ECHOES OF YOUR HEART

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.

We Walk Among Lies

A stallion of a wild herd of horses in Wyoming

Remember Eve in the Garden of Eden? Satan mixed truth and lies to deceive Eve. He uses this method today. When you review history, you can see that Satan has used this over and over. He will do anything to stop a person from knowing God’s plan of salvation and His love. Satan now has his demons delivering lies to us. There is a war within us (the flesh) and lies all around us being delivered in various ways.

We must be walking in the Spirit in order to deflect those fiery arrows of lies. Demons have the knowledge of Christ, but they reject that knowledge due to their pride.

Their main job now is to cause God’s Beloved to stumble in their faith. They want to make your faith not be seen by the unsaved. We are in a war for the souls of men and women. There is a line drawn in the sand. You are either with Christ or with Satan. There is no sitting on the fence. I see more distinct lines now of people either following Satan or Christ.

The demons are in spirit form with intelligence. They know Jesus and know about His salvation plan for us. Demons are the arms and legs of Satan. They have different levels of authority just like an army of our world. Demons have different levels of power. So do angels. The demons can influence a Child of God, but not possess them, (Ephesians 6:12). They spread false doctrine.and have emotions. Satan is a created creature of great beauty. Satan is an angel of the Cherubim. Satan has limitations. For example, he can not be everywhere.

Christians can resist Satan, but we need to be on guard. We should know God’s word and be prayer warriors. Do not be silent before God. Your life depends on your relationship with God. Let your words be lifted up to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the fragrance of your words bring joy to the Father. If you should fall, repent and begin to sing praises. God will chase your heart and renew it. You must repent first. You want your heart to beat for the Lord’s glory.

That can be hard for baby Christians. Daniel was a mature person of faith and still experience problems. In Daniel 10:13, an angel was going to Daniel to answer his prayer when the prince of Persia (a demon) stopped the angel and there was a 21 day fight. Michael had to come and fight the demon. Michael is a high ranking angel. He is an archangel, who disputed Satan over the body of Moses. Read all of Daniel and Jude.

How many times have you heard on the news about some evil act done and they stated they heard voices telling them to do certain things. This is a demon influencing someone.

There are fiction books by Chuck Black that seem to follow this theme. The series is called “War of the Realm”. The 3 books are titled, “Rise of the Fallen, Light of the Last and Cloak of the Light.” I do not remember the order of the series. But it is well worth the read. After an accident, Drew Carter, sees fierce invaders that no one else can see. This is a spiritual warfare series and after the introduction of characters becomes a suspenseful read. https://www.christianbook.com/wars-the-realm-series-volumes-1/chuck-black/pd/425021?event=ESRCG

Most of the time, news reports are slanted so you will believe as they do. Everyone has an opinion which may be true or how they see it. Knowing God’s word with prayer must be active so you can be lead in truth.

Study the book of Ephesians. This book is so rich. Every verse holds a gem. But Ephesians 6 tells about our spiritual battle. We are to stand firm in verse 14 or to dig in with Truth and have a relationship with God. Verse 16 talks about the shield of faith so we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil ones. We put on this armor with prayer.

Do not ignore this battle we are in daily. Pray constantly. Let your heart sing praises as you walk through life. If you are not close to God, you can be deceived and believe lies. It says in Matthew 24:22-25. “And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”

WHY WE SHOULD LOVE

Big Horn in Utah

Dear Ones of the Lord Jesus, it is love that gives our lives the fullness with peace and joy for our journey here on this earth. Remember when you fell in love for the first time and how your heart became so full that you did not know if you could contain that love within you. We need to strive to carry within us a fullness of love for Jesus Christ. As we mature in our love for Jesus Christ, we are able to love others more fully. For when we love Jesus to the point where we cannot contain it, the love flows in such a way that others around you feels that love. That is when you carry God’s presence’s and majesty to others. It is here that you feel God’s perfect peace.

I have seen Christians become so hostile to the sins of others. They are especially hostile to other Christians. Our heart is to look at others in love. Does your heart feel the presences of God when you approach others in sin. There is a saying, and I do not know who began this but it says something like, “Don’t judge others because their sin is different than yours.”

In Matthew 18:15-20, gives further instructions on how to approach those that need Christian discipline. This is a command on how we are to do this discipline. First we are to go to them privately with deep love. If they repent,he is then restored in the fellowship of God and service. If there is no repentance, we are to take one or two more with us and speak to them. These other will be witnesses. If there is still no repentance, then you go to the church. We are to keep God’s name holy.

