Tell Those Who Mourn

“…tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.” – Isaiah 61: 3

My heart aches as I write this post. I just got news that a friend of the family lost her husband. He had fallen down a flight of stairs and hit his head. He went to sleep and never woke up again. He was in a coma for more than 9 days. He leaves behind his wife and three small children.

I can’t imagine the terrible anguish that she must be experiencing from losing the love of her life and the father of all her children. There must be a terrible hole in her heart. While I do not know the pain that this young mother is experiencing, I do know what it is to lose someone you love with all of your heart. I lost my mother when I was just sixteen years old. I was devastated and lost. My world was upside down. I did not know what would become of me. But God did!

Get A Grip! Keep Believing!

I don’t know about you, but my life is NOT perfect. I have problems, trials, and testing’s daily. It’s only by God’s grace and mercy that I have the strength to overcome life’s adversities. I have moments where my faith and hope is so big that I immediately remember who I am in Christ and I stand on the Truth of God’s Word. Its during these times that I can instantly resist fear, doubt, anxiety and all the other spiritual forces and emotions that will attack my mind. However there are those other times (which are not often, but they do happen) when I feel tired and worn out. I start looking at my circumstances and over evaluating them, instead of remembering what the Lord has already spoken to me about the situation. That is when I begin to feel despair, anger, bitterness, depression, doubt, and sadly even hatred. God forgive me. I’m sharing this with you because I KNOW that I am NOT the only who has gone through this or is going through this now.

Sometimes we have been praying and hoping for years for a breakthrough in a situation or in the life of a loved one. Since we haven’t seen the full manifestation we may begin to feel a little faithless or hopeless. We may even find that we are allowing our hearts to be hardened over the situation which will only lead to unbelief and it will begin to push us away from God.

IT’S TIME TO GET A GRIP!!

Sand Paper People Test

A while back I wrote a posting called Sand Paper People. It was about those abrasive people that God uses in our lives to smooth out our rough edges. He does this by showing us through our reactions to them some of our own attitudes, thoughts, and issues of the heart that we need to allow the Holy Spirit to work on. I now call this testing ‘The Sand Paper People Test’. Lol..

The ‘Sand Paper People Test’ is meant to build godly character in us. (James 1:2-4) This test of dealing with people who are rude, arrogant, insensitive, negative, religious, self-righteous, or just straight foolish is meant to humble us and help produce the fruits of patience, self-control, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness; which then results in the fruit of joy, peace, and love. (Galatians 5:22-23) Recently the Lord has been showing me in His Word very specifically how to deal with people who say hurtful, inconsiderate, or foolish things. Here is what I have learned:

Make sure your dressed for the occasion.

“Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you MUST clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ABOVE ALL, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:12-14 (NLT)

We should always clothe ourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. However, when you know in advance that you are going to be around Sand Paper People you need to be sure that you do not leave your house without being prayed up with a humble heart ready to be patient and merciful, willing to overlook other’s faults. Above all ask God to give you a special love for these individuals, because it is love that covers a multitude of sins. (Ephesians 4:2, 1 Peter 4:8)

Remember that God is working things out in both theirs and our lives.

God has a plan and purpose for everything in our life. He causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. (Romans 8:28) If He is allowing us to go through this testing of our patience and self-control by dealing with sand paper people, then it’s because He wants to teach us to love people in spite of their foolishness. He is teaching us about humility and meekness. This testing equips us for the new level in Christ that He wants to promote us to.

He is also trying to reach out to the other person. If the person is an unbeliever, we know that it is not God’s will for them to perish, so surely He has us there to show them the love Christ. If we are patient with them and make allowances for their faults they will see this, even if they don’t say it. Then one day they may decide to ask about our Christian hope, which we should be ready to explain in a gentle and respectful way. Even if they don’t receive what we have to say our godly lives will speak to them. They will be won over by observing our pure and reverent lives. (1 Peter 3:2, 3:15-16)

Now if the other person is a believer too then we must remember that we are all at different places in our walk with Christ. Philippians 1:6 is the scripture that the Lord reminds me of when the sand paper person is a Christian, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” We must remind ourselves that just like He is not done with us, He is not done with them either.

Be led by the Holy Spirit and allow Him to control your tongue

We must allow the Holy Spirit to control our tongue, especially when we are around people who become the tool in the hands of the enemy to provoke foolish talks or arguments. (James 1:26) I like what Proverbs 26:4-5 says,

“Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are. Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.”

These verses show us that sometimes it is best not to respond to foolish arguments because then we are just adding to the foolishness. However, there will be times when we will have to respond and correct in order to stop the foolishness. In either case this proverb is showing that we need to stop the spread of foolishness. One must use wisdom to know the difference and be led by the Spirit of God as to when we should respond and when we should be quiet. You will know when you are not being led by the Spirit when you are reacting hostile, quarreling, and having outbursts of anger. These are not of the Spirit, they are of our own sinful nature. (Galatians 5:19)

God knows that there will be times when the foolishness becomes too much and we want to vent our anger, especially when the person insults us or someone we love. The Lord led me to these scriptures which spoke right to my heart.

