Brush Your Teeth

~ When a message or a pastor on any given day presents the word of God.. don’t look for some new and exotic adventure to ponder as tho tickling your ears is the point of assembling as the Church. Rather, soak up every drop that is the word of God and allow it to cleanse you from decay, to sure up the foundation of your faith and your witness.. and to equip you to prove faithful when the miraculous appears in due season.

There is no such thing as not getting anything from a message.. not as long as the word of God is taught in context.. if such a thing runs thru your mind, it is a sure sign that you needed that exact message. You needed a cleansing, a return to the sure and solid simplicity of Christ that washes away all discontent and selfishness.. that corrects the drift and brings you back to center.. to the Truth and Beauty of our God.

 

 

~ If we fail to discipline our physical man, if we choose to be discontent because we are bored or spiritually gluttonous, if we refuse to cleanse our spirit man regularly by washing in the basics of our faith.. we allow decay to cause the Truth of God in our hearts and minds and lives to gradually drift from the mark. Such a drift moves us to a place that reflects nothing that Jesus spoke or demonstrated. When the basic message of the Gospel seems small to us and we fail to appreciate the beauty of it.. we miss the miracle of the simplicity of Christ and the Gospel, and we allow failure to walk thru the door without knocking.
 

~ As Christians we can never hear the basics of the Gospel message enough.. sometimes it is tempting to feel that we just didn’t get anything from a specific message or pastor.. but the truth of the matter is that soaking up the basics on a regular basis is essential to the health and life and well being of every follower of Christ.. no matter how newly saved or how long you have walked this road..... think of it like brushing your teeth. If you neglect such a basic regular act.. decay will quickly set in.

Such is true for our physical man.. as well as our spiritual well being. If we fail to regularly soak up the basics of the Gospel, we open the door for decay to eat away at the foundation of our faith.. that decay will quickly lead to the utter collapse of our faith and commitment to Christ as well as the collapse of our witness to others.

~ Just came to mind how that the enemy tries so desperately to discredit the Bible and to remove it from our society or our hearing or the hearing of our children. He knows that without the foundation of the truths of the Word of God, we become spiritually sick and full of decay and weak. Easy prey for the devourer. Praise God for his mercy and his hedge that he keeps around all who seek his face, Praise to our God who guards his word and promises that it will not return void but will accomplish all and with power when the spirit of God brings it to our remembrance and we speak it forth in faith and declaration <3

Death Brings Focus

Hell needs to remember that when a person is robbed of love and joy and what is most precious to them.. they become numb in many ways.. one of which is numb to the pain.. rob them of their hope and their joy.. and they have nothing to live for but their commitments.. and when those commitments are to God and whatever passion he has put in their heart to fight for.. whatever thing he has designed them and empowered them to do in this life.. becomes the focus as God brings healing and makes sure that they find their feet again...

Death of what you love.. what you live for.. frees you to hear God more clearly.. hell should tremble at it's error.. a person with nothing to lose is about to do some serious damage. And a person who believes God that this war is against spiritual forces, knows how to fight street in heavenly places.

Consider Braveheart.. wonderful piece of fiction, based on a real man.. he lived this life without his one love.. and yet, his focus became righting the wrong of tyranny.. that fight for freedom.. he could have been a coward and sold out to the enemy.. or took his own life to escape.. but he remained strong in his faith and used all of his ability and talents to make right what was placed in his ability to do... for the good of a nation.. for the freedom of all. 

If evil had left him alone.. the rebellion would have never happened. Persecution is often the catalyst for change.. for righting wrongs.. for bringing focus to what needs to be done until it is done.

Non-Alpha, Non-Beta

~ Watching our three dogs interact today... whole story behind that.. for another time.. but in those quiet still moments, God often speaks and teaches me in the most simple of examples.
Funny.. no one is threatened by the non-alpha non-beta dog... when he is confident in who he is and his place in the family, when he knows he is at peace with God and man.. he is poised to be the peace maker, the go between, the mediator..

