Praying For a Damascus Road Experience!

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "not get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (Acts 9:3-6 NIV)

 Many know the story of Saul's conversion and all the great things he accomplished as Paul. But what sticks out to me the most is the fact that as Saul, he was a religious man--full of knowledge and zeal, without relationship with God. After his Damascus road experience, he was yet full of knowledge and zeal, in relationship with God, without being religious. And that's the place we all need to be--in relationship with God, not being religious. For it is in relationship with God that we hear God when he speaks. Being religious limits our ability since we are too busy trying to please men/women and doing what they say God is saying to them. These are the modern day Pharisees and Sadducees--the religious leaders who in their zeal to control others, have missed hearing God and pleasing Him.

Father, in the name of Jesus,

I pray for the unbelieving, the doubters, the atheists, the agnostics, and all who by any other label, deny your existence and the Deity of Your Son.

Create for them, O God, an experience in which the light of truth will guide their paths to You so they'll have a testimony of their own Damascus Road revelation. Provide them with knowledgeable people in their lives who can and will teach them Your truths and not the religious ideology that permeates the earth, yet is ineffective against the enemy who wages war within and without.

Bring all to a place where they realize they need You as their provider, comforter, healer, and counselor.

Cause the scales of unbelief and doubt to fall from their eyes so they can see You in all Your glory and begin to magnify and praise You, O God.

And before this day is over, Lord, let the number of souls won to You be increased a thousand times more than there right now and even greater numbers come to You before the end of this month.

I stand in the gap--desiring only to please You and see souls saved so we can live in peace, knowing how to love one another as we love You.

Your Word says that whatever we ask in Jesus' name will be given to us when we believe and not doubt. I believe souls are won as this prayer is shared and I declare it done--to the glory of the Most High. Amen!

He Sees It All!

"But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." (John 3:21 NIV)

What we do in the dark,
Always comes to the surface,
Whether, evil or good, truth or lie,
He sees it all!

What's the point of doing things under the cloak of darkness? Do we not understand that not only does God see it all, but He knows our hearts, and whether our thoughts are good or evil? Is it because we think we are wiser than He?

For the Believer who knows the Truth and has been brought into the marvelous Light of Truth, we know nothing is hidden from Him. But for those who choose to not believe, they think their unbelief will shield them from God's sight. Nothing is ever hidden from the One who created all things and without Him, nothing was ever created.God has said in His Word that He created the evil for His purposes. In this way, He has allowed us options. Choose good or choose evil. Whatever our choices are, they will the basis or foundation for the verdict we receive at the end.

I want to be found guilty! Guilty of believing everything God says; guilty of giving my heart over to Jesus; guilty of living a life that was pleasing to Him, guilty of presenting the Gospel to others at every opportunity; guilty of loving all unconditionally; guilty of standing tall and refusing to budge in agreement with His Word; guilty of proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, our Redeemer and Risen King! Guilty as charged! That is all I want Him to see!

Others who disavow His existence will hear another verdict--especially when they had opportunity to hear, but refused to accept. That is their fate because He sees it all!

No Believer can ever determine where anyone will reside for eternity--that is not our role in life. Our role is simply to tell all we meet that God is and forever will be--the only One who has established the verdicts we will--whether we walk in darkness or in the Light--He knows--He sees it all!

If anyone reading this post is yet walking in darkness, I pray they will allow the love of God to fill their hearts to overflowing and make a decision today, to walk in the Light as He is the Light!

We Have To Trust Him!

"The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him," (Nahum 1:7 NIV)

How many times do we see the word "trust" as it pertains to trusting God? The word appears 134 times--either to say trust in God or not to put our trust in man or things.

For those who are apt to refute God's goodness by pointing to all the ills of the world, I would have to ask, where those problems are--is it because of a lack of trust in God or too much trust in man?
For those who have never acknowledged Him, how can He help them? For those who refuse to obey Him, how can He help them?