Beloved, in all these steps, they must be covered with deep prayer to have the Holy Spirit go before you. You must carry with you God’s love and His presences. You must feel the pain that Jesus feels over this precious wounded one. In Luke 15:4, Jesus talks about leaving 99 sheep to look for one.

Matthew 7:1-5, speaks about removing the log out of your eye before removing the speck in another’s persons eye. This must be done before you approacyh another and this must be done with scripture. The same scripture that Jesus uses to judge. Consider this passage as qualification of you judging. Christian discipline should be the highest form of Love. Any other form is sin.

I can not remember Jesus being hostile to any individual in sin. Yes, He was angry with groups of religious leaders and in the temple, but never individuals. If you know of any scripture in the New Testament, please let me know.

Let me again, state the importance of asking God daily to put more love in your heart for Him. The more you love Him, the more you are able to love others. I did not think I could love my husband, children and grandchildren any more than I did at some point in time in the past. Your love to others can grow by leaps and bounds. Then your ministry can grow by leaps and bounds. You being a servant of Jesus Christ can grow deeper. Your love can cause the Holy Spirit to move in greater power. More love can move you deeper into God’s heart. You can express God’s love to the world in ways you never imagined.

Now for the all importance of Saul’s conversion to Paul on his way to Damascus (Acts 9:4). It says, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Jesus did not say why are you persecuting my children. Jesus said, “persecuting Me.” When the Lord repeats a name twice, you better listen because He means it is very important. When the Lord brought this to my attention, I immediately thought of cross words to my husband and other Christians. It is the same as those words being said to Jesus.

I pray that your heart is so filled with love, that you remember this before the fact and not afterwards, as sometimes I do. Ask Jesus to put more love in your heart starting now.

How Often Should One Pray

Reflect Jesus Christ

When you are in the Throne Room and have not asked this one thing, you need to stop here and ask God to show you your sins as He sees them. When He shows you, it should break your heart. All pride should be broken too. This is hard to do. I would prefer just to skip this part. To be broken is necessary for you to become poor in spirit. In Matthew 6:3 it says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” One needs to feel totally unworthy before God. It is here that we become what is in verse 5. “Blessed are the gentle (meek). This means your attitude is under control. You can do this and be confident to go before God. Just know that God is a good God and His Spirit has lead you this far. This is your confidence. Study this chapter. This chapter are principles of God to us.

How many times a day should we pray. I would suggest 3 times a day as Daniel. (Daniel 6:3)

Early morning prayer is wonderful, that is if you don’t fall asleep. A Jewish belief is that God visits (wanders) the earth from midnight to 6:00am. Now I don’t know the time zone. (LOL) I would assume on Israel’s time. Also some say if you wake up at 3:00am that it is God wanting to speak to you. Now I don’t know if these things are true but I do wake up sometimes at three. I do feel that a morning prayer is good so you can pray about the day and get instructions and leading for the day. Also some say that your first thoughts when you wake are things that God has counselled you while you were sleeping. (Job 33:16) I know some of these things are not found in scripture but you might put these things in your hip pocket and draw them out to ponder on if things happen to you.. Remember though, this is my life time with God. Your life and relationship with God will be unique to you. Jesus did not heal the blind the same way. every time. Why, because then people would worship the method instead of Jesus

A noon prayer is important, At noon you know more about your day and we know more about our path for that day. At this time you will probably need further instructions,

Now for the evening prayer. Important is an understatement. It is the evening prayer time where you come in from the field. You need to be inspected by your Shepherd. He needs to use His rod and His staff. His rod and staff use to scare me because I thought it might be some kind of punishment. No, it is far from it. At the end of the day, a shepherd would hold his rod low at the entrance to a fold. Every sheep had to pass under his rod. By this means the shepherd could examine each to see if it had any wounds needing attention. You need to pass under the rod and allow God to examine you. You need to allow Him to look at your wounds made by the world and wounds made by your sins. It is under this rod that your healing takes place. Read Psalm 23:4 which says “Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.” They bring comfort to the one that approaches God in a worth manner. In the evening, when you have come into the sheep fold you can have a restful sleep for you know that the Shepard Himself has inspected your wounds and healed them. Jesus stands at the gate guarding you as you sleep.

Also God will use His staff to pull you back onto His path. Cherished friends, He loves us so much. Who else would give their all for sinful people.

