As I was exercising on my treadmill (yay me!!), I had my earphones in and was listening to some awesome praise and worship music. It is a wonder that I didn’t fall off. Picture it : Treadmill…Music…Caught up in worshipping my Redeemer..hands raised…eyes closed…it was beautiful. Thank goodness. Believe me, it could have been ugly….I really do trip going UP steps. It’s happened..more than once, my husband and girls can tell you.

One of the songs that just got to me was Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman.

Some of the song: Blessed be Your name, when the sun’s shining down on me..Blessed be your name….. Blessed be Your Name on the road marked with suffering….Blessed be Your Name..When the darkness closes in on me, still I will say..Blessed be Your Name! You give and take away..You give and take away..My heart will choose to say..Lord, Blessed be Your Name!!!

It just hit home with me. That no matter what. No matter the hurt..no matter the anger..no matter what..I can and will choose to say: Lord, Blessed be Your Name!!!

With Joy and complete Adoration. I am completely in love with my Savior…

See, Scripture tells me that EVERY  good and perfect gift is from above!

James 1:17 ~ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

AND then….Born Again by Third Day came on. I’m not gonna lie…I was having a mini-revival..in my exercise room..just me and God.

Here are some of the words to that one:

I was lost when You found me here..I was broken beyond repair..Then You came along and You sang a song over me! It feels like I’m born again, It feels like I’m living, for the very first time, for the very first time..in my life…   The life I have now, it is only the beginning! Feels like breathing, feels like I’m moving, For the very first time…

Listen to me friends, hear me when I say…these words spoke to me!

It is how I felt when I finally surrendered and waved the white flag of control over my life. You can be in church your whole life and still miss it! You can answer the call of salvation…and still miss it!  Rules…Rules..Rules…NO…it is about RELATIONSHIP! This is so important to me…I want everyone to Get It! My relationship with God..it is so amazing now! I GET IT…and I have finally given up on doing things “my way” and then giving it to Him. He wants it all. He wants us to talk to Him. He desires a relationship with us…in our sinfulness..our ugly selves..He Still Loves Us. Now, I am not at ALL saying that I live life perfectly now…I am saying that my heart’s desire is to live a life holy and pleasing to God. Because I realize that I have a need for Him..every minute of every day..and He IS Good!

I absolutely LOVE in Matthew 9 ..when Jesus straightens out the Pharisees. Read it with me..and picture the scene.

 

Matthew 9:10-13 (NIV) ~ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat  with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

  BAM !!!

Could it be any clearer? Could you totally see this happening today? I know I could, because there are still those that think just obeying RULES is the “ticket” to Heaven. There is no ticket. It is a free GIFT. Paid for in full by Jesus Christ once and for all on Calvary’s Mountain! Can I get an AMEN!!! There is a cost though.. and that cost is surrender. Let’s also never forget the cost that HE paid…the sacrifice HE made. Out of LOVE…for YOU and for ME. We are to continually choose surrender and relationship to/with HIM.

Look at those verses…see how relational Jesus is. He ate dinner at Matthew’s house. Think about it. He spent time with those who desired Him and with those whom the Pharisees looked down their noses at. He didn’t act as if they weren’t good enough. The Pharisees lived their lives following rules…they even questioned Jesus. We aren’t really different…at some time or another, I was a Pharisee. Then…came surrender..which then brought freedom. Like the song said…Feels like I’m Born Again, Feels like I’m Living…

I just had to share with you all…just how pumped up I am today…because of Jesus. Because His Mercy is NEW Every Single Day. I want you all to know that He Loves You…flaws and all. AND then…when you wave the white flag, He’s gonna bless you beyond your wildest dreams! You won’t be able to hold it in. You will GET IT…You will get what I am saying!

Just know this JESUS loves YOU. Yes, YOU!! Lay it down at His feet….Don’t just try to appear HOLY…Be HOLY as you are called in Christ Jesus.  God desires for us to realize that we need HIM …that we can’t do it on our own.

 

2 Timothy 1:8,9 ~ So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.

 

Jesus Loves You…Yes, YOU!!

Until Next Time,

 

  

 

 

 

It has been three weeks since my last post!! That’s not to say that I haven’t had anything to share. No, quite the opposite actually. The funny thing is that I actually began writing one to share earlier this week…but it isn’t what was put on my heart to share today.

Do you like to be micro-managed? Let’s be real. It makes you feel incapable, right?  It shows that the other person has no faith in you or either doesn’t trust you can do it. It can be frustrating. There is a difference in micro-managing and guiding.

How often do we MICRO-MANAGE God ???

How insulting that must be to Him. In essence, we are saying : “God, here is what I want you to do and here is how I want it done..oh and ya know, God…here, let me just help You with that. You aren’t capable.”

Ouch. Kind of, no…A LOT embarrassing to us and insulting…to Father, Savior, Redeemer, GOD.

When we supposedly turn something over to God to handle, and then decide to take it back and handle it ourselves(as if we really could)….that is MICRO-MANAGING God. That is convicting to me. Even if it is just as simple as a thought that contradicts my walk and what I profess to believe.

I know that I don’t want to grieve my Father God. I don’t want to insult Him.

Something that I try to do when I think about MYSELF and MY feelings, is to think about God and HIS feelings. The feelings that He must have when I treat Him in the same way that I am being treated.

HE does have feelings.

