798

Carry the Cross of Crosses, 16JAN

How interesting the deep meaning of the cross. We bear the cross to make others aware of the cross and the ransom of Jesus’s life for ours. Jesus did not ONLY come to die and be raised, He came to reach us, to teach us, and to carry our burdens. How amazing the short time He had– I am sure he felt the weight of His cross to have had such little time to teach.

Jesus is the Message. His Cavalry cross carried not solely the Messenger but the Message Himself. His cross carries ours. Our cross?  What do we carry? We carry on.  We must be like Jesus and carry on the Message of God’s love. He asks us to love Him and one another. We are to believe in the one He sent – Jesus – The Message – believe the Message.

That is the cross we bear – to share.

This wooden cross, with many nails, is used to be filled to be emptied. The nails are used to hang more crosses, the crosses that carry prayers for pilgrims sent forward in service, continually venturing into our renewed world, serving Christ. This is the cross to carry many crosses. All crosses should be emptied once they are filled. Jesus’s cross was also filled in the purpose to be emptied. Jesus came to go.  All we lift up as well is taken by Jesus. The cross, the tomb, the waiting, now are all left behind. This helps us become free to go.

On the 4th day, Jesus ventures back out to the fields. Yes, the white fields are ready for Harvest. We must venture out now, the world awaits awakening… Let’s carry our crosses to make an impact, let us help Jesus raise more from the dead. Let us pray and work for the Harvest.

Let us cross over ourselves, leave our needs and sentimental ways behind, and go out to SERVE in obedience, serve HIS WAY. We carry His cross to many.

We are filled with His Message to be Shared.

Amen

797

I was Saved, now I Beam, 12JAN2020

Five years now, since God got my head on straight, This time span has brought me into some dear sentimental moments as I revisit some of my awakening amazement…

I felt my tears flow as I drove in to see the 911 steel sculpture yesterday, at the Garden of Reflection.  I knew my tears would fall. Yes fallen tears for fallen lives who were prayerfully heavenly found.  But this day my tears gush for me, because without Jesus I would never have been found. Never found is the worst thing I could ever imagine… oh my tears if I had missed Jesus yet again… I didn’t know that Jesus existed as the Word in me, I didn’t – I do now.  Two years after a crucial Sunday school science class, God made His moves on me, Dec 10, 2014 thru Jan 2015, it was 2 months of intense processing and writing, scriptures and sermons, and crucial conversations with God and God’s helpers. Then that day, on Feb 1st, 2015, standing at the garden of reflection, I knew that I grew.  I was lost in my driving that day, only to have been found that I had been led.

I was Saved. Jesus became and is my Lord and Savior. One cannot say that without knowing the truth of Jesus. I learned the truth, God’s Way. God relentlessly hunted me down until I was found.

Jesus finally got me. It took Him 45 years. This was not the end of a journey, but the beginning of a NEW walk with Him EVERYDAY. I pray you all continue your walk with Him.

Feb 1st, I confirmed that I would never go back to being iffy on Jesus. I asked: “Do I really believe in You Jesus? – Yes, YES I DO.”  That Feb 1st day, Superbowl Sunday, I flipped over a coin nestled in the steel I-beam, it was a token of John 3:16, how fitting: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” So today I left a little of encouragement to give back – a card that says: “God loves you. Jesus saves you. The Spirit moves you.”

I have been made an observer and scribe of my own intense mental rewiring 5 years ago, where I thought I was going crazy. Some early days I just sat all day and thought about God. I was being led and molded, and God let me know that He was the one doing it. With everything timed just so, the Lord Himself changed me. No one ever knew where my faith was or wasn’t. God knew. It is funny how prideful I was not knowing I was lost, but surely I can tell you humbly that I knew when I was found. Peace is from where I met Jesus in me. The eye of my hurricane. The peace in my life. The Savior for later, and the Savior for now.

Why me? Why? God gently regrafted me to the Vine. Unlike some blockbuster cases, I didn’t feel crisis or angst. But God knew I needed to feel loved and peace. I had pride, ignorance,  self-righteousness, I was half-blind. Lost without ever knowing how lost. And now I know we are sealed together, that JESUS DOES NOT LOSE ANYONE THE LORD GIVES HIM (John 6). SO WHY ME? Probably so that I can tell you to look for Jesus too, because Jesus is looking for you.

So where do I walk now?  Lord only knows.

I am His, and He reminds me of this daily. My Psalm 139 existence.

If you well up with tears, you can feel Jesus tears for the lost.

If you feel warm JOY, you are being washed in Jesus’s LOVE.

If you need to shed tears, no tears are as healing as the tears of God’s LOVE.

If you listen to the Lord long enough, He says – trade your tears for tasks, get moving.

AMEN

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Here’s a simple devotion poem, mentally written as I walked in tears thru the garden,  how classic of the Lord to make my tears absorb back in, and instead to let these words flow out:

911 I-beam, 

I see you thru my tears.

I came back to touch you.

You are cold. Jesus is warm.

I believe You Lord. 

You came to get me.

No one knew I was lost.

I became aware of You, and You in me.

Jesus, You saved me. I was there.

