grandmothers wore skirts all the time. They modeled respectful modesty to me. They are and were strong respected women.

2. Modesty: Skirts are generally much more modest for the female figure; I am glad that I am a female. God made many distinctions between male and females. We are to be glad and prosper in the decisions God has made for us.

3. Role Models: The women I honor in Christan ministry wear skirts all the time.

4. Signals: People are more respectful to a woman dressed in a skirt/dress.: I have seen this in my students, my colleagues and my acquaintances.

5. More signals: Men look at women's backsides... they can't help it I think...
I'd rather a man be drawn to my face and my smile; I want to reflect the love of God.

6. More signals: Pants generally emphasize a woman's backside, crotch and legs, so wearing pants draws attention to that part of one's body. Women usually desire men to look at them, there is nothing wrong with that, but to purposely draw a man's (other than your husband) attention to your body for impure reasons is morally wrong.

7. Modelling: My daughter wears skirts all the time. I want to be a role model of respect and modesty for the next generation.

8. Scriptures: The word "abomination" is used in reference to a woman putting on man's apparel. In the Scriptures...the word abomination means that God is sickened and repulsed by the behavior. Human sacrifice and idol worship are also considered abominations to the Lord. It is a strong word and it needs to be heeded.

9. Protection: The enemy of our souls and his demonic forces are attracted to rebellion of any kind and since I have a tendency to rebel, I want to RUN from doing anything that would attract evil. I want to attract the Holy Spirit and angelic powers.

10. My boys: My sons have never had to wonder about my role and identity. They honor me and their sister highly. Dressing modestly and respectfully has only raised their level of respect for women.

11. My husband chose me. I want to be the lady he chose. He could have chosen another girl with different values, but he chose me. I want to be loyal, true and faithful like the Lord. I want to be beautiful to him and to my Lord.

Stupendous on the outside, wormy rotten on the inside...

He was dazzling, so unbelievably good looking in his attire, and hair...well, the whole package was glorious. So glorious that those watching and listening to him began to worship him. Who am I writing about? Herod. Acts 12

He accepted the worship that God alone deserved and loved it. God struck him down and filled his belly with some type of worms which literally ate his internal organs and he died. Usually worms don't get to invade a body until it is dead. Perhaps this was God's mercy, so that Herod had a space of time to repent.


BEFORE THIS THOUGH, Herod had harassed the people of God and imprisoned the preacher, Peter. God does not like it when his people are in pain. When Peter was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, the church people gathered and prayed and prayed for his release. Their prayers moved God to send an angel to open the prison gates and release him from the chains that were connecting his body to that of the guards.


Acts12: 21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. 22And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 23And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

Job also mentioned worms; he knew that the worms would eventually come to his body too. Job 19:25-26 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Job chose to believe God in spite of what his eyes told him. He was so rewarded and blessed for this faith...so blessed.

So what about us today?
Take everything to God in prayer.
Don't ever be tempted to worship a human.
Remember that what appears beautiful may be the casing of a bunch of very well fed worms.
I know people that are dating very good looking people that are rotten on the inside. Be deep, look beyond the outside...look for the one God has for you. They will grow more and more attractive as time goes on. That is God's way.

Camp Galilee

The ministry we may have with the most enduring impact may be that of children and youth. Adults can be pretty set...even though they are hungry and may repent and follow the Lord.. it is children that are truly the heart beat of God and
when we bring God's love to them, they never forget His touch and influence.

I still remember those that were extra kind to me in school and church as a little kid. The tiny gifts and compliments are etched in my memory.

There are so many adults that push children aside...maybe not physically but in their attitude. Children sense and know who is really of God. Their tender spirits are so pure.

Ego in the ministry may be why many preachers overlook kid's ministry. A preacher can boast about how much money they raised and gave to some ministry or how many new buildings that were built or purchased....but to the Lord all of that can be washed away as quickly as the Japanese Tsunami.

It's the little ones that are the key!

I applaud those involved in Summer Bible Camps like Camp Galilee, Bible quizzing coaches, youth workers, evangelists, Sunday School and Kid's Bible hour teachers and all those that are quietly THERE with their prayer, love and support.

God Bless you all! Don't quit, keep going...our next generation needs you.

Even God used credit cards.

Satan knew that God longed to do something about the state of man's lost soul. He knew the old prophecies from the Scriptures. He knew that nothing but blood would pay off the debts that had accrued. And not just any blood would pay this huge bill either; it had to be God's own blood! Did God have blood, no! God is a Spirit! But God knew how to attain that blood. He knew that if he became human, or flesh, he could pay for the huge debt of sin.

Romans 5:9," being now justified by his blood"
Revelation 1:5..."and washed us from our sins with his own blood."

Satan may have said to God, "Look in your wallet, God, whad'ya got? Got enough to pay me to free these slaves on MINE?" If God had a wallet, it was just full of credit cards. Each credit card was maxed out, too! To pay off the enormous debt once and for all, Jesus had to pay with HIS OWN BLOOD.