Remember that God did not create you for a time. He created you for eternity. Your life here on earth provides the opportunity to get acquainted with Him. It is the opportunity for Him to develop your character in His likeness.

Let your heart seek Him continually. This is a state of the heart that is constant. God uses your present time to mold and shape your future usefulness here on earth and in eternity.. Remembering you were created for eternity will help you in your prayer and worship time with the Lord. It will help you to walk in the spirit. Ask yourself throughout the day, “Do I feel the presence of God?” If you don’t, then go to God and wait. Pray and worship Him. Then ask yourself, “Did I feel His holiness and acceptance of my worship” He will tell you.

In closing let me say this…God does not need our worship and prayers. God is self-sufficient. Prayer is for our benefit. Because of His love, He allows us to behold His attributes. He shares them with us. Nothing surpasses being bathed and held in God’s glory.

Enter The Throne Room of God

In an instant, everything changes. You run to God and fall to your knees while a roaring thunder rolls with pain through out your whole being. If you do not know God, your tears and words may fall to the ground and be void before God. Those who have knelt before the cross of Jesus and has His blood fall from the cross to cover them., then you are not alone because you have the Holy Spirit within you. Yes your soul will ache, The pain keeps your words all jumbled up inside of you. Beloved, God is already there. The Holy Spirit will take your tears to God who puts them in a bottle. The Holy Spirit will speak to Jesus about what is happening.

I have been there my friends. The pain is unbearable. Sometimes I have heard the Holy Spirit speak on my behalf. I may not know exactly what word was being said word by word, but I knew the meaning of each sentence.

The closer you are to God, the closer His presence can be felt by you. God knows you need Him, He will bring you comfort. As to how fast this comfort comes depends on your relationship with God. God does heal you spiritually, mentally and emotionally.

Don’t hide from God and only come to Him when you are hurting. Have a relationship with God so you can enter His throne room in an instant.

I use Psalm 100:4 as a guide in my approach to God. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him: bless His name.” (NAS).

But before we can enter His gates to the abode of God, we must have Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit is the key to unlock the gate to the realm of God. This holy place can only be entered by someone made holy. The Holy Spirit is your guide in this place. Stay at the gate to examine yourself, and confessing sin. If my heart is not prepared to go through this gate, I can feel pressure around my heart. It is as if the Holy Spirit is holding me back and saying, “Not yet.”

With sin forgiven and washed by the blood of Jesus, one can now enter the gate. I enter the gate thanking God for what He did for me that day. One needs to stand in the open gate giving thanks to the Lord God, waiting until the Holy Spirit to draw you to God’s court.

Remember Moses and how he waited for God. One needs to stay in the court praising God until the Holy Spirit says you can enter the throne room of God.

It is then that one can have confidence to enter into the presences of God. Hebrew 4:16 says, “Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 10:19. In I John 3:21, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. Dear Ones, if one approaches God through the blood of Jesus with His holiness in mind through worship, one can approach His throne with confidence. It is here, humbled at the feet of God, one can ask for help and the desires of one’s heart. The Holy Spirit will guide you in praying in His will. Again, if you start to pray out of the will of God, the Holy Spirit will put pressure on your heart. Let me warn you now, that when you are at the feet of the living God, touching the hem of His Holiness, your request may seem so unimportant. What you are experiencing and seeing more clearly are the attributes of God. It is there that you realize that you are but “dirty rags” and only want to praise and worship God with the giving thanks for Jesus and the work He did in order to save you and bring you to His feet. As Moses did, we are to wait and approach God, to accomplish Ephesians 3. We must take the time and discipline ourselves. God is always waiting for us.

You may want to search other books on prayer to help inspire you. I took a course called Prayer Life by T. W. Hunt. Then I guided my children through the course. http://www.lifeway.com

Next I will explain how many times a day one may need to pray.

To Be Held By The Spirit Of God

Beloved, the Holy Spirit is the key in a Christian life. God the Father, loved us so abundantly that He left us with a gift that transcends our imagination. But my Dear Ones, most of God’s children reduces the power of the Holy Spirit because we violate His sovereign will. Sin is anything that we do or don’t do out of the will of God. A lot of God’s children do not know the Holy Spirit. Now He will help a Christian when we quench Him but we reduce His power. Sometimes just by not asking Him to do something like asking Him for wisdom. It is He that fills us and brings peace to our most inward parts of our being. He is the One that takes our prayers to Jesus and He talks to the Father on our behalf. It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to stay and explain God’s Word, to pray without ceasing and to worship. It is the Holy Spirit that leads us in His ways. One of the most things I love about the Holy Spirit is that he leads us to The Throne Room of God.