Jesus You BEAMED and I saw You.

Jesus You SHINE,  You’re forever mine.

I am commissioned Lord, lead me.  

You want all to know You.

Jesus, I BEAM for You. 

Amen

 

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Jesus says:

“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life”… John 6

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“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2nd Peter 3

 

 

796

Flow, Grow, Go, 12JAN

God’s LOVE and Jesus’s WALK with us is not in an empty vacuum, away from life.

Likewise,  Life is not in an empty (or full) vacuum, away from God’s LOVE.

Jesus is always bringing God LOVE directly to us,  LOVE and LIFE are continuous.

Life may find us in our own little vacuum of just us, or mixed into the vacuum collection of every creature who walks this earth.  It can be very messy.

Jesus jumps right into the vacuum canister with all of us, then if we get separated and lost in the vast cluttered darkness, Jesus will SHINE thru the mess.

We may think we or others have it much messier in a bogged down sin-filled life, but all lives carry original sin and all their other sins too. No sin is little compared to others, and no sin shines out to be more fixable or less fixable than others. All sin is created equal, including the sins of ignorance, selfishness, envy, and a blah bah humbug existence. Sin is sin.

But Saved is Saved. Jesus will cleanse us thru and thru (again and again). Helping us pick up the pieces and allowing us to help Him pick up the pieces of others too. Saveall the pieces – God is cleansing and reassembling them.

Any vacuum cleaner which pulls in messiness will have to have equal air flow out. Can you see God holding the world’s largest Holy Spirit vacuum cleaner? Pulling us in? Our sin-filled souls filtered by Jesus. Leave the trash behind.

We are made whole thru Jesus.

We need to grow, as broken people with broken lives. When brokenness grows, more space separates the broken pieces making more space. More healing love can flow IN to sooth brokenness. More healing love can flow OUT like a flood. God wants us to grow.

Never stop growing in Jesus’s arms.

Never stop healing in flowing floods of love.

Never stop facing and forgiving the world with the loving kindness that is forgiving you.

Flow

Grow

Go

Amen

795

Whose Child? GOD’S CHILD, 08JAN

Such a precious gift from an even more precious dear friend. This sparkle-filled SNOW GLOBE musical box plays “O Holy Night”, in sweet reverence to the birth of our dear Savior, Jesus.

The snow sparkles, the Baby Jesus’s face and hands, All of Him, precious to bring us peace. Look at the marvels of Mary and Joseph.  The caption… wait, um, is it upside down? No, the caption is right side up when we adjust our view. Mary and Joseph and the Heavenly Hosts are reading it: “Unto Us a Child is Born”. At that angle even the angels can see this gift.

And Jesus does look up and see them looking at Him. We can all look up and see all of them now looking down on us. Unto us a Child is Born. This is Jesus for us all.

The world rejoices.

The Word made flesh.

The child is God’s child.

Adjust your view. Look at the angle, top down, to see the best view. God’s child is for you.

We are God’s children too. Look up and see God looking and loving over you. See Jesus came for you. Unto us a child is born.

You are covered by the sparkly Heavens.

You are covered with purifying forgiveness from His LOVE.

You are never alone.

You are made in Him and Him in you.

Unto God, you are His Child.

He loves thru you.

Amen

794

You Did It Again Lord, 06JAN

In God’s AMAZING Ways, He provided EXTREME mental clarity to an issue that I realized is way too complicated for me to figure out – something that I necessarily and repeatedly am called to put into personal mental fasting. Yes, timed with the repeat call to prayer and fasting at my church, thru reading the book of Acts, I renewed prayed for clarity, both last time and this time. Suffice it to say that God showed almost instantly that He wants to hold my back on this particular serious serious issue, which was already out of my hands. For when I tried to set my agenda before His, He woke me up again into clarity… not in judgement, not in joy, not in an answer I wanted, but a guidance I needed…

God’s clarity is powerful enough to knock your socks off or gentle enough to come in a whisper,  but either way it’s there for the asking… and it’s up to us to leave our agendas behind and LISTEN… Don’t expect to get a question always easily answered, but a guidance given.

God will guide us to make realizations. Better to teach a man to think than hand a man a thought…

So to add the icing on the God moment,  I turned on my car tonight and I thought how unbelievable that my blue-toothed phone grabbed “Do it again” from my phone – do it again or instead just God saying “I did it again to you” – but not the praise song,  this was the Kinks song from my iTunes playlist,  I laughed… better yet, the next song was “Better Thing”… classic God… God will answer with His best interest in mind,  I trust Him 100%. I pray to give Him my attention, trust, and obedience… yup… it always requires work to drop my agenda…

The repetition in teaching us is key, we are blinded people,  we are like Peter need multiple opportunities to restate our love, to see prophecy,  to get our acts together,  just like Peter’s vision in Acts…

God knows every hair on our heads, I thank Him for helping me – AGAIN. I pray Him to grow the numbers of kingdom people so they too can understand. ..

Thank God for everything… WHEW!

 

793

Healing is from the Healer, 06JAN

Healing is from the Lord, our Healer, only He can fill in our brokenness. To be a helping healer to others, one needs His healing first. He offers. To help, one needs to accept help first. He helps. We are supposed to be the messengers,  not the message. We can take purpose but not pride from helping others. His healing can come thru our hands and hearts. His Spirit flowing.