Yes, God used credit....every time there was a blood sacrifice in the Old Testament, God was pushing his debt ahead; he was buying time. He pushed ahead the price of atonement for sins. After a man came and brought his sacrifice to the priest, he left the place of sacrifice and worship free from sin....for the time being anyway.


Satan knew that Jesus was God incarnate; God with us. God had planned to make a body specially prepared to be used to pay the final payment. Hebrews 10:4-5 "For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:"

Jesus was not one part of the Godhead, or a part of deity, he was GOD residing in a body!

Don't ever be confused by the writings of some "theologian". Read the Scriptures, they illuminate themselves! God prepared a body...to move into...to inhabit..to live in for a divine purpose. Bethlehem was the birthplace of God's flesh or Son. The Son of God was not separate from God, he was God with skin on. There is only one God!

Think of this for a minute...for the last few months of Jesus' life, Satan kept getting more and more anxious. He knew that Jesus could have called on his angels to rescue him. So, Satan was not really sure what was going to happen. But when Jesus did NOT call for angelic assistance, but rather took the normal course of human crucifixion, he was shocked!

Satan thought, JESUS WAS JUST GOING TO TAKE IT?
He really was going to let them KILL HIM????

So, when Jesus breathed his last breath, Satan got excited...very excited! He knew that he had KILLED GOD! He knew God had nothing left in his wallet, he was BROKE! Bankrupt!


When Satan saw Jesus arrested, crucified, and heard him say, "It is finished!", Satan thought he had truly killed God. He reveled in the "fact" that he had finally won the BIGGEST BATTLE. He was the WORLD'S HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! Now he could truly reign on the earth. Now, "I will finally be the only one worshiped", he surmised.

But on the third day.....

THE DEBTS WERE PAID OFF IN FULL FOREVERMORE. Jesus arose from the dead, you see only the body or flesh, or Son had died, not GOD. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.

Jesus cut up his paid off credit cards to never need them again.
He had paid the ultimate price; never to need credit again. Everything was paid off and paid for, EVERYTHING.

Our salvation-redemption, healing, encouragement, miracles, eternal life, heaven, was paid for once and for all by the precious blood of Jesus.

How could anyone walk away from such a savior? Don't let doubts and fears block you from totally trusting Jesus, our REDEEMER.

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

I know God rested on the seventh day, but what did he do while he was resting?

Have you ever thought of this? The other day I was thinking about the need and the blessing of having a day of rest and I began to ponder about the Lord's rest day; the Sabbath.

We are to enter into his rest, or as I choose to think, enter into his presence; give God our full, undivided attention. But God did not need to give himself attention. Or did he?

"For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his."....Hebrew 4:10

The writer of Hebrews states that God ceased or stopped doing his own works...God had been working feverishly for six creative days. Then he stopped his work his creativity and work to rest.

Health professionals tell us that a woman who gives birth expends so much emotional and physical energy that quite often she can suffer afterwards with a time of feeling very low. It has been called post-partum depression or "the baby blues". It's a time to restore and rebuild the heart, mind and body. It is a time for her family and loved ones to be extra kind and helpful.

God did not lose any strength while creating the world, but maybe he needed to step back and restore his perspective and reflect. No one really knows, but the Bible does say that we were make in the image of God. So, maybe the day of rest is to be a day of restoring our perspective and time of reflection. Whatever God did on his day of rest we may not know until we see him, but, he gave us an example to follow and I must say, that the Sabbath or day of rest is a wonderful day to be restored and refreshed.

If "faith without works is dead" then faith with works is abundant LIFE.

If it is impossible to please God without faith, then putting our faith in action must really please our Lord.

What are you having doubts and fears about? Try trusting God in a brand new fresh way! Walk out on that glassy sea and find Jesus there to hold you.

I am personally trusting God in a new way. I am a bit nervous, but I have seen the Lord come through for me so many times in the past, I'm convinced that is pleased already.

I dare you...try trusting God in a new way.

When was the last time you felt overwhelming joy?

Has it been awhile? Has life and it's complications weighed you down to a point that your heart is heavy? Is your heart heavy right now as you read this? Financial problems? Relationship problems? Physical challenges? Spiritual problems? All of these and more can imprison our hearts.

It truly is God's will that our joy "might be full". The Lord knows that there will be plenty of things in life to weigh us down. We wouldn't know what joy felt like if there were never any problems. We can be in the middle of great difficulty and yet feel joy. HOW? BY KNOWING THAT GOD IS GOING TO BRING US OUT. Psalm 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (read all of Ps.30)

Joy is God's will for us.
When we get trapped or tricked into doing something that is robs our joy, we look back and see our error, we CHANGE the only thing we can change; that is ourselves. We humble ourselves and make things right.

The joy will return when we go back and do it right the next time.

Maybe we were seduced into working at a job that was not God's will. Maybe we are in a relationship with someone who pulls us away from the Lord. Maybe we are using our human ingenuity and manipulation to do the work that only God can do.

Let's go back, repent and do it right this time. God will direct our lives by his still small voice. He will give us the right kind of friends that love us for who we really are. He will do a mighty work through us if we let him take control.

The joy is coming back to you...do you feel it already? Never let yourself be influenced and or deceived like that again.