Glimpses of a personal knowledge of God learned through a lifetime with Him…shared in love with joy.
Beloved ones of God, I would appreciate prayer. I am thankful that I do not have to have a shot in my eye for 12 weeks. I started out with one every 4 weeks. My cancer has not gotten worse. The Lord has me on a “still pause” mode. So praise the Lord with me in thanks. I am in need of prayer concerning my right leg. Also, I had an EKG that showed something. I will undergo some tests next week. Please pray for God to heal this body. I do thank each and every one of you.
Many years ago, I was looking at a magazine and when I turned on a certain page, God spoke to me. It was an advertisement for a certain collector’s plate. The plate had a red-headed curly-haired child as an angel on it. God spoked to me and said, “You will have a grandchild like the one pictured here.”
My child that God chose to have this blessing was only in the seventh grade when I first saw the picture in that magazine. I began praying for this child at the point of seeing her picture on that plate. I do not remember if God told me what to name her then or later.
When my youngest child became engaged, I asked her about naming her future daughter this certain name. She said, ” I don*t know.” Then she said her full name with what her married name w3ould be. Then she said what her full name would be aloud. Both of us could not believe what we just heard. She immediately called her husband to be and asked him. He said yes. even
It was a couple of years before she had a child. She had a little girl and they named her the name God told me. This child’s heart was touched by God. All who meet her speaks of her heart, how special she is and this goodness about her.
She is 21 years old now. I am so honored and blessed by God through this child of His. I do not know what God has in store for her, but it must be so very special.
(I will not give out her name, She must be allowed to spend more time with the Lord and mature even more as His child.)
Did you ask God for your Christmas gift? God has so many gifts for you. They are the most wonderful gifts. Why God would choose these gifts for you and me, I don’t understand. Luke 2:8 tells us that these gifts are personalized gifts. First, God chose Himself to come to this earth and be born as a baby. Why? So He could restore us to Him. He chose to lead us, you and me, back to Himself. Why would the One who made the universe leave His throne in heaven to restore us to Him? God, did this because of His unconditional love. Also, He knew He would have to suffer and die a horrible death for you and me. I have a number of medical problems, but because God came to earth, died so that I could someday join Him in heaven. It is because of what He did, I can have peace. With cancer, I can have peace. With two kinds of arthritis, I can have peace. With fibromyalgia, I can have peace. With degenerative disc disease, I can have peace. There are more things, but I think what I’ve mentioned is more than enough. Because of what God did for me (and you), I can live in joy. This peace and joy are forever.
So do you want your Christmas gift from God? Would you like to accept the gift and live in heaven forever with God? This is the first gift of many to follow. Pray this prayer and mean each word with all your heart and being. “Heavenly Father, I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my sins. I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He came to earth and was born from a virgin and that He died on a cross at Calvery that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come into my life and be my personal Lord and Saviour. I repent of my sins (the bad things you have done) and will worship you all the days of my life! I believe that You will return to earth someday. Because Your word is true, I confess with my mouth that I am born again and cleansed by the Blood of Jesus. In Jesus’ name, I pray and confess these things. Amen”
The second gift you will receive will be the Spirit of God coming to you, to live within you. You may or may not feel this Holy Spirit within you at first. The Holy Spirit is given to you as an engagement ring. The Spirit will seal you as one of His children. A few of the things that the Holy Spirit will give you is guidance, counsel, and tells Jesus your prayers who give them to God. As the Spirit and you grow closer, He will help you understand the Holy Bible. Without the Holy Spirit, one can not really understand the Bible. Especially the deeper things of God. All the above are gifts, but there is more than these mentioned.