I do believe that trials help us heal pain from other pains, if only we look to our Healer. God takes my hand because I offer it to Him. He takes our lives into His Hands, even when we don’t try to give it to Him. We need Him in the good times just as much as the worst.

Our new lives in His Hope are from and for His glory.

We serve not to be served, but because we were ALREADY served by our Savior.  We are saved. He now needs us to hope for all.

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Psalm 30

I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.

You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit.

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”

Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:

“What is gained if I am silenced,

    if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you?

Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.”

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.

Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

792

How Deep is His Love? CHRIST-DEEP. 05JAN

This beautiful new-to-me Christmas ornament, a double cross, caught my attention all month. There were many like it on the church’s tree, double crosses in stained glass framework attached back to back.

The beauty of having our Savior is that HE HAS YOUR BACK.

“Through faith in him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3

At Christmas I nestled in for quiet time, sermons, singing, all from the cozy corner of this tree. The depth of these cross ornaments struck me each time I glimpsed up. The depth of the Lord’s love to get me from where I was to where I am now is earth shattering and TRUE, as it is for all of us.

The depths of love from the Lord to each of us is purposeful and direct. Jesus steps into our lives. The deep catch we feel from Jesus can barely be described… Christ-deep.. Christ unique…

These unique cross ornaments remind me of His love. Deep.  His cross arms are spread wide, so is His love. The cross glass is intricate with design, the Lord knows deep intricacies of how to love us. The cross ornaments so still, Christ wants us to know peace.

There is space between the front and back of the anchored crosses – can you imagine how much LOVE the Lord wants to show you in the space between now and forevermore? Can you step out today knowing His love will guide your feet forward?  Can you trust and move ahead in faith?…

Perhaps we best remember that our crosses, that we pick up every day, are also attached to the cross of Christ, like in this ornament.  Christ intensely wants to take and carry our burdens. Yes, His cross is enough to carry your cross too.

Yes, how fitting, our crosses are attached to His, for we are to continue doing His work thru us. Our cross to bear is to share – to spread the news of His love, deep and wide. We are filled deep and wide with extra spirit to share.

We must help people be aware that His LOVE is always there.

If there is anything holding you back from accepting Christ more fully, please think of reducing the space between you and Him. Think of His LOVE wanting to pour into you to bring you peace. What barrier might be between you and Jesus? Did you know that Jesus has your back? That Jesus came to save and NOT CONDEMN (John 3:17) Jesus loves you so much it surpasses all knowledge. The Holy Spirit can bridge the gap and bring everyone to the Lord. Let us always pray to be guided by faith.

Apostle Paul writes:  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-18

Amen

791

Anchor, 05JAN

Not “my waves”, but “the waves”…

Jesus is my save.

There are so many lyrics to learn in praise band, sometimes I flip “you’s” and “they’s”, “my’s” and “our’s”… So the lyric that struck me today as truth was that the Lord wants to be our anchor in “THE” waves… Whose waves??? NOT HIS,  NOT MINE,  but “THE” waves of earthly life, messy life.

The lyrics: “Let the King of my heart be the wind inside MY sails,  the anchor in THE waves…  Our anchor is Jesus. “You’re never going to let me down”

The lyrics crucially reinforced my anchor as the Lord. My issues and problems are just the waves of life that are part of our broken existence.  These waves are not specifically “my waves”, these waves are simply LIFE.

Not saying LIFE is easy, or awful more than we can bear…. surely we have to put it all into perspective….

And in good and bad waves, we best believe that the Lord is OUR anchor in the waves.

Jesus still calms the waves that I cannot control.

My anchor holds within the veil. That means Jesus is already inside of us holding us close and together. The veil in the temple tore upon His death and thru His Resurrection there are no more blockages between us and God.

What’s mine here on earth? Not much, but my witness is mine. My hope is mine. My life is…. nope, my life is His, my hope is in Him, my story is His Story. My witness is His Spirit shining thru me. I’m His. He is MY anchor.

Jesus. He’s not just “the” anchor, He is MY anchor.

Amen.

790

Tilt, 04JAN

If we were in a pinball game of life,  we might be rolling around calmly OR be wildly out of control thru sin and lostness, felt bounced around and repeatedly hitting the painful bumpers and ringing the bells. When we feel like the devil racks up points in our confusion, it is causing more cracks in our brokenness.

We can ask the one person who can stop it all. Ask Jesus. 

Jesus will cushion you. Jesus will catch you. Jesus will tip the pinball table to keep you from going down those self-destructive and dark ways. Yes, Jesus even causes the TILT – a warning to the devil that not only was he defeated by Jesus, Jesus has won over sin and death by resurrection and life. Jesus Wins.

The Lord picks up the whole table and takes control. The pinball machine won’t flash “TILT” instead it flashes “SAVED!”

SAVED BY JESUS.

Who’s covering the wide gate of destruction and world exit? Which gatekeeper is herding us safely home? Thru His Cross, a life laid down, Jesus has bridged our way OVER the depth of nothingness. Our Savior is calling our names to set us towards the eternal LIGHT already illuminated in Our Father’s House.

