STORM IS COMING

When you begin this journey of walking with God, it will not always be a mountain top experience, there will be valleys and storms along the way, so be prepared. Yet there are times when the storms are so strong we think Lord if this continues one more day surely I will drown. That is when we have a choice either trust in Jesus or sink into the Sea of Despair. Look at the scripture below:

Luke 4:35-39
35 on the same day, when evening had come He said to them "Let us cross over to the other side" (this was a promise from Jesus they would get to the other side) 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him He was. And other little boats were also with Him (when they left His very presence was with them) 37 And a great windstorm arose,and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep. And they awoke Him and said to Him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? ( notice where Jesus is there is His Peace) 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea "Peace be still" and the wind ceased and there was a great calm (there is power in the name of Jesus)

The day you were truly born again, Jesus gave you a promise "I will never leave you nor forsake you" Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit is continually with us. He told us in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither be afraid" And again Philippians 2:9-10  Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven,and those on the earth, and of those under the earth. In other words at the mere mention of His name JESUS even the demons must flee, He will take over our storm and in the middle of it we will find peace.

Two years ago I had realized that I desired a closer walk with Jesus, it was a journey of trust and faith. One I really didn't know where the path would lead me personally but I was willing to go the journey. Recently while I was praying I heard myself say Lord what ever it takes I want to walk closer to you.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth I said "oh no" because when you pray "whatever it takes" expect God to run with it.

Needless to say, two storms began to emerge on me and I cried out to Jesus, I'm drowning. Sitting at church  a couple of Sundays later, it was a service to minister to our storms, as I listened God said very gently "Linda, it is in the middle of your storm that your will be walking closest to me, because in the storm I am with you, holding on to you I promise I will not let you drown."

I would like to say my storm ended with that, but it didn't. I asked my Lord how much longer and why is this so necessary. He send me to James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials 2 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance 4But let endurance have it's perfect work, that you may be mature and complete lacking nothing

Now I see Lord you are building endurance in me. There are times in our life that we must stay on Trust Street awhile, sometimes longer than we want. It is on this street of Trust that we see nothing changing, yet we still believe, we still trust, our faith is growing stronger, and yes our endurance is strengthening so when the next storm comes will will be prepared. We will have the testimony of our past storms to assure us God is still God and He is good.

As I prayed this morning, my Lord spoke very softly to me and said "Linda, I have seen your tears and I have heard your prayers, be assured this storm will not last, I have everything under my control."

This is word for anyone going through a storm in their lives. Storms, and valleys are only for a season. It is for our learning, for us to walk closer to our Jesus. That is why we can have joy in spite of the storm. We will get to the other side, be encouraged, press on, be steadfast, Jesus loves you and as His word says "greater is He that is in us, than  he that is in the world"

Be Blessed, Be Real. Someone is watching us who may not know Jesus, let them see Jesus in us in the middle of our storm.

Let The Fire Fall

With each day that we