Also, God has angels that He will send to help you there is a mighty war taking place. A war between God’s people and Satan with his demons. Before you accept Jesus as your Saviour and King you were a slave to your lust and
Satan with his demons. When you accept Jesus, you are rescued from Satan and his kingdom of darkness. We are then transferred into the kingdom of God’s Son, Jesus. These are special gifts, that are called spiritual gifts. Every believer has one or more spiritual gifts, but not all of them. In 2 Corinthians 12:3-11, there is a list of Spiritual gifts. Some of the Spiritual gifts are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, and teaching. Also, there is mercy which can bring comfort to others (Rom 12:8). Romans 12:8 also speaks of Leadership. This special gift guides people to see goals and will motivate others. The one gift I need help with is discernment. I can know the truth of scripture and when one may speak in error, but to see a person’s character is not always with me. My gift of mercy gets in the way. I can even see how God could use a person in His kingdom. It is hard for me to discern a person’s character. I can be deceived. This gift is listed in I Corinthians 12:10.
In Romans 12:8, it mentions the gift of Exhortation or encouraging. This God-given ability can be used by God to uplift the broken and defeated.
In Ephesians 4:11, it mentions those who evangelize. With the work of Jesus Christ, they speak with power in their words and people respond in faith to Jesus.
Romans 12:8 also mentions giving. They always tithe as we all should do. Their life shows a very generous giving to the church, ministries and especially to those in need.
I mentioned knowledge and this ability can gather the knowledge of the Bible and take these facts, truth, and principals to give a deeper insight into the Word of God. You will find this in I Corinthians 12:8.
Pastoring or Shepherding is to guide in their faith and preaching the Word of God. This gift requires time along with God. Some think a pastor should do a number of things like visiting the sick and on multiple committees. Deacons are appointed to carry out these for the pastor.
I Corinthians 12:28 list the gift of Administrator. They can plan, organize and head up complex projects and see them completely by getting others to work together. It also lists Wisdom. There is wisdom in how to apply the scripture to life. They have wisdom in how to solve problems.
A prophet is listed in Romans 12:6, I Co 12:10, 28 and Ephesians 4:11. Most just think this gift is telling of future events. I am not saying this does not happen especially within a family, but it is declaring God’s truth boldly. This can be especially hard when you have to speak the truth to correct a person or a group. You are giving instructions.
Some people seem to always be where people are needing help. The gift of help is generally done without many knowing it was done. They seem to know how to help others. You can find this in Romans 12:7 and in I Corinthians 12:28.
Teaching is another gift. This includes organizing God’s word and communicating knowledge. Also, they can tell them how to apply what is being taught.
Love, especially unconditional love, is a goal for all of us. The only way I believe for this to be accomplished is to ask Jesus to put more love in one’s heart from Him. I look at loving Christ as the ultimate gift. To be allowed to love Him is the key to all of life. It is because of love for Him is necessary to have other gifts. If you do not love Christ, how can you use any other gifts that have been given to you? If what you do for Christ is only a motion without love, is it accounted to you? How can you be a reflection of Christ without love? Without love, how can you have peace and joy?
The gift of a family, co-workers and friends is a special gift. To share with each other is so wonderful. This morning I watched my grandchildren open presents. Their faces would glow with joy when they realized their presents. Does our face glow with the presence of the Lord’s love? With the Lord, you can share your wisdom and kindness. These are precious gifts from God you can share. There are so many gifts that the God of the universe gives. Ask God to open your eyes to see them. Then thank Him for these gifts.
What gifts can you share? Ask God to open your heart and let gifts of love and kindness go from you to others. Let Jesus the gift of light to you shine forth to others. Let your light help restore what had been lost in the darkness. Our journey in this gift of light and our obedience to Jesus becomes a journey above everything else. Learn and love this gift of rejoicing as we walk in our journey with excitement in our gift of purpose. We are covered in the gift of grace and growing in knowledge.