Home. The path is narrow BUT IT IS SURE.

It’s our own pinball game of life that we must roll on thru. We can’t hide away, our Lord will find us. We can’t simply or ignorantly be lifted out from dealing with this broken world, we must roll with it. We must roll with grit, determination, even JOY. We are commanded to demonstrate calm passion and seek JUSTICE for others,  give LOVING MERCY, and ROLL HUMBLY WITH OUR LORD to places He needs us. Whenever we need to BE STILL,  we should.

“We abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”

Keep rolling my friends,  look for the one true LIGHT of Jesus, believe in the One whom God has sent. JESUS has TILTED our lives forever into His Arms. Be saved.

Amen

“The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them“. John the Baptist in John 3

 

Waiting, Waiting, 03JAN

You ever get the feeling you’re supposed to be doing something? But rather you just roll over in bed? And then you see THAT FACE on the waiting cat? Yeah, that says everything (photo attached) – that annoyed grimace means “I’m going to wait here until you move – I’m not happy – I want you up to start our routine”…. The cat is right,  I should start the day… actually I was waiting to write today… actually my cat would expect that kind of delay from me…

What would Jesus say?

What would Jesus do but always wait for you?

My Jesus doll (sitting next to the cat) is also seemingly waiting… Jesus waits for me ALL THE TIME… I’m slow on the pickup,  He is patient. Jesus puts Himself in front of me to help, He waits. God may find other people to do the work He asks you to do, but Jesus waits at least until you realize that you should have done something…

Jesus is smiling on my plush dolls face (also sitting waiting in the photo). I often think of Jesus smiling because I try to have childlike faith and JOY, that’s my sanguine personality coming thru… Other times I see and feel the STERNNESS of Jesus,  sometimes the FRUSTRATION,  often His PAIN at so many LOST children.  Yes, PAIN. Especially the days I leave church only to drive by the FILLED football stadium or Wawa or Panera and wonder of all the multitudes of people,  do they know Jesus?  Jesus has all these emotions, and that’s why there is the waiting Jesus.  But not with idleness. Jesus waits INTENTLY. Jesus will get in your way until you notice Him.

This particular Jesus doll has been waiting,  I finally realize who I am going to gift Him to, a friend in need. I bought this second one for that purpose,  without knowing who I was supposed to give it to, Jesus knows everyone needs Him, but who would understand my intentions of gifting and praying Jesus’s comfort to them…  Ah yes, Jesus waited until my brain caught up with my heart.

I’m going to give this little doll to my friend  who needs all our prayers,  she is very sick with rare incurable disease, her body wasting away, she’s using all of it and her energy for her family. She is not waiting, she is working everyday for her family, for answers and for peace. They all appreciate that faith will bring them thru life. They all need prayers for comfort and peace.  Thank God they all have Jesus. They do appreciate our prayers… they appreciate time. They, like we, are being taught to “count our days”. I pray them all good days filled with LOVE.

Now, how can we be real Jesus today? and who is like “Jesus in need” today? Who needs our prayers,  our patience,  our path to cross theirs? Maybe it’s our smiles that are needed, our listening ear, our comfort,  our tough love even. What is Jesus waiting for? Only for you to share Him in all you do.  And I know that you do.

Thank you for whenever and wherever you SHINE Jesus thru you.

Jesus loves what you do.

Amen

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Psalm 90

12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.

16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.

17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

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PS, I held this thought and this photo for a couple days to write, it was sitting  in my drafts folder. Today a friend sent me a devotion about God waiting, so I finished writing this piece in the WAWA parking lot BEFORE I read the Upper Room piece,  and wouldn’t you know, they were perfectly matched,  God is waiting… yup…

https://odb.org/2020/01/03/god-waited

788

Glove vs Mitten, Why being in a Church Setting is Good, 02JAN

Holding my fingers inside my fist inside my glove on this 20 degree morning driving my son to school, I was making the argument that mittens are better than gloves to keep your hands warmer. It’s true.  Each finger helps the other, keeps it closer to complete body warmth, more able to do work when called upon. A fist warms.

That’s church, or how a church setting could be, together not just for warmth (as in warm bodies) in the seats, but warmth so that we work together better. Work our fingers, hands, feet, work our spiritual gifts for God.

Yes, together and functioning as best we can to support each other and warm the people who come thru the door. We are not to be people who just huddle close to the heater, but we are to actively work at the work the Lord intends.

Yes, together and functioning in order that we may also go OUT OF THE DOORS. We who are clothed in fabric of God’s Love, as a mitten, can step out, in faith, to serve outside our church doors.  We can find the people where they are – on the street, in the homes, on the couches, in need. Share the love of the Lord with them. Invite them to share His love too. Encouragement and warm smiles.

A mitten not a glove.

Fingers serve different functions,  so do church members. So do the masses of people to reach. There are thumbs, pinkies and the pointer fingers. Find out the Lord’s mission for you. Find ways to share your abilities for His Glory. Any cold lone fingers might ache, as a lonely person aches.  Togetherness is a way we grow strong for compassionate works and action. Together two by two, the Lord gives us moments to witness to each other, and realize our Lord’s power. A whole hand can function best connected to the rest of the body.