The reality is--God is good and for those who know Him, not just about Him, they know they can trust Him, implicitly. Does that mean that we get everything we want? Absolutely not! Sometimes, the things we want are the very things that would take our focus off Him and because He loves us, He not will give us those things.

People have been skeptical of my faith and trust in God, but when I pray, I pray for wisdom--not things. I proclaim the promises fulfilled, even though I may have to wait to see them. I thank God always for providing everything I need and the desires of my heart when I please Him. And He answers every prayer.

We have been thanking God for 1 + Million readers of my books. We believe that God will honor our request and fulfill it. When He will honor it--is on Him; we are simply confident that He will. And it is because of that confidence in Him that I keep writing. He blesses the works of our hands when what we do honors Him.

There are no magic bullets that will increase our faith, trust or confidence in His Word. That only happens within the relationship and all relationships take time to develop. If you haven't started developing a right relationship with God, now is a good time. He's waiting just for you because He loves you and only wants the best for you!

Our faith and trust in Him, results in seeing the blessings He pours upon us, when we least expect it. He responds to our faith, not our tears--though the tears may cleanse us when we repent--they do not move God, our faith and trust in Him--results in Him acting on our behalf.

Writing, Believing, Speaking!

"It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken." Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak," (2 Corinthians 4:13 NIV)

Sometimes, what we say we believe is not necessarily true. It doesn't become true for us until we see it, in writing so we can analyze what we see, especially when it comes to living The Word. What we see that has been written, we believe and therefore have the courage to speak what we believe and to write even more to expound on that belief.

When we read something for the first time, we may understand the letters on the page, but do we really understand the context and inference those letters are alluding to?

Every time I read a passage of scripture, God reveals something new to me. It wasn't that I didn't understand the words the first time, but the more I read, the more I believe, and the more I speak what I believe, greater revelation comes to me because I am reading even more.

The perfect example to illustrate this is when I read John 17. I had always heard, "The Lord's Prayer" and even sang it on more than one occasion. However, when I read the entire chapter, more than once, I began to realize that what we call His prayer is not and this chapter is. What is amazing to me is that not many people reference this chapter as His prayer, they are not memorizing it, and most don't even realize that in the 20th verse, He's praying for those of us who were not present with Him then, but for those He knew would follow those who taught His Word. How long is going to take for others to get a "revelation" about what is truly His prayer?

I've written about John 17 before and how we have mistakenly, used the model prayer as a foundation for praying. Here's the truth of the matter--if Jesus had meant for us to pray the model prayer at all times, for all things, He would have said the same prayer, when He was in garden, knowing what was about to happen to Him. Our foundation for prayer is simply this: "Whatever we ask of the Father in Jesus' name, He will do." We are limited to a few trite phrases, most of which have already been fulfilled, in order for God to hear us and act on our behalf.

What we read from what is written, we believe and what we believe we speak (or write) to the glory of God so others may also come into knowledge and truth about Our Risen Savior.

Keep Hope Alive!

"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." (Romans 8:25 NIV)

We do not need to have faith for what we already have and can see and since we already have it, we need not have hope for it. It is the things for which we do not yet see, but believe we have that sustains our hope and with patience, we wait until it comes to pass.

Our hope is in Jesus' Return and in being caught up with Him to reign with Him forever. Keep that hope alive, it will occur!

Some are hoping to be cancer free. We must do all we can to live right and healthy, seeking treatment and have faith that treatments will work and with patience, we wait--keeping hope alive.

Some are hoping for financial blessings. We must hone the gifts and skills He has given us and have faith that whatever we put our hands to doing, will prosper, with patience, waiting to see it, keeping hope alive.

Some are hoping to see loved ones saved. We must live the life in front of them, igniting in them a desire to have what we have and with patience, drawing them closer to Jesus, keeping hope alive.

Some are hoping for peace in the land. We must be willing to receive the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, exercise having peace in our homes that overflows into our community and saturates our nations. And with patience, we keep hope alive, spreading the love of Jesus every where we go.

For The Word has said, "In your patience, possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19 KJV). We must have patience as we live this life, maintaining our faith in God's Word and the hope we have in Him, to do all He said He would do.