The last shall be first... I have no desire to ever be the alpha or even the beta in this world... third rate, third world... is my hearts desire because I see Christ so clearly in it.. and thats the way he leads me day to day ♥

~ Not that success and wealth are the measure of being alpha or beta or lesser... importance and purpose and popularity and power are more the markers... 
But no matter of titles or position... what matters is knowing God and knowing yourself... in all honesty.

~ In such matters.. there is no desire for a power grab... there is only a focus of relationship between everyone involved and how to reduce conflict (which is inevitable) and to increase compromise (in a way that nutures positive things for everyone as a whole)... family and community.. no one getting everything they want... but everyone content to give a measure and receive a measure... in what is true and good and just.

~ God sets such lessons all around us... in the animals and the sky and the things of nature... the mundane and the glaring... we dont even have to always ask specifically tho sometimes specifics are necessary... we just need to acknowledge that he is with us in any and every moment and then invite him to chat about whatever is on his mind or in his heart... he already knows whats in ours... makes for some pretty profound and meaningful moments.

Or We All Die

~ "Dear Lord, we are a nation in trouble and we won't blame political parties or politicians for our growing desperate economic and moral condition. We acknowledge that we, your people, are to be salt and light, and have failed to be your presence before our friends, family, and nation. We ask for your forgiveness of our selfishness and sin, and ask that you will speak to our leaders and intervene in the direction of our nation. We pray that we will show mercy and compassion to the poor, the unemployed, those who fight illness, and those who are discouraged. We ask that you will bring mercy and compassion to our country, which has become impoverished in spirit. Bless our nation and its leaders. Give wisdom to our President, the members of our Congress, our nation's Governors and legislatures, our mayors, and others whose decisions impact all of our lives. We thank you for your goodness and grace to our country. We accept your will for our future." Mike Huckabee


~ God gave warnings in Isaiah concerning what is happening in our nation today.. CRAZY, distinct prophecy fulfilled.. THIS IS QUITE INCREDIBLE.. I encourage you to watch this.. not as a scare tactic.. but to agree in a prayer of repentance for our nation. 9/11 marked the beginning of nine warnings that God is speaking that he is removing his protective hedge from around our nation. You will not beleive what God has revealed to this guy..

9 Warnings of Coming Judgement

~ It's happening.. I really believe this ASH WEDNESDAY is marking the beinning of a great revival.. the one we have all talked about and heard about.. we are about to live it ♥

~ but first.. a time of repentance and fasting and prayer and being tempted by Satan as Christ was...

just remember that temptation is resisted only when we know the word of God in context.. and not the half truths that Satan or someone in our life has spoken.. that only comes from reading the word of God for ourselves and asking the spirit of God to help us understand what he is speaking to us.. 

and as for fasting.. just pick something to give up for 40 days.. video games, tv, a favorite food or snack, make up, jewelry.. what ever will make you stop several times a day because your flesh or your vanity craves it.. then use those moments as an alarm clock to remember to talk to God and pray through your entire day and night.. that's the purpose of fasting. And tell God that that thing is just a small symbol that serves as an alarm clock.. that you want his will and presence in your life sooo much more.

I have fasted for cookies for a year, several times, cookie monster that I am.. and God was more present in my life at those times then every before, because I remembered to acknowledge him and invited him and conversed with him on such a greater scale. I encourage you to pick a fast now.. and to begin it this Wednesday as a preparation for what God is about to bring in the coming months. There are things he is going to use each of us to do, ppl he needs each of us to encourage and love and speak discipline to ♥

~ oh.. and if you forget and pop that cookie in your mouth or start that video game or leave the house wearing that favorite necklace or whatever.. and break your fast sincerely without intention.. be merciful to yourself.. tell God your sorry.. immediately get back on the horse.. pick up where you left off and no worries.. it's more about maintaining that constant continual conversation with God..sometimes, an accidental break can break us on a deeper level, allowing God to get to those deep places in our heart.. nothing like failure to open our eyes to how much we need Jesus and how loving and forgiving he is when we return to him with a sincere heart and renewed commitment. Failure for the true Christian becomes a lesson in wisdom and strength when we couple it with repentance.

~ yes, there is beauty in the world.. but it is broken and under a curse according to Scripture and groaning under the weight of it.. this world is horrible, this life has a time, a duration, but it also has an end.. a wonderful, beautiful glorious end for the follower of Christ.. Jesus prayed that God would not take us out of the world, but that he would keep us in his perfect will while we are here.. he didn't want us to miss our moment to do damage to the evil that has corrupted all that God created to be good. 

Ever want that moment of vengeance.. ever want that face to face encounter with the hell that has caused so much hurt to you and to those you love and most of all to the heart of God.. this is it.. this life, right now, right where you're standing or sitting or breathing.. but you are fighting spiritual things.. spiritual creatures that are skilled at manipulating ppl in a physical world.. you can't win this thing, you can't fight effectively, you can't hit him where it hurts.. unless.. you follow the example of warfare that Jesus came to teach us.

The enemy is in your face.. pressing his teeth against your face and spitting as he growls his threats at you. But he knows there are rules of engagement, rules we don't fully understand, but rules that God does. He also knows that Jesus has put a line around us, that evil can't cross unless God allows it.. and God will not allow it, unless we invite that evil in or if someone that we are to fight for invites it in.

Life has a purpose, just as sure as it has a time line. This is not forever.. and the best it has to offer is "like a menstrual cloth" compared to the good things God has waiting.. so Scripture says. So the best money can buy, the most fame the world can offer, the yummiest satisfaction of anything on this earth.. are all that low and empty and disgusting compared to what waits at the end of this war.. this is not some stroll thru the park journey.. this is a war according to Christ. There is a Life that follows this one that is not bound by time.. it will not end, nor will it contain evil in any form. It will not culminate in the clouds in the sky.. it will resolve itself back on the earth, where God intended us to live, but all will be restored to the Goodness God intended us to possess and to live out forever.

Alarmist.. maybe.

But in a war.. someone better sound the alarm.
Or we all die ♥

For Just As Many Reasons

~ Brian Houston (not the Hillsong guy) is an incredible singer/songwriter/artist from Belfast Ireland. He has played Nashville a number of times. HURRICANE is one of my all time favorite Christian songs.. I only found out today that it is actually based on a passage from Jeremiah.. so very cool.. 

Pastor Kim Smith is preaching a very timely message series at the moment called CROSSROADS, and referenced this verse today. I couldn't find a video of Brian performing it, as it was released when he was traveling with the group called THE HUDSON TAYLORS.. I have the cd, so I put together this vid to share it. Brian's contact info is in the credits.. if you have a venue.. you should book him when he is traveling stateside.. fantastic guy =)

~ When trying to recover from the death of something or someone that you will never recover from in this life, you appeal to the mercy of God to help you face each day..

~ I just had a talk with God recently, just wanna go home for so many reasons.. but need to stay for just as many.. so I'm trusting him through the pain that is life on this earth.. There is nothing in this world that I care to stay for.. except certain ppl he has placed in my life.. What a timely lyric.. God answers us when we cry out to him in our heartache.. he warned us what things were gonna be like.. but he promised he would bring us through it to greater things.. home.. with him.. where we belong and where we crave to be. He seems to be speaking that through a chorus of voices lately.. things are not hopeless.. they are as they should be.. but they are also one step closer to getting us there, that place where we belong.. don't give up now.. stay strong, fight the good fight, your steps are taking you forward no matter how awkward they feel, no matter how difficult each one is.. we're so close to home ♥

I love this version of PRECIOUS LORD.. you can see it in her eyes that she has lived what she is singing about. This prayer comes from what she knows, what she believes in and hopes and trusts in.. Her faith encourages me to not lose faith despite the evils we face in this life.

PRECIOUS LORD