A mitten not a glove, the covering is together, like the Lord. Pull together when life separates. Be together to work, and together help the Lord warm the world.

Many hands make LIGHT,  His LIGHT, work.

Together.

Amen

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“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” ~ St. Teresa of Avila

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Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;  and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 1Corinthians 12:5-13

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The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead two by two to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Luke 10

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(PS, I am very grateful for my church families, and for the Lord that fuels my fire for Him and His people)

 

 

 

 

787

Realness, Rawness, Rest, 31DEC-01JAN

When I prayed in the morning, December 31^st, the last day of 2019, there was one STRONG word that permeated my mind from the Lord.

REST

How I appreciate all advice when praying. The word REST didn’t mean stay idle, but REST in RECOVERY for the moment, REST UP for the next mission.

And the stronger meaning for REST is to REST IN JESUS’S ARMS.

EVERYTHING in between here and “eternal there” is an opportunity for us to be Spirit-led and help Jesus as He looks for the REST of His lost sheep.

REST.

REST up and REST IN Jesus’s Arms, both crucial to our service to the Lord.

REST assured.

Reverence not restlessness. Feel the REALNESS of Jesus calling us. Know the RAWNESS of Jesus as a “shake you awake” moment. Jesus flipping over the temple tables, where dove sellers were gouging the poor, was RAW and REAL. Jesus has authority to Work God’s Plan.

Realize His Plan. Remember we are in it.

REST.

Rest in Jesus because today’s new January 1^st New Year’s Day word, that I just RECEIVED in prayer is “GO!” Really… “GO!”

Don’t go alone, or go it alone. Remain RESTING in Jesus’s arms because Jesus will take you wherever He needs you. And Jesus needs you!

Go.

Jesus knows the REST of the Way.

Teaching, Living, Breathing, Beholding, Doing, Being and all the REST.

Live the LOVE God gives you. LOVE the Lord who LOVES you. LOVE all whom God LOVES.

LIVE.

It’s 2020.

GO with GOD.

Amen

786

Cleansing LOVE from Jesus, 31DEC

Had to capture this pic…

I shook up a snow globe on the counter of my local take-out restaurant, while thinking about our pastor’s sermon last week about LOVE – how all LOVE stems from the Lord – and in his sermon he mentioned the romantic notion of “snow-globing”, the hip term for temporary relationships over the holidays when everything seems so romantic.

Think instead of the long lasting love of God – that is where all LOVE comes from.

We are called to share God’s LOVE.

I held the plastic snow globe and I shook it up but instead of nice flow of picturesque snow,  I GOT BUBBLES – like soap bubbles… And I laughed out loud – so loud I am sure people thought I was crazy… surely my energies were overflowing and over-powering at that moment compared to the little snow globe with half evaporated water.

Just in that soapy moment, I thought it was SO fitting an image and truth – for Jesus does LOVE us SO much in our snow globe worlds and crazy lives that He will wash us clean – not with soap bubbles but with His love, mercy, forgiveness and salvation…

I smiled in the forgiveness that Jesus gives before we know we even need it.

Jesus’s LOVE and Living Water will never evaporate!

Jesus shakes up our lives with cleansing LOVE!

Jesus’s LOVE is overpowering and true!

Jesus’s LOVE wants to bubble thru our crazy lives!

Jesus’s LOVE will never settle!

Amen

785

Liking Loving Kindness, 29DEC

it’s been a great visit up home to see my family, a rare opportunity to be here 5 days. I’m liking this kindness from the Lord to give me rest, and especially time together with my family…

Post the Christmas Craze,  we can stop running, we can simply appreciate life without running thru it…  Our Lord is in charge. He can put us EXACTLY where we need to be.

We are gifted loving kindness from the Lord, meaning mercy, therefore naturally we get “liking kindness” from Him too. God Blesses us AND God loves us AND GOD LIKES US TOO.

I’m liking this kindness as opposed to worrying.  We should not fear, but be ready to change when change happens. Meanwhile, we are to appreciate everything.

The Lord is in charge of everything.

Mercy is His gift to give – eternally and on the small scale too…

I am liking His Loving Kindness! I am loving His Liking Kindness too!

Now I kneel me down to pray,

Thankful for another day.

Blessings, mercy, spirit gifts.

Our Loving Lord is Life’s Lift!!!

Amen!!!

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January Thaw, 28DEC

Water is my theme of the moment visiting home, discussion of drinking enough water for health,  water flow to basements by disruption by road construction, and an opportunity to see waterfalls…. even water for soothing tea… it’s good to be home…

Water, Living Water and an early January thaw…

No wonder Jesus calls Himself the Living Water,  there are so many critical things involving water…. we need Him, we need to let Him flow…

We just finished a whirlwind of December and the Christmastime craze… Well, it’s  not as cold as when I was a kid of course, so honestly we need the cold December to snap us into mentally preparing for the Winter season….

When I was a kid, the winter locked down our part of the world into snow, frozen lakes and a pause for the ground to rest… US TOO… Winter came early and stayed late. The animals prepared, so did we.