Now, while we wait, patiently to see those things we hope for come about, we focus on doing the work He has put into our hearts and when we focus on doing what He desires us to do, He works out everything we hope for and when we least expect it--we have all we have hoped for in Him! Be patient--knowing He's got this and keep hope in Him alive!

Rejoice In The Lord!

"Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness." (Psalm 96:13 NIV)

If we are part of God's creation, we should rejoice--He created us, He loves us, He willingly died for us, He rose from the grave and gave us power through Holy Spirit--Rejoice in The Lord and again I say, Rejoice for all He has done, is doing and will do!

The Lord lives and blessed are those who love Him enough to obey Him!

For our soon coming King will judge the earth and everyone in it--Believer or Unbeliever and He will judge according His righteousness, not our opinions, and our faithfulness to Him, not man's continual revisions of what He said, trying to change God's Word to suit their lustful desires.

Wake up and know--the end is not yet, but will be and when He returns--what will His judgment of you, be?

When we know we have done all we can to please Him, we can be like the birds to chirp in praise of Him and all other creation who raise their voices to rejoice in The Lord of our salvation, grateful for every opportunity to share His love and know of His goodness.

Rejoice for His mercy!
Rejoice for His love!
Rejoice for the grace He gives us!
Rejoice for all lessons learned from disobedience to walking in His Light!
Rejoice for another opportunity to tell someone else how good God is!
Rejoice--sing a new song that praises Him with a melody that will be a sweet, sweet sound to Him!

Rejoice--for He has given us life, love and liberty to live for Him!

How Many Times?

"Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself." (Hebrews 9:26 NIV)

No matter how many times we commit sin, the ultimate blood sacrifice has already been made with Jesus on the cross.

Do we really understand the sacrifice He made for us--the love He has for us?

If we truly understood the role of the high priests under the law, then we would better appreciate the fulfillment of the law, with His appearance, death, burial, and resurrection.

But no one can force anyone to receive knowledge. We can speculate, refute, and ignore information, but acceptance is an individual choice and action. For those of us have received and accepted the knowledge that He has made sacrifice for our sins, we should not willing continue to sin--after all, exactly how many times, do we expect Him to sacrifice Himself for us?

Shall we expect Him to appear over and over again to be persecuted and misunderstood, lied upon, treated abominably, judged by sinners, scourged with whips designed to maim and kill, crucified, and died, buried and resurrected--over and over again--just to satisfy the skeptics and those who don't want to live right? How many times, must we crucify Him in order for us to understood--ONCE was enough?

If we believe that ONCE was enough--then sin should no longer reign in our bodies--we have the ability to defeat the desire to sin--so why don't we? How many times must we commit sin just to ask Him to forgive us?

When we repent of sin--turn away--run from--all the temptation to sin, we don't actively, consciously sin any more. Perhaps, the real problems with us mere mortals is that we do not understand--repentance--if we did, we would not keep going back to the cross to gain understanding.

"Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee!" How many times do we submit? All day, every day, 24/7, 365 days of the year--that's how many times and when we keep our bodies under the governing reign of Holy Spirit--we will not sin.

Sin is a choice like anything else we do. Now, how many times will it take for us to understand the one-time sacrifice so we would have power not to sin? How many times?

The only person who can make a decision about sin and choosing to live the life that Christ died for us to live--is us!

Anointed Truth!

"But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth." (I John 2:20,21 NIV)

One of the reasons that I love John's passages to us is because they are so personal. In the Gospel of John, he reveals to us the person of Christ and all of attributes. In his continued letters, he constantly reminds us that we are loved and because of His love towards us, we walk in His anointing and in Truth.

If we are filled with Holy Spirit--the Spirit of Jesus Christ--then we walk in Truth since He is Truth. When we allow Holy Spirit to guide us in all things, we speak only what He speaks and do only what He wants us to do.