Proverbs 29:11 “Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back”

Proverbs 19:11 “Sensible people control their temper, they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.”

1 Peter 2:23 Speaking of Jesus, “He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” - This one is my favorite!

Suffering for good

"But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.” 1 Peter 2:20-21

Our Lord is pleased when we suffer for good. Being long suffering, patient, kind, and forgiving to those that have wronged and continue to wrong us a Christ like character that honors God. The ‘Sand Paper People Test’ is good for us because if we endure this testing we will be learning to love like Christ. He is our example to follow. So let us not get tired of doing what is good. At just right the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. This is just a refining test to help us grow in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 6:9)

God's Cake

I got this email yesterday and I wanted to share it with all of you.

God's cake...

Sometimes we wonder, 'What did I do to deserve this?' or 'Why did God have to do this to me?' Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'

'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.

'Yuck' says her daughter.

'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!'

'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?'

'Mom, those are all yucky!'

To which the mother replies: 'Yes , all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! '

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

From the Archives: Life's Circumstances-Part of The Remolding Process

God uses everything that happens in our life as part of the remolding process that we as Christians must go through. Like a man molds a lump of clay into a beautiful vase to be used for holding beautiful flowers; our Heavenly Father wants to remold us and pour the riches of His glory into us so that everyone can see how very great His glory is. (Romans 9:23-24) As the clay is in the potter’s hand so we are in God’s hand. Will you allow our Heavenly Father to use your life’s circumstances to mold and refine you?

He can use the financial struggles, the difficult people, incarceration, and even sickness and death to develop our character and to make us stronger, full of patience ready for anything. These situations don’t have to destroy us then can be turned for our good and for His glory if we will only trust God. See how our Lord helped each of these believers through these same struggles.

 Financial Struggles -There was a widow women alone with her son during a famine with no money and just enough food for one last meal. The Lord sends Elijah to her and provides food for all of them. Later when her son becomes sick and dies the Lord uses Elijah to heal her son. (1 King 17)
 Difficult people - Jacob had to work for his lying and cheating father in law, Laban, for fourteen years. Laban was unscrupulous and manipulative. But the Lord saw all that he had done to Jacob and made him wealthy at Laban’s expense. (Genesis 29-31)
 Incarceration – Paul and Silas were severely beaten and thrown into jail for preaching the gospel. While shackled in prison they praised God. All of a sudden there was an earthquake which shook the prison to its foundation. The guard watching over them believed on the Lord Jesus. Then he and his whole family were saved. (Acts 16:16-40)
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Later he was sentenced to prison for a crime he did not commit. One day he is brought before the Pharaoh to interpret a dream. He not only interpreted the dream but he also gave Pharaoh wise counsel on how to prepare for the predicted famine. So Pharaoh promoted Joseph from inmate to second in command. Joseph helped rule Egypt. God later used Joseph to save his own family, God’s chosen people, from the famine.(Genesis 37-47)
 Sickness and Death – Jesus’ friend Lazarus becomes sick and dies, but it was just another opportunity for the disciples and the others to believe in Jesus. The purpose of the illness was not death but for the glory of God. (John 11)

As you can see our Lord makes all things to work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Life’s circumstances are just part of the remolding process. We are being prepared daily for the calling that He has on our lives to serve Him and others that need Him. When others see what Jesus has done for us they will give glory to God and believe in the name of Jesus! Praise God!

Life's Circumstances-Part of The Remolding Process

God uses everything that happens in our life as part of the remolding process that we as Christians must go through. Like a man molds a lump of clay into a beautiful vase to be used for holding beautiful flowers; our Heavenly Father wants to remold us and pour the riches of His glory into us so that everyone can see how very great His glory is. (Romans 9:23-24) As the clay is in the potter’s hand so we are in God’s hand. Will you allow our Heavenly Father to use your life’s circumstances to mold and refine you?

He can use the financial struggles, the difficult people, incarceration, and even sickness and death to develop our character and to make us stronger, full of patience ready for anything. These situations don’t have to destroy us then can be turned for our good and for His glory if we will only trust God. See how our Lord helped each of these believers through these same struggles.