My husband and I were in a place to eat, when the young lady next to us responded to the waitress who must have said Merry Christmas and/or Happy New Year, she responded by saying something like “not if it was like yesterday.” Yesterday was Christmas. So I prayed for her and her 5-year-old child. That prayer was my gift to her, even though she did not know it was given to her. I use to stop and rest at the mall years ago and I would watch people. The Lord would quicken my spirit and I would pray for them. My gift of prayer and the lord’s gift was given to them. God’s gifts to you are never-ending. Keep these gifts close to your heart and grow in them, is that you may share them with others.
Be thankful for the gifts that God has given you and be willing to share them with others throughout the coming year.
Pray this with your whole being with love for Jesus who died for you.
Proverbs 15: 29 The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.
So ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins. Tell Jesus you want a relationship with Him. Surrender your All to Him. Give your life to Jesus and ask Him to come within you so that you will have a relationship with Him. Do not just accept Jesus in your mind, but let the desire to walk with Jesus and to know Him come from your heart.
Ephesians 6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil., For our struggles is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, (a command) take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done, everything to stand firm.
Stand firm, (dig in) therefore, Having Girded your loins with Truth (belt of truth of the Word of God, which holds your integrity and faithfulness, which comes from being in the Word constantly) and having put on the breast plate of righteousness (a relationship with God which protects your chest against Satan’s darts. Peace comes from standing firm. Christ, holy righteousness is to be practice by all believers} and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace (knowing you are with God and being stable} in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish ALL the flaming missiles of the evil one (not some but all). And take the Helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (security of the believer). With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, (the armor is put on in prayer) with this in view, be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, (Your prayer life is to be intense. Also read “Enter the Throne Room of God under Prayer.
Beloved, be so full of the Spirit of God and with His Word, so that you can fight the evil around you. Christ gave us examples in Matthew 4:1-11.
Know the Word and stand. We are to pray for people we will give the gospel to before we go to them. Satan’s demons will be there so you must prepare before hand and send the Holy Spirit before you. Put on the full armor of God. This will help us when we go forth in the world in love with faith. Our love for the Lord Jesus is to be pure, meaning that our motives are to be loyal to Christ.
I Peter 2: 15 “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.” When we go into the world, we will meet others that do not understand spiritual things. We must pray every day for the Holy Spirit to go before us and we are to be so full of the Spirit that He will open their minds to spiritual things. Our spiritual knowledge needs to find a resting place in other people’s hearts and mind.. Our Prayer with the Spirit is essential in going out before us.
Matthew 10:16 Jesus says “Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves. Then in verse 19 Jesus says, “But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak.” Do you trust God to do these things.
Romans 5:5 says, “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Someone is talking behind your back and spreading lies about you. When I was younger, I would have come out of my corner fighting mad. This is not the way God says to handle ourselves. Even if you say nothing, but allow anger to take over your heart, it is not how we are to handle ourselves. By allowing these feelings you have allowed them to steal your peace and your joy.
Psalm 34:13-14 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
There are four important truths in that verse. The first one is to keep your tongue from evil. We are to speak what is truth. That truth is to be in a beautiful tone and say only what is necessary to say. Second we are not to be deceitful. We most definitely do not twist what is said. Third, we do not repay with evil, but we are to do good. We should tell them that we will pray for them and ask God to bless them. Now, there are at lease two ways they will respond to those words. One, they will say that they do not want you to pray for them. Now you told them you would pray, so do just that. You can pray later but be sure you do pray. You should already be praying. Just be sure your words are true and pray. The second way they may respond is with quietness. With this response, the Lord may be starting to work within them. The fourth thing in this verse is to seek peace and to pursue it. In Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called sons of God.”
Matthew 12:36: And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.
One needs to read all of Ephesians. In Ephesians 1:4B reads, “we should be holy and blameless before Him in love.”
Remember, God says we are to live in harmony with others. We are to show love. We are to show compassion. We are to be humble. It is through these things that an unbeliever can see Christ. We are to be representatives of Christ. We are to keep God’s name Holy and bring Him glory. Gossip and lies about a child of God is a very serious wrong doing.