Are we perfect people? Not hardly! We are people who love the Lord and want to please Him, so we are growing in grace and in the confidence of His Word in our ability to know when Holy Spirit speaks beyond what we understand and are open to the revelation!

This is why John tells us, we know the truth and there is no lie in truth. Now, this is where some people miss this. There is no lie in truth. A half-truth is a whole lie. There are no white lies, red lies, black lies are any other kind of lies that have any kind of relationship with Truth. Paul tells us to speak the truth, in love. Love the person to whom you're telling the truth,, but tell the truth, confidently, not harshly.

One of the reasons the Body of Christ is in the shape it is in is because no one really wants to hear truth from the pulpit so preachers--sugarcoat truth--to maintain a congregation. I'd rather hear Truth, according to God's Word (not man) and be convicted of wrong doing than to hear a sugar-coated message that makes allowances for sin. Yes, God forgives our sin, but repentance means we have turned away from doing those things that sever a relationship with God.

God is not mocked! He is not fooled by the preachings, dripping with syrupy meanings and rhyming rhythms that do nothing but entertain the flesh. The only person who is fooled by this is the one who does not know the Word.

I encourage every Believer to walk in the anointing of Truth and tell no lies--even if it means no other mortal walks with you, you are never alone!

This Present House!

‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” (Haggai 2:9 NIV)

Though the prophet was speaking to the priests who wanted to rebuild the temple, what He prophesied was not just about a physical building, but building the Body of Christ.

Are we not the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells? Are we not supposed to be consecrated and worthy of His presence in our lives?

For those who think that Old Testament scriptures are "literally" just for that era, I encourage you to look again and not just see what is said regarding the Law, but for those who are living according to the grace shown us so we might know how to honor our bodies in reverence of Him.

In previous versus of Scriptures, the prophet tells the priests that God owns all the silver and gold and He hears the cries of the nations and the nations will receive what they desire--peace in the land. But we cannot have peace in the land until we have peace in our spirits and peace overflows from within to without--into homes, communities, and then the nations.

What we must do now is clean house--clean our spiritual house and rid it of all debris--thoughts that grieve Holy Spirit and cause us not to hear Him. We must rid of ourselves of hatred and biases that do nothing to bring people into a right relationship with God. And being the catalyst--to steering people into receptivity of God's mercy and grace, is what we're really supposed to be building--not the physical edifices that bring glory to us--but the spiritual edifices that bring glory to God.

What about us--right now? Are we ready to see the glory of this present house--in our spiritual temples--be filled beyond our imaginations with God's goodness and His peace?

As long as we harbor bitterness and resentment, unforgiveness and grudges against others, His peace cannot abide within and if there is no peace within, there will be no peace without. Let's clean house--leaving only room for the glory of the Lord to fill it and then know peace!

Comforted To Comfort!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3,4 NIV)

In the midst of being persecuted and treated badly, Paul writes to the Church at Corinth, praising God for being the God of all comfort, for comforting those in chains with him, so they could comfort others in times of trouble!

The best way to "wait on The Lord to learn patience" is to take our focus off our own problems and concentrate on others who are going through trials. If we cannot see the solution to our problems, we should help others and while we're helping others, God reveals the solution to those problems we face and sometimes, He works it out and we simply see the problem solved. Glory Hallelujah!

There have been so many times in years past that I did not know what to do about situations that arose because of car accidents and mountains of bills piling up. I've been rear-ended twice and both accidents totaled cars, but I am yet alive to testify of God's goodness. The first accident was caused by a sleeping driver and the second accident caused by a drunk driver. I was "in front of them" and they crashed into me from behind. I saw them coming--both times, but had nowhere to go before being hit. Waiting for resolution--in particular behind the last accident--I was in pain, could not see well and could not work. The first attorney supposedly working on my behalf was only interested in amassing as much as he could. I fired him. The second attorney resolved the issue as quickly as he could and warned me that I did not have to take what was offered in a settlement, but it would take years to get what I deserved. This was three years after the accident. I realistically could not wait years, trying to get more, so I settled.