God calls us to get alone with Him, to seek His presence, to develop a mind like His and receive His Word. This call is a Divine urge to commune with Him.

A good person to study is Moses. Moses longed for the presences of God in his life. This longing was intense in nature. I believe this determined the intensity of God’s touch on Moses life. Moses accepted the divine urge God gave Him. Many do not let this intensity grow within them. They miss being touched by God.

One thing about Moses and God’s relationship is that God caused Moses to wait before He spoke. I guess God wanted to see if Moses was serious. although God knew and it was for our benefit. This is where we fall short, myself included. If you have prayed and not met with God, then you have only made it half way…maybe. Do you leave your prayer time before you feel the presence of God? Passage after passage in the Bible tells us to wait on God. We need to have this set firmly within us to wait on the Lord and that we will not settle on anything less than a heart to heart communion with Him. It is with this attitude that God will take you to places within Him that are not met by many. One of God’s greatest desire is to take His children deeper into His heart. We are to be so interlocked with the Holy Spirit that we carry God’s presences within us so it will flow out to others.

Next I will write “To Enter The Throne Room Of God.”

Finding God Part 2

At some point God decided to create man and then a woman. God knew them before He made them. God knows the past, He knows everything in the present and all things in the future. Some say that God made man because He was lonely. That is not true. God is God and does not need anyone or anything. If He did need something, then He would no longer be God. God made man so we could enjoy Him and be bathed in His love, glory and holiness.

God knew beforehand that we would not obey Him and reject Him. Since God knows all things in the future, He knew us and loved us before He even created the Earth. God knew we would do things that He could not look upon because He is so perfect. We call that to be Holy. God is so perfect in all things which includes His perfect and vast love for each of us. God knew He would have to suffer for you and me. Now I do not understand the mind of God in that He would want to suffer for us. It’s the perfect love and God’s infinite wisdom that may come into play here, so God would have a people unto Himself.

I believe it is because of this that God expresses Himself in three ways. They are all God of the same God substance but are different in subsistence. The first of the Godhead is God the Father. The second of the Godhead is Emmanuel which means God is with us. We call Him Jesus Christ. God did this so He could reveal Himself to man and suffer and die for the bad things we have done. After Jesus died, He arose from His grave and was alive. Jesus proved He was God.

Jesus was born of a woman just like we were born. The Father of Jesus was not a human. The Father was the third person of the Godhead which is the Holy Spirit. So Jesus is fully God in a human form. This is a forever union. When Jesus went back to heaven, He sat down at the right hand of God the Father.

I would now like to talk about the third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit today is to tell people or convict people that Jesus Christ died for them. God came to earth and was born of a virgin, died for the bad things we have done, that Jesus will return and set up His kingdom here on earth. The Holy Spirit will let this truth be known and each person will accept this truth or reject it and does not want to be a part of it. If the truth is accepted, then the Holy Spirit will come and dwell within a person. This happens instantaneous when a person accepts Jesus death for them.

Do you remember that I said God will give proof that He is the One True God. Do you remember that God would give you a supernatural engagement ring. If you believe these thing about Jesus Christ, God will give that supernatural engagement ring in that the Holy Spirit will come to dwell within you. This Spirit will lead you, teach you and bring the presences of God into your life. As to how much of God we feel will depend on how much we give to Christ. We are to give Ourselves completely. The world should not be able to tell where our personality ends and Jesus’s personality begins. That is our goal as a Christian.

One day Jesus will return to Earth and will reign over all. Let the Holy Spirit rule over your heart.

One of my peacocks

Finding God Part 1

Some say there is no God and everything just happened. That every planet, star, moon, everything just popped out of nothing.

Everything and its complexity can only point to a Creator. If humans are intelligent, then someone with vast intelligence had to be the one to create them. We have emotions, so someone with perfect emotions had to create emo throughns within humans.

It takes more faith to believe that all came out of nothing than it is to believe that there is a Creator. So, what is faith? Faith is the belief in something with no proof. Those that believe that we came out of nothing without a Creator will never have proof. Those that believe in God and His promises through Jesus Christ will receive proof. Now it may not be in an instant of belief, but they will notice a change with proof to come shortly. We have preconceived ideals that may blind us for a while.