Then and now we have a quick freak warm up, often called a “January thaw”, this was a break from the weather and a moment our mental health to recover, then to re-hunker down for 3 months of real winter.

Let us now pray for a virtual spiritual January thaw, to keep us hydrated and flowing in mental preparation for a new year… 2020

January 2020 thaw…  let the water, thoughts, and processing flow… refill the wells of our lives…

There’s no better time to pick up the trail of the Living Water of Jesus molding our lives,  hydrating our souls, soothing our pain. Soaking up Jesus’s mercy and love, an opportunity to live better. It’s not a surprise that we ALSO need the COLD WATER WAKEUP CALL that Jesus will bring us, like a polar plunge, TOUGH LOVE, snapping us awake from our sinful ways. Jesus seriously grabs our attention to live as we ought to.

Looking at one of our local waterfalls flowing in January thaw that came early this year, we are reminded that the water continually cuts all this rock into beautiful rippling formations. Water is TOUGH, as sharp as diamonds, forceful and persistent… Seeing the beauty of the resulting waterfall reminds us the truth of Jesus’s Living Water – we are molded and shaped by Him, He is STRONG and persistent.  By living Him thru us, we are now a beautiful flow and display of His power shown in our lives. Our healed and healing flaws is what He chooses for others to see.  The Lord’s Will is that we find Him just as He found us. Love Him as He LOVES us. Hydrate our parched souls, flow His LOVE to others…

Let us welcome this spiritual January thaw TODAY… Let us Flow into 2020 with the Living Water of warm LOVE.

Amen.

 

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PS – 2020 wow…

2020

Hope, Hindsight, Heading into a New Year….

2020!!! Let the philosophical thoughts start!!!  In 2020, will we have 20:20 hindsight for what we should have learned by now? What did we or should we have done better since last year, since year 2000, since forever?

In year 2020 will we have 20:20 vision? Do we need to adjust our thinking for the future?

Let’s start 2020 with a hopeful vision for the future!

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The Christmas Crash, 25DEC

I planned to crash this afternoon,  I needed the crash, I had Christmas-ed myself out…

Crash…

Mine was not traumatic, a planned couch crash on Christmas Day, and then my witness of the crash wipeout of a Starbucks barista this afternoon was a huge WOW reminder to slowdown. She and 3 other baristas were working harder than ever, a rush dedication on Christmas day one hour before close – this was just a step down surely experienced by that of warzone medics.  What a glut of orders! With Christmas travelers quietly eagle-eye anticipating every move.

CRASH. She went down in an instant, slipped and luckily was just stunned not hurt,  then she marveled that the chocolate sugar-filled drink she was holding was still intact. That’s DEDICATION.

CRASH, do we know how to not crash? It’s a usual human thing to work hard, to the last nerve, even if it is us spinning wheels, at Christmastime.

WE NEED DOWNTIME!!! We need someone to protect our cup too.

Even my little Jesus doll at home looks tired!!! This doll at home seems less smiley than the one I have at work. Sadly I seem to have ignored this one, set Him on a shelf, even left it in the car in the box for a week.  The Jesus doll at work still sits in the sun and inspires me, but I’ve not appreciated this one. Which reminds me to ask: did I really keep Christ in Christmas this season? And do I really let Jesus hold my cup? You can’t pour from an empty cup. Jesus would be more than happy to fill yours.

Guess what? A new day, NOT Christmas but a Christ-cup-fill-ness day. Start fresh! Drink Living Water.

As a recovery day is purposeful and needed to get back up and shining tomorrow, a mental moment to pick up our crosses is necessary. A Holy Hydration and a Be Still moment.

Surely we will not be so hurried and rushed as we were pre-Christmas. Even if tomorrow likely we see life crash back in on us, LET US BE STILL BE STILL.

The Starbucks barista got back up on her feet, her boss then urged her to take a break. She didn’t want to. The boss then picked up the next cup sticker and I recognized the scooping of blackberries – this was for MY order, my daughter’s drink – whew I was relieved. I was tired of being still waiting, I wished I could have helped behind the counter, but I was forced to let them fill my cup. I had to take downtime to wait and let my cup fill.

Who will fill our spiritual cups? JESUS!.

Whose holding our cup INTACT when we crash? JESUS!

Whose writing your name on His sticker machine? JESUS!

Whose giving you downtime? JESUS!

Whose planning your Up-time? JESUS!

Jesus says: “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Hand over your cup, JESUS wants time to FILL IT UP.

AMEN

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The Joy of Sacrifice, 25DEC

It’s Christmas,  Jesus is with us. God sacrificed not only His Son’s life for us, He had to figure out logistics to accomplish His ongoing mission of bringing all His children Home, Eternally.

Logistics and Love.

There’s still a lot of logistics to accomplish. We are wandering sheep as a world. So many still need to hear Our Shepherd.

Shepherding sacrifice.