 Financial Struggles -There was a widow women alone with her son during a famine with no money and just enough food for one last meal. The Lord sends Elijah to her and provides food for all of them. Later when her son becomes sick and dies the Lord uses Elijah to heal her son. (1 King 17)
 Difficult people - Jacob had to work for his lying and cheating father in law, Laban, for fourteen years. Laban was unscrupulous and manipulative. But the Lord saw all that he had done to Jacob and made him wealthy at Laban’s expense. (Genesis 29-31)
 Incarceration – Paul and Silas were severely beaten and thrown into jail for preaching the gospel. While shackled in prison they praised God. All of a sudden there was an earthquake which shook the prison to its foundation. The guard watching over them believed on the Lord Jesus. Then he and his whole family were saved. (Acts 16:16-40)
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Later he was sentenced to prison for a crime he did not commit. One day he is brought before the Pharaoh to interpret a dream. He not only interpreted the dream but he also gave Pharaoh wise counsel on how to prepare for the predicted famine. So Pharaoh promoted Joseph from inmate to second in command. Joseph helped rule Egypt. God later used Joseph to save his own family, God’s chosen people, from the famine.(Genesis 37-47)
 Sickness and Death – Jesus’ friend Lazarus becomes sick and dies, but it was just another opportunity for the disciples and the others to believe in Jesus. The purpose of the illness was not death but for the glory of God. (John 11)

As you can see our Lord makes all things to work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Life’s circumstances are just part of the remolding process. We are being prepared daily for the calling that He has on our lives to serve Him and others that need Him. When others see what Jesus has done for us they will give glory to God and believe in the name of Jesus! Praise God!

Feel Like Giving Up?

Do you ever feel like enough is enough? You’ve been trusting and believing God’s words and promises to you, but you just feel like you want to give up. So do I! So do a lot of people who are going through trials and tribulations. However, giving up on God can NEVER be an option! “Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in Him” (Hebrews 10:38)

We must remember that His mercy and kindness endure forever and He will never allow us to go through these trials without helping us all the way. He is always faithful to comfort us when we need it. God is our refuge and strength. He is a very present help in trouble. Through patience and comfort of the scriptures we have hope. (Psalm 118, Psalm 46:1, Romans 15:4)

The test and trials that we go thru will cause different emotions to manifest at different times. When you are at the point where you just want to give up and throw in the towel anger may be the main emotion that you experience. You might begin to be tempted to give in to the thoughts of doubt that the enemy will put in your mind. He will try to play on this emotion of anger, so you have got to snap out of it quickly!

The best thing to do is to talk to our Lord about how you are feeling. Pray and cry out to Him. Psalm 57:2 says, “I will cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.” So let it all out. It’s ok to tell Him that you are tired and ready to give up. It’s ok to say “Help me Lord. I am weak.” Be real with him because that is what He works with, your realness. When we humble ourselves before Him He will lift us up. Our Heavenly Father says, “MY grace is sufficient for you. MY strength is made perfect in weakness. If you will humble yourselves under my mighty hand I will lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on ME because I care for you.”( 2 Corinthians 12:9, 1 Peter 5:6-7)

We must learn to not to be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, to present our requests to God. Then the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Once we have prayed we are to begin to meditate on the truth of God’s word. (Philippians 4:8-9) It helps me when I remember that:

Ø God’s Word is Truth. He is not a man, that he should lie. His Word does not return void it will accomplish what He desires and it has purpose. (Psalm 119:160, Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 55:11)
Ø God will liberally supply (fill to the full) our every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
Ø He protects us and never leaves us! (Psalm 91, 18:2, 121:3-8, Joshua 1:5)
Ø It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is His stability and faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:22-23)

So let us not give up on doing good, trusting, and serving God because if we don’t quit we will reap our harvest. Stay focused and determined. Most of all stay prayed up and full of the Word. (Galatians 6:9)

Lord, Help us to keep pushing and praying. Let’s not give up because we know that our breakthrough is coming soon. You are our joy and hope. In Jesus name..Amen.

Trusting Him Anyways!

As I sit here thinking about how my sister is going to have a major heart surgery tomorrow morning I am comforted knowing that my God is Faithful. There will be times when we will or someone we love will experience sorrow or terrible hardship. We have got to remember and meditate on the fact that Jesus loves us and for that reason He will work EVERY situation out for our good, if we allow him to.(Romans 8:28)We can rest in His hands.

His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9)Often times it is hard to understand what he is doing in our lives while we are going through difficult times. However, we have got to trust Him anyways! Blessed are those who don’t doubt Him. (Matt. 11:6) He will give us hind’s feet so that we can go over the mountains of life. He will be our strength. (Habakkuk 3:19)

My mother died when I was just sixteen. I have been a slave to drugs and the world. I was sentenced to prison at just 20 years old leaving behind a fifteen month old daughter. I have experienced sorrow and drama in my life, but I know that that our Lord allowed it for such a time as this.

Today those same experiences that caused me so much sorrow makes me want to comfort others who are facing difficult situations. He has put a desire on my heart to tell everyone I meet and know that they are not alone. It is through our tough times that we are molded and purified so that we can be used by Jesus to bring glory to God.

PLEASE trust God! He IS with you! Let Him comfort you. Let Him be your strength. He will hold you up with His victorious right hand. Who better to understand your suffering, heal your emotional wounds, and give you peace than Jesus Christ our Savior? (Jeremiah 30:17, Jeremiah 33:6) I truly love you with all of my heart and you all are always in my prayers.