In the three years I waited, I did not work, but God had a plan I knew nothing about. He arranged for my bills to be paid through the kindness of others, who wanted nothing in return. During this time, I encouraged others by helping them do whatever I could. Sometimes, that was simply being available to talk to them over the phone. I assisted children by tutoring them, I did whatever I could to help others because I could not help myself through this ordeal. But God could.

While we're going through--take heart and be encouraged--help someone else in their time of need and watch God handle your business like no one else can! He is a comfort to us so we can comfort others!

Incomparable Woman!

"Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her." (Proverbs 3:13-15 NIV).

For those who repeatedly say and believe that God doesn't use women--think again! Apparently, His perception of a woman is even greater than those who have written poetry and songs and even love letters that attempt to describe her worth. How do I know? God refers to wisdom as a woman. Now, look at that!

Blessed are those who find wisdom, for she is...

More profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. This is why when we lack wisdom, we should God for more of His. Operating in His wisdom is the catalyst for obtaining all the riches we could ever want.

More precious that rubies--better to amass wisdom than precious stones--for the stones are temporary and can turn to dust; while wisdom enlightens, showing us the way, never ending.

Nothing a man could desire can compare with her--with wisdom, and operating in it--he has no need to desire anything else.

Now, if we understand God's purpose in comparing wisdom to a woman, we will understand what God means when He says, "He who finds a wife, finds a good thing." God is not calling a woman or wife a thing, but maintaining the comparison of her to wisdom and saying--it is more profitable to have a good woman in a man's life--she doesn't have to drip silver and gold, she is better than silver and gold. In fact, if she was clothed in precious stones, they would never outshine her natural beauty ignited by the wisdom from deep within her soul. This is an incomparable woman--created by God to be all He desires her to be!

How many incomparable women do you know? Are you one of them? Some days, I forget just how precious I am to God when I allow the pressures of the day to weigh me down, but then I am reminded of His Word and I know, I am more precious to Him than silver and gold and all the precious stones combined. I am that incomparable woman, when I operate in His Wisdom!

Enjoying The Lord this morning and reveling in being a woman--from beginning to end!

Brace For The Trial!

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12 NIV)

One of the reasons many cave is because they have not learned to brace themselves to withstand the pressures of life. The end result for caving to pressure is suicide, depression, hopelessness, and frustration with everything and everyone.

I remember a number of years ago when I was visiting a church, a preacher called me out for prayer. He didn't know me and made some erroneous assumptions about my character simply because I was wearing a red suit. I know this because of what he was praying--for my salvation and at the time, I was not only assured of my salvation, but I was also ministering the Gospel as an ordained Elder. He didn't know that. While he was praying, he had the audacity to lay hands on me attempting to force me to fall "under the spirit" so he could get the glory. He also didn't know I knew a phony when I heard one. So, while he was trying to push me down, I repositioned my feet to brace myself and I didn't budge and he was left stunned. When I finally looked up at him, I smiled and walked away. Needless to say, I had no respect for that man or the leadership in the church.

About five months later, he found out who I was and was annoying in his attempts to show me how much he respected me. I don't seek to impress people and I'm not usually impressed with others--especially those who are attempting to impress with foolishness. I'm impressed with a demonstration of their relationship with God, not who they are.

My point to this little anecdote is to remind people that when the pressures of life assault us, we have to know how to "reposition ourselves" to brace against the pressure, so the trials of life won't cause us to fall, defeated.

In order to brace for the trials, we must be determined, using stubborn character constructively, refusing to give in or give up, no matter what happens. When we feel the strain of the pressure, we need to flex our spiritual muscles and reposition our thinking, finding balance to push back against those things that attempt to bring us down.

While we're pushing back, we need to have enough Word in us, to help us to withstand the attack of the enemy and when we are armored up and know that God is going before us, enabling us to "stand" we can expect to receive the prize for the win on earth and in heaven. Brace for the trials of life and never cave, being blessed and receiving our crowns!

Watching and Waiting With Hope!