I have logistics to complete this Christmastime too, and sacrifice. I pull from an understanding between human Christmastime and Christ’s Christmas. The reason for the season is to share the Good News of Jesus, Salvation, Saving, Souls re-claimed…. Please don’t think I would ever try to equate the level of my Christmastime sacrifices to those of others or of the Lord. I am blessed and I know it. But the challenging logistics at human Christmastime are real. Yes, including me standing exhausted in the line of Target department store last night, where the whole store seemed stripped down like in a hurricane, fueling the Christmas craze – it had me looking for peace in my puzzle of life – whew – and yet I did find the perfect gifts that I THOUGHT I needed for my son, maybe I didn’t need them. Still, I felt I was a testament that the Lord kept me standing regardless of my foolishness. Therefore felt the JOY to converse with the clerk, who was punchy giddy from Christmascrazetime too. Yes, we are blessed if we have the time and money to create our own stress from excess… Yes, we are spoiled to the fact we even have time to work on the craze… I am sure the cookie graze helps begets the craze…. Yes, every year is a miracle of logistics, a sacrifice of time, money and serious brain power to get it all done.  Physically it is a challenge too.  Oh, but what a JOY even misguided Christmastime LOVE is, oh but to see JOY for my children, my community, my work. Then on Christmas I pray to find rest to know I survived my logistics.

Logistics and Love.

I’m tired blessed, of course you as well. I always say that working moms burn the candle at both ends, and at Christmastime we chew on the middle of the candle as a carbon source….. With so much work we humanly want to accomplish,  we undertake Christmas by focusing on a JOY end product,  JOY of completing and complying with the hustle and  bustle… JOY of even the amazed smiles of teenagers who might just now start to appreciate the logistics… oh yeah, there are no lights on the tree yet, eh, logistics will work out, I have a plan. Not that it is perfect but it’s a plan.

Is the consumerism too much at Christmastime? YES.

Is the stress overstressed onto the wayward material things at Christmastime? YES.

Is Christ JOY seeming to land second fiddle to temporary Christmastime joy? Well, Yes and No…

YES, of course, we are broken people in a broken world and our manmade attempt at Christmastime Christmas has seemingly spiraled out of control… but also NO, WE SERVE OUT OF LOVE.

Christ JOY is from CHRIST LOVE and LOVE begets LOVE.

I long to see the JOY on the faces of my children. I long to see Christmastime completion.

God has a plan, Jesus understands logistics…. What does Jesus’s loving logistics look like to bring His children true JOY? SACRIFICE. It’s His sacrifice that is unbelievable. Jesus sacrificed not only His human life portion, He sacrificed His logistics to even know the future, when He will accomplish His role in His second coming. Only the Father knows.

I have NO logistics compared to HIS.

I have no lights on the Christmastime tree but the Lord says look at the LIGHT within. Jesus is our JOY. Jesus is LOVE.

Jesus has already accomplished everything, we just need to choose to walk that Home stretch.

Can you imagine the JOY of the Lord when all His Logistics are complete? I humanly cannot imagine that INTENSITY of JOY. That INTENSITY of PEACE.

Follow the Light. Jesus is here. Follow Jesus and all else will fall into place.

Jesus is here.

Immanuel,  God is WITH us.

Amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Craving Christmas Cookies and Christ 24DEC

Craving Christmas cookies,  it’s real.

Christmas cookie sugar addiction kicks in, especially after being extremely low carb for a while… I  am not making it up, sugar is an addictive thing… Christmas cookies,  just a couple per day, maybe 4, feel worth it JUST for Christmas,  then I will return to my low carb healthy eating ways…. Only distinct homemade varieties seemed worth breaking the sugar fast. And what a blessing it has been to go low carb again, I feel so much better to have re-found my focus.

I am reminded that after Christmas, the most sentimental holiday that we indulge in, that I (and we) need start a fresh New Year start.

Christmas cookies – yummy crave…

Let’s crave Christ.

Not a sugar addiction, a Savior instead…

Craving Christ.

Craving Spiritual Milk (alone, not with cookies).

Worshiping Christ in Spirit and in Truth.

Christmas Christ is to be reborn in us.  He is already here. Catch His birthday party this year with JOY,  LOVE, HOPE,  THANKFULNESS, HUNGER, and PEACE…

Crave Christ’s PEACE.

Sentimental times abound at Christmas time, even the network TV folks put scriptures on the airwaves with “Charlie Brown Christmas”. Oh, that hush moment when Linus reminds us all of the true meaning of Christmas.  Everyone please hear!!! Let’s pray that ALL ears are opened, the Holy Spirit abounds in all that they gain the desire to truly hear: Christmas brings the gift of a Savior who came to live among us – Immanuel. To teach. To SAVE.

I’m blessed glad for Christmas, yes I’m sentimental as my humanness pervades my being. I’m ALSO grateful, super glad, that Christmas logistics and those cookies are almost gone. Let us shake off any sentimental times (or lack of them) to simply be blessed and glad we have Christ among us, Christ who will NEVER leave.

Immanuel. Our God is with us.

Christ Jesus is already here.

A Savior born to us for our Salvation.

Let us be craving a continued walk with Christ today,  tomorrow,  forever…

Share Christ this Christmas.

Abide in Wonder of His Love.

Merry Christmas!