If the targeted christian continues in love and does not retaliate, the Lord will step in. I know a pastor and family that became a target in the church. It started with one person and spread to half of the church. It became unbearable for this pastor and family. This family left. A few weeks later, the person who started the unrest found out that she had cancer of the tongue.
Beloved, take your concern and lay them at the Lord’s feet. Continue in love with the church. If a pastor is wrong in his actions and words, go to Him privately with love for Christ. If his response is not holy, lay it at the feet of Jesus. Do not talk about the pastor or his family. Turn it over to God and quietly leave that church. The main thing is to keep God’s name holy.
Matthew 5:13 “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others. Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Even if you are not a mature christian, you are told to accept the call to be perfect. We are not to be followers of money and titles. Yes, one has to work to provide for a family. You do not have to let it consume you. We are to let God consume us and follow love, kindness, integrity, humility and generosity. These thing move God.
“And the Lord’s bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to there senses and escape from the snare of the Devil having been held captive by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26
We are to bless others. That person may be a stranger, a friend or an enemy. Let your words be like the words of Jesus. His words always healed. We must fill our hearts with Christlike love for others.
When we are attacked, we can produce fruit. Fruit of bitterness, hurt, anger, hatred and other fruit. Christlike love must fill our heart so that Satan’s fruit will not settle in the heart. One must learn how to have the Holy Spirit live fully within them and have His power flow to others to restore, heal and free them from Satan’s power over them.
Remember this when someone is talking behind your back. Many times it is someone you think is a friend. You may think it is OK to feel offensive and not forgive. They are convinced these feelings are OK. Don'[t let your heart deceive you. Holding on to unforgiveness and bitterness will cause your recovery to take longer. One does not have the right to hold on to hurt. Hurt can turn into many things including hate.
Surely, you do not want Christ to return and find hate in your heart. Anger causes the bones to rot. Also envy, jealousy,and many other things. Proverbs has no less than 10 passages dealing with this subject.
When someone talks behind your back, you feel betrayed. Then one may want to protect oneself at the cost of another by their tongue. This turns into not only anger but hatred. Remember what the Bible says about hatred. It is the same as murder. (I John 3:15, Matthew 5:44, I Peter 2:21-23. Please read these passages. Do not fight the Holy Spirit. Do everything you can to return to the fullness of the Holy Spirit within you. You must develop a stronger love for God . Let this push out any thoughts of the person words. Let the wounds of your heart be healed in the presence of God.
You are standing in your church and praises are being sung. Praises you have sung so many times. They are sung without much thought. Then someone is asked to pray. You listen without much thought.
Remember that I told you that you were a precious treasure to God. A jewel inscribed in His hand where the spikes held Him to the cross. Is that jewel in our Lord Jesus’s crown stating that we will share in His kingdom? We should echo words that someone wrote while being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Beloved, with this being said, how can you sing hymns aimlessly. Why do you not allow your heart to echo the words with returned love. Do not quench the Holy Spirit that God gave to you, so your heart could overflow with love. We are to sing praises with a heart full of love.
Our heart is to echo prayers prayed in church. We are to intercede with a heart full of love for others. We are to meet the Holy Spirit and to plea their case. We are to remain close to the Holy Spirit because He knows the Father’s will. Many cringe when you say, “I will search the Father’s will for you.” Those that cringe will remain weak Christians.
Prayer brings faith. Studying scripture matures ones faith. How else can you walk boldly with confidence. Prayer brings hope with so much joy. In that joy, we are to pray without ceasing.
II Thessalonians 5:16-19 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.
One might ask why I have been writing about pain. Everyone will experience pain throughout their life. The reason that I write about my pain, is to show you that there is hope. To show you that you are not alone in your storm. I will not write about all of my pain because I would cause pain for others. What I have written should be enough to show you that I understand your pain. If you read something, you might say to yourself, “She can’t understand what I am going through. She would not love Jesus if she was going through my pain.” Beloved, everyone will go through challenges. The question is who is going through therm with you.