There are those that believe in a god but have believed lies about a god. They will not find Truth for they follow another god. A god that is not the Creator can be followed.

So now, you are probably thinking and asking this question. “How does she know that she is following the one true God, the Creator of all?” The Creator of all is so perfect in His Truth and love for us, that He wants to give us that proof. Our Creator gives us this proof in a supernatural way that begins with a love that is so great and perfect for you and me. This is such a glorious love that God gives us a supernatural engagement ring.

Let me ask each of you a question. When you fall in love, what is your greatest hope for the one you love. Your hope is that they love you too. You show them that you love them. You woo them. You choose to run after their heart in hope that you will win their heart with love and devotion to you. You want to give them all of you. You want them to give you all of them.

But what happens if you are rejected over and over again? You pull back. You stop trying to win their heart.

God does the same thing. He allows people to choose not to love Him. The difference is that He never stops loving them. Now God is so powerful that He could make people love Him. God does not force us to love Him. Even humans do not want someone to love us by forcing them to do so.

Now if you choose to love God in His special way through Jesus Christ, your life is changed forever. Not just for the time we live here on earth, but forever. Another word for forever, is for eternity. When we choose to love God, we choose to bathe in His love and glory.

New Zealand orchids

Continued in Part 2

A Holy Silence One Special Night

The Lord Jesus blessed me with an Arabian mare whose name is Randi. This blessing was multiplied with God’s love to me. She was to have a baby. About a month before she was to foal, I began a nightly habit of going to the pasture to check on her before going to bed. After a week or so, Randi became tired of the ritual and would not allow me to touch her. So I began to check on her condition from a distance using a large flat sided flashlight. One night I deeply felt the Spirit of God. There was a Holy Silence with a full moon and a calmness there that only God can give. So I turned off the flashlight and layed it down on the ground before me. I wanted to enjoy this time to its fullest. I began to talk to the Lord. The moment became overwhelming and I cried out to God, “I wished I could kneel down before you to worship.” I have some medical problems, so kneeling was impossible. Then I sense something to my left. It was Randi. I put my arm around her neck and she helped me to lower myself to the ground to a kneeling position. Without any thought, my knees rested on the flat side of the flashlight. God had found a resting place for my knees without pebbles to give pain. Randi stayed and steadied me while I worshipped the Lord. When I finished praying, Randi raised her head so that I could stand once again. Then she walked away to another part of the pasture. Randi would not allow me to touch her again. A few weeks later, Randi foaled a palomino filly. The Lord blessed me again with the desire of my heart. I wanted a palomino filly. This Morab filly I named, Manuela, which means God is with us. For on that special night of prayer, God’s presence was undeniable with us.

A few hours after Manuela’s birth with Angelica

Who am I

Welcome to a part of my world. I love God, family, friends and God’s creation. Thank you for allowing me to share these things with each and every one of you.

I am a child of God, here on temporary assignment, disguised as a domestic engineer (which is a housewife, mother, grandmother, preparing and helping to prepare, the next generation in our family.)

I do have a number of medical problems in which Jesus gives me strength.

Oddly, part of that strength comes from a phrase found in the Bible in Ephesians 3:10. The phrase is “in order that the authorities in the heavenly places.” Who are the authorities in heaven? I believe they are angels. Angels who are with Jesus. Angels who are living with the One of perfect holiness, perfection, and love. Now angels would understand Jesus’s holiness and love but do they understand His grace and mercy? I am sure they do not understand how we can love Jesus and have never seen Him. You see, they do not have the Holy Spirit within them. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches Truth, guides and fills a person to help them become Christlike.

Please pray for me, for I hope to guide and share knowledge. I hope to receive knowledge from others in the comments. Either way, I will be under attack from those in dark places. May our hearts link together in His Love.

Disclaimer: NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. We do not claim ownership of images posted on this page or website, other than my photographs and artwork and our own copyrighted material. If you are an artist or photographer and you and your work has been used without consent and do not want us to use it, please message me and it will be removed immediately.

Copyright Information: All images shared here, have been found in various locations on the internet and are believed to be in the public domain, free for general non-profit usage. No copyright infringmemt is intended by me of this page or website. Please give me the opportunity to address any problems instead of reporting them. I can take them down or add your name as the artist.

In accordance with title 17U.S.C. Section 107. any copyrighted work on this page and website is distributed under fair use, without profit or payment, education and / or informational purposes only. Further information is available at; http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

Diana Burbridge