Amen

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Luke 2: 8-14, KJV.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Video from Charlie Brown:

https://youtu.be/DKk9rv2hUfA

 

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Mary, Did You Know? 23DEC

Mary did you know,  that you became the servant to the Servant?

Mary did you know that your baby boy, would be a sacrifice that you bore to enable His sacrifice?

Mary did you know, that His birth, death, life was the birth of the new covenant?

Mary did you know, that allowing your baby to be held by God-seekers Simeon and Anna would mirror the future thirst of the world to complete their own spiritual, emotional and physical journeys?

Mary did you know, that chasing a lost pre-teen in Jerusalem would precede the chase of many who continue searching for a Savior they yet don’t know?

Mary did you know, that requesting attention to a lack of wedding wine became an opportunity for SERVANTS to be the FIRST witnesses to a miracle?

Mary did you know, that Jesus Himself was the Living Water matured by your help nurturing Him into a thoughtful, merciful Messiah?

Mary did you know, that being unable to get access to your Son within massive crowds did not mean that you had lost Him forever, only that you were going to have to SHARE Him forever?

Mary did you know, that watching Him die was a planned sacrifice?

Mary did you know, that you would witness to see Him Rise, to be the aroma of salvation, to be our Saving Grace?

Mary did you know, that retelling your story, singing your song to Luke for eternal Gospel recording, would create a source to reawaken the hearts of those He lived to serve.

Mary did you know that you were going to know all this sacrifice and then know all this knowledge when you were welcomed into the heaven by your own loving son Jesus?.

Mary did you know?

Mary, did you know PEACE?

Now you do.

And so do we.

PEACE.

Thank you.

Amen

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Why Don’t I Dream About You Lord?, 20Dec

Not that I need to spend my time questioning how the Lord works but I’m just curious… I’m always curious AND I’m grateful that I am curious about EVERYTHING.

I am grateful for sleep.  I often have the most elaborate dreams.  Obviously we don’t always remember our dreams and only remember a couple clips before we wake up. As for me, I sometimes dream so intensely that they are major Hollywood movies. I dream about people and situations that I need to process. Dreams tuck away loose half-finished thoughts and surely de-stress us by letting us think more clearly.

But I don’t dream about God or Jesus, hmmmm…. Do you????  Well, I don’t.  I wonder perhaps it is because all day I so often think about them and their guidance… (perhaps I think too much)… perhaps our dreams are not external to the Spirit’s workings, like our daytime humanness, but the nighttime workbench are where our human reasoning is finally sleeping and the Holy Spirit can get to work.  I am surely a piece of work!

Yes, the scriptures are full of occurrences of the Lord coming to people in their dreams. I don’t doubt that He works thru mine. I’m blessed that He does. But i don’t see Jesus sitting in the movie scenes. Maybe He’s always the director behind the camera? Surely the spirit of our dust particles are already in His production. I pray for pruning and that He leaves some aspects of my life on the cutting room floor. The Lord is the Word to help the world, not just the script of the scene. The Word of Him will walk us thru our lives.

Well, dreams….  I don’t know what human reasoning I can or should draw into my thoughts on my dreams and the Spirit.  I have no answers so I won’t worry about it. Simply I’m blessed to be curious and grateful that the Lord has this and LIFE under His control…

The Lord LOVES us.

No doubt.

Life is under the LORD’S CONTROL.

I’ll just be THANKFUL for that.

Amen

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Going from Here to There, 16DEC

Life is going from here to there.

If I am afraid of losing control,  I best give it up to Him first.

If I am afraid of struggling,  I best Be Still.

If I am nervous about the future, I should focus on the present.

If I stop worrying about where I am,  I am free to be THANKFUL for where I am NOT.

If I am afraid of the potholes of life, I best ask Jesus to be my bridge over them.

If I fret, I best remember that my forever future is secured.

Instead  of asking: “What’s in it for me?”, I best remember that I’m in it for Him!

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In Life,

I just need to get from here to there.

I just need to be aware.

I need to not despair.

Jesus is already there.

I can’t imagine the future.

I can only live today.

I can do my best.

I will let the Lord take care of the rest.

Here to There, He’s everywhere.

Amen

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“Now that I’ve held Him in my arms”, 06DEC

Saint Nicholas Day

Today, Dec 6^th, it is a Czech tradition in my family to get a gift from Saint Nicholas on his feast day.

Coincidentally, I went to see Santa today, at the tree lighting with my friend, and I saw the sweetest newborn baby handed to Santa by his loving parents… In my mind I saw scripture! The Luke 2:25 scripture verses of Simeon who took infant Jesus in His arms and knew God had fulfilled a promise that Simeon would see the Messiah.

I was able to capture this precious moment in a photo…

Prophets  knew Jesus was the answer they were waiting for, like Simeon and Anna knew in the temple. The folks who truly believed in the Hope of the Messiah were led by faith not by sight. We too are let by faith to Jesus as the Prince of Peace. How precious to not only hold a baby in our arms but to know this Savior holds us in His Hands and His Heart, forever.

Luke 2:25

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying:  “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.  I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

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“Michael Card – “Now that I’ve held Him in my arms” on YouTube

https://youtu.be/rBZiPRPogn0