Let me add one more thing. Every time God calls you to do something no matter how small or large, you will have a crisis. The intensity of the crisis will depend on what God ask of you. Your crisis will be matched plus a little more to what God wants you to do. At the beginning the scales will be tilted in favor of Satan, When you are alone on that scale, there is such a difference. With prayer the scale will change the tilt. Then when Christ enters your circumstance, the scales move in your favor.
Sometimes I may write down a thought. One thought may be just one sentence. Sometimes a few sentences. They may be on a different piece of paper. Sometimes these thoughts are disjointed. I would like to share what I wrote down this week. t There is no flow or rhyming. Just some thoughts,
My Lord,Your voice is like a whisper in my heart. You are always there, whispering. You break through my hurt and pain. You remind me that I am yours…You give me new life with your breath. You renew my heart and mind. You take my tears and put them in your heart,. Then You give my heart a new song. You have inscribed in my heart, Your love and faithfulness. Why do I allow worries to enter my heart for I know You are with me. For deep in Your heart I see my name,. In that Holy silence we share our hearts. You know my name. When I look in Your heart, I see Your blessings. I will look back and see Your love. I will look back and see how you use my suffering for Your glory. I will see Your suffering more clearly. I will have your love within all my being.
God will rescue me and help me to put on His armor. With His gentle whisper, He reminds me that I wear His helmet of salvation and that He is with me. He chose to smother me with His love, under His wing. It is there that I gave my worship and praise. His love will never let me go. His faithfulness is mine to keep. Why would the One higher than all, reach down to me and fill me with His presence.
Your love and Mercy look at me and hopes that I stay on the path that You have for me. Oh my Lord, the One that will gently pull me back with a .love so strong. You always pull me back to You, time and time again. Then once again You pull me close and put me under Your wing so I can heal from the wandering that I receive from stepping away from Your path.
My Lord, I do love you. I thank You for choosing me, so I can have you as my God. I am your Beloved. How beautiful is Your name. I will always keep Your name on my lips. My Lord Jesus, I love you.
Decades ago, God took my vanity and He decided to use it to grow my faith.
Some of the ladies of our church I attended, would eat at various restaurants once a month. I did want to join them but I felt that one needed to be invited. They did ask me. Yes, it brought joy.
The day came and after I got all my children prepared for a day at school. Now, it was time for me. I wanted to look good like the other ladies. This was before curling irons. I only had a hooded hairdryer. So my make-up was applied and probably a prayer or two. My hair and dress followed.
It looked like it was about to rain but I was only about 5-8 minutes from the restaurant. I thought I could make it there and get inside the restaurant. I was wrong. A heavy downpour began before I got to the restaurant. I parked the car. I watched the rain. I watched people run to the restaurant. I watched people run from the restaurant to their car. All were soaked, I said, “Lord, I worked so hard on myself.”
I do not know who authored the next thought. Did the thought come from me? Did the thought come from God? The thought was, “The Red Sea, it was parted.” “OK God, I worked too hard on me. I paused, then said out loud, “Would you part the rain?” A few seconds later, I noticed a lady from our group getting out of her car. So I opened my door and jumped out. There were no umbrellas. We both arrived at the restaurant doors at the same time and stepped inside. The lady looked at me and said, “How are you not wet?” I did reply, “I did ask God to part the rain.” I really did not dwell on what happened. Maybe I should have done so.