True surrender to God requires FAITH. He doesn’t need us to fix anything. He is fully capable. He just asks us to trust Him.

God’s ways are not mine or yours…but BETTER. HE is fully capable to handle EVERYTHING…without our help. All HE asks is that we TRUST and truly SURRENDER.

God doesn’t need us to oversee every detail. He doesn’t want us to handle every problem and try to fix it our way. He wants us to have FAITH in Him. To BELIEVE that He can do it. To let Him GUIDE us. To quit giving Him our burdens, fears, worries, problems…and then taking them back from Him…as if He can’t handle them. He promises rest to those who come to Him…trusting Him with problems and worries.

 

Matthew 11:28 (NIV) ~ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

 

Who doesn’t want rest? All we have to do is go to God…and leave them with Him. Then, have faith and let Him guide our paths.

 

 Psalm 25:9 ~ He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

   

 Psalm 34:19 ~ A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

 

The question is, Do you trust Him completely? Do you believe He is capable? Because, He IS capable…whether you believe it or not. It’s up to you to SURRENDER. Then…continue every single day…to choose to SURRENDER.

I serve an AWESOME God that is bigger than ANYTHING! It requires a decision though..you can’t ride the fence and say that you are Surrendered to His Will.

This last verse that I want to share with you says it all!

 

2 Timothy 1:12 (NIV) ~ ……..because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

 

See, Paul is the “I” in this verse. Paul knew God intimately. He had a relationship with God. Even though Paul was in prison, he still trusted that God was in control and that he could fully trust God with everything!

There truly is freedom in LETTING GO AND LETTING GOD.

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

 

 

  

You probably are wondering why in the world I chose the title above. Truth is, I didn’t. In fact, I woke up around 3 A.M. and God gave me this title. So, here we go.

Never say never. The “objects” that you are seeing occur in other people’s lives can very easily occur in yours as well. I had a vision of a mirror with many different words written on it. Picture it with me:

SIN. LOSS. BETRAYAL. HURT. FEAR.

SIN…ADDICTION…IDOLATRY…GREED..GOSSIP…HATRED…SLANDER

ADDICTION…LUST, EXCESSIVE SPENDING, OVEREATING, ALCOHOL ADDICTION, DRUG ADDICTION, PORNOGRAPHY, ADULTERY and the list goes on and on.

The objects in the mirror can be closer than they appear.

 

 

Closer than they appear to you. Closer than they appear to others.

They all are a part of the battle we are in..against Flesh. SPIRITUAL WARFARE. Satan wants us to fail. He wants us to be separated from God.

 

Ephesians 6:11 ~ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

 

Never say never my friends. Always be on guard against the Devil and his schemes. Your mirror may appear to be clean..but is it really?

If there is SIN in your life that you think is “HIDDEN”, you are mistaken. Forgive me for speaking so boldly. It isn’t meant to sound judgemental in any way, shape, or form. I say these things because I truly care. I know what it is to be truly surrendered to God. AND… I know what it is to not be surrendered.

You can say, “Oh, I HAVE surrendered to GOD.” Your actions will prove it though. You know. God knows.

James 2:17 (NIV) ~ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

 

When you face a trial, do you have true and complete peace in knowing that God really is enough? Do you truly feel that you are filled with Joy that can’t be explained any other way? Are you able to smile when the “world” would tell you to hide and fall apart?

There is a difference. In the way you handle life’s awful storms. When you finally…truly…SURRENDER ALL.

There’s a peace…an Anchor, if you will. To be able to smile and have hope…when before you might have done the opposite. It’s the result of full Surrender.

“  Oh, nobody knows about my “little” sin. ” “It doesn’t hurt anybody but me.” “ I still love God.” “ I am saved, so I can do it and just ask Him to forgive me..I mean..it says He forgives when I ask.”  AND here’s a huge one.. ” I am just too weak.”

Those are all lies. Satan wants you and me to believe those things. The fact is, SIN is anything that separates us from God. Separated.

Separated…think about it. To be apart from…cut off…

I don’t ever want that. I need my Father God. Every minute of every single day.

It is a conscious CHOICE. There is that word again that I seem to use a lot in my posts.

The moment you decide to follow God, the Holy Spirit comes to guide you. Sin that you don’t get rid of is like a wall of heavy stones. The stones are stacked one on top of the other. With each stone the wall gets higher and higher. Each time you CHOOSE sin over righteousness, picture that wall being built that separates you from God. Leaving you miserable and ineffective for His calling on your life. Ineffective only until you SURRENDER to God fully. When you do, you’ll be able to resist the temptations and even laugh at them.. Not because YOU are resisting, but because YOU are allowing God to finally fight your battles!

 

 

Ephesians 5:11 (NIV) ~ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of the darkness, but rather expose them.

 

Honestly, I would like to write out the entire portion of Ephesians 5…but, instead…just read it if you will..

If you want to truly follow God, you have to make a choice to pick Him over that temptation. God knows we aren’t perfect…and He knows we can’t do life alone. We need HIM. He doesn’t NEED us.

It’s a DAILY CHOICE…minute by minute…second by second… A Daily Walk.

 

Galatians 5:16 ~ So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

 

   I leave you with this last passage of Scripture. Read it …soak on it..and believe it. His Word is Truth..His Word is Alive.

 

1 Peter 5:7-11 ~ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered for a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

 

 

 

   Standing Firm!

   Until Next Time,