"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." (Micah 7:7 NIV)

Watching the news is depressing with all of the negative reporting. Human beings slaughtering other human beings because of difference of opinion. Kids killing kids. Teens assaulting teachers. Teachers involved in illicit sexual activity with students, Husbands killing wives. Wives assaulting people on the road. Extreme weather conditions causing people despair. Foolish people venturing out in extreme weather conditions causing others to be precarious positions trying to rescue them. Judges ruling on the side of evil incarnate and in opposition to God. Where will it all end?

It will end--all of it-when Jesus returns and for those who have chosen to live without His guidance, they will be left behind to deal with the consequences of their choices.

While I wait in the hope of His glorious return, I watch and pray and pray and watch. I pray and watch. I cry out to the Lord and I know He hears my cries, but He will not override a person's will. So, I pray for those who are living in opposition to seek Him while He may be found. I pray for those who are the cause of evil to reach the end of themselves. I pray for parents to become Godly parents, understanding right from wrong and teaching their children the same and how to respect others.

I pray for teachers to be adults with integrity to teach their students and not become physically involved with them. I pray for the students to be wiser and more interested in amassing an educating than in seducing or enticing or being enticed by their teachers.

I pray for preachers to be men and women of integrity, exercising wisdom given from on high, inspired to teach God's Word, based upon God's Word and His intent for all mankind. I pray for those attending churches--that they will read the bible for themselves and seek God for understanding, not allowing mere mortals to entice them away from God's intent.

I pray for all of mankind to receive God's love so they'll be able to love others and stop the killing. I pray for all of us to hear God when He speaks and that we will obey Him, in promoting the Gospel and loving one another.

I'm watching and waiting with hope in my heart to see change in hearts of people--that we'll do better and be ready when He returns. And while I'm waiting, I'm writing--trying to motivate others to live for The Lord in all things, seeing Him as the example as how we do it.

Saved From Enemies!

“I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies." (2 Samuel 22:4 NIV)

When people have been saved from disasters and they know The Lord, they understand God's saving grace in situations beyond their control. David knew The Lord and knew that it was The Lord who had saved him from Saul's relentless pursuit to kill him.

Let's step back for a second review the relationship between David and Saul. It was David who struck Goliath with a stone from his slingshot. It was David who was able to soothe Saul with his music ability. It was David who was loyal to Saul beyond measure and refused to kill him, even though he had a chance when Saul sought to kill David out of jealousy. The real issue here with Saul was his jealousy, which reigned over logic in his head and led to his destruction. Jealousy--the monstrous emotion resulting from insecurities that blinds people from seeing reality and is a tool of the enemy--Satan.

When Samuel anointed David as the next king over Israel--predictively--David was put on the road to notoriety and acclaim. He was a hero to the people, but a pain to Saul because the people exalted David--because of his military success over Saul, who was king.

How can someone who claims to love a person become their enemy? When a person is influenced by demonic influence, love won't stand a chance if the person who is influenced would rather express their desire to hold onto negativity.

Instead of taking the opportunities to kill Saul and become King as prophesied, David ran, formed his own armies, still fighting on the side of Saul's reign, but keeping far away from him. Throughout Saul's pursuit of David, David's faith in God did not fail and he knew he would be saved. When Saul was killed, David sang praises unto The Lord. In fact, during the pursuit, David wrote and sang many songs and we have access to some of them in the Psalms.

Now, the bigger question for us today is, when we are pursued by an enemy, do we sing praises unto our God or do we cringe in fear and hopelessness? Do we sing when we know we have been delivered and saved by that enemy that influences our fear and makes us feel abandoned?

I've learned to sing God's praises, no matter what is happening in my life. I may take a moment to be sad, but I straighten my back, hold up my head, and bellow the songs that are deeply embedded in my spirit--knowing that God has the last word over the things that happen in my life and I know--through Him, I will be victorious in the end. Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus for victory in every situation in my life--no matter how dark the night may be, morning is coming and with it--Sonshine (The Son will shine brightly and dissolve any despair in all types of weather) and new mercies! Glory to God! I am saved from my enemies!