Well, for another step.I have to go back to 1968-1969 in Key West, Florida. There was not much there then. There was a Naval Hospital, base, one shopping center (what we now call strip malls). I can not remember if the grocery store was there or elsewhere. There was a drive-in. One evening we were going to the drive-in and came face to face too, I guess, a waterspout… We were so close that I could see the water swirling around. I don’t remember seeing what happened to this monster so I guess I closed my eyes. We went to the movie. We saw so many of these things dropping out of the sky. The highest that I could count at one time was 20. One would come down out of the sky and go back up w3ith two taking its place,
Now, let me tell you about the thunderstorms. The highest point on the island was the Naval Hospital. Then the movie screen. I think our palm tree came next., The island is only 3-feet higher than the ocean. You could hear every part of a storm. You could hear lightning crackling its way to the ground. Except for the naval hospital, the movie screen, palm trees were the highest points on the island. Yes, I had a palm tree next to my trailer.
Now let us throw hurricanes into the mix of things. We were told that when a hurricane was headed our way, we were to move all the furniture to the middle of the room. How is that really done in a 10-foot wide trailer? Beds took up the whole room except for a two-foot walkway. We were to take coconuts off of any palm trees. We were told to sterilize our bathtubs, sinks, and anything that could hold water. Water was piped to the Keys which had broken in the past. After that, we would go to our shelter. Ours was in the out-patient surgery room. We slept on the floor with a sheet and a pillow. I prayed asking God to not let the hurricane reach us. God was good to this frightened young mother. It stalled about 90 miles from us and then just died. Our stay there was only for a year, That was long enough to imprint fear in me. But I forgot about it until last year, when a hurricane was heading for where my daughter and family lived. Yes, I prayed.
We moved back to Arkansas. Home of tornadoes. I am so thankful that we lived in houses with basements. Every time there was a tornado warning, I would tell the kids to get in the basement while I would grab my dog (Yorkie), my purse and Bible (I have too many notes in my Bible for it to perish.).
One time I was not home when a tornado appeared. It was probably a “0” on the scale. I was less than 4 minutes from home. I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I saw fire shoot out of some motor on the top of a grocery store. The red lights stopped working. But I did not see anything. I was only about 3 minutes from my house. My children would be walking from the bus stop in about 5 minutes. Finally, I got through the light and headed home. I saw a carport up in a tree. When I saw that, I yelled, “God, my babies.” I turned on the road to our house. I did not see any destruction. Later I found out that my children were walking home at the time all of this was happening. In the same lot of the grocery store was a Wal-Mart. The back wall came down. There was some destruction in the block after my road. It was the back of a golf course, Apparently. the tornado lifted up when it came to my road and put down again a block after my house. God took care of my children. I have heard two other tornadoes above me.
Now we need to move to the 1990s. I do not remember what year everything you have read came together. Although God had been protecting my family, I still was fearful. One evening, we had an outbreak of tornadoes. I was glued to the tv following each tornado warning., My husband had to work late. I do not remember if any of the children were home. Some were married and others in college. My youngest was still here but I do not remember if she was home or elsewhere. A tornado hit or was spotted in a town about 30 minutes from my home. The tornado was heading my way. I let fear consumed me. All I once I yelled without thinking about what to say, “God, remember when you parted the rain for me, please part the storm. A few minutes later, the storm parted.
I started doing this when I would become afraid. God always parted the storm or it wasn’t anything when the storm arrived here. I did not share this with anyone. I thought I should have been stronger.
One evening, a year or two later, my husband came home, looked at the TV and said, “Look, God parted the storm.” So I told him and my youngest daughter about asking God to part the storms when I was afraid. Now I had a husband and a daughter that knew what I was doing. After my youngest daughter got married, she would come in sometimes telling me not to ask God to part the rain because we need rain. I always told her the truth that I was not the one causing a drought.
I do not know if God will continue to part the weather or not. I generally don’t ask Him anymore. I did ask God a few decades ago, why He developed my faith in this matter. Or is this a stepping stone for something in the future. God did not answer. Maybe it was just to tell others my story so they will not be afraid to ask God about________whatever you need at the moment. Please do not contact me to pray about the weather. I will not do it. Develop your faith. Trust in Him. You are His child. Love Him for He is pure love. Lay your love for Him at His feet and watch His Love engulf you.