Revelation and Rest!

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:27,28 NIV)

Prior to the resurrection, Jesus told those listening to Him that no one "knows" the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son "chooses" to reveal Him. Having heard about someone or recognizing their name or picture is far different than actually "knowing" them.

To know someone is to have an intimate knowledge of them. This is one of the reasons that the term "know" was used to explain the act of having sex. There are a number of people who claim to know a lot of people, but do they really know them? We have often heard that even for those who marry those they think they know, they don't really get to know them until they have lived with them.
One of the reasons there are so many divorces is because people don't really know who it is they're marrying. They may be Prince Charming or Princess Wonderful during the dating process, but then--everyone is putting their best foot forward and hiding all the stuff that is revealed once a marriage takes place. Then, they become Prince Godzilla or Princess Witch. If time had been taken to get to know them, a great deal of heartache and expense could have been avoided.

Being in a right relationship with someone--where no secrets are hidden--and everything is revealed--creates an environment of knowledge that can be used to make a decision about the continuing relationship. Relationship with God is far more important than religious observances. When we are in that intimate relationship with Him, we hear Him when He speaks and He guides us in all things.  Notice what Jesus is saying, only to those He chooses is the Father revealed before He arose. Now, Holy Spirit has been given and it is our choice to receive Him and accept all He has done for us, by getting to know Him through The Word.

Now, after we get to know Him, we can go to Him when we are tired and weary--not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Sometimes, our bodies are tired, because we are emotionally and spiritually spent. Being in this condition leads to depression and hopelessness. But we can go to Him and lay our burdens at His feet, leave them there and walk away refreshed and renewed--physically, emotionally, and spiritually--when we know Him and know He only wants the very best for us.

He has revealed The Father through all He has done as the Son, and if we choose to know Him on a very personal level, we can rest in His peace, never bothered by what is going on in the world because we know--we win in the end.

Never Forgotten!

On Sunday, February 15, 2015, the area in which I live, experienced a major service outage for those who have AT&T UVerse. We had no television, no phone, and no wireless access. Fortunately, our cell phones were working and we were able to maintain communication with the "outside" world.

With no Internet or television to distract me, I was able to complete tasks much faster and sooner than I might have normally completed them. I had time to read, to talk with my grandson and husband, time to think and time to pray. At first, I was irritated that I could not post my daily blog, but while I sat, thinking, I remembered how I could use the time. I thought about all those who "follow" my blogs and my inability to remind them I was thinking about them and praying for them and then I prayed.

Father, in the name of Jesus,

Look upon all who love You and respond to every need.

For those who need healing in their bodies, heal them from the crowns of their heads to the souls of their feet and every bone, organ, muscle, tissue, cartilage, and joint in between.

For those who need a financial blessing, pour out wisdom from on high to obtain and maintain financial security.

For those who are lonely, speak to their hearts and remind them they are never alone because You are always there.

For those who feel unloved, encourage them to turn to Your Word and see Love in every page and be filled with the love You pour onto us.

For those who are confused and living in doubt, break the shackles of uncertainty and confusion from their minds so they can think clearly, with the mind of Christ.

For those who are haughty and high-minded, thinking they do not need You, bring them to the end of themselves so they will acknowledge Your greatness.

For those who feel weak in their own strength, strengthen them by the power of Your love and infilling of Holy Spirit.

For those who have been out in severe weather, protect them and  keep them all harm, keeping them safe until they can reach shelter from the winds and elements that could kill.

For those who are determined to minister to Your people by any means necessary, keep them diligent and focused, and safe, blessing all they put their hands to in honor of You!

Whatever the need is, Lord, You can respond to it like no one else and we give You all the praise and glory because You are the only one worthy of it.

All of this we ask and thank You for doing in Jesus' name. In this moment, we declare it done! Amen!

Though I may not be able to communicate my love for you, know that I am always thinking and praying for God's best in the lives of all who love Him and are willing to obey His Word. You are never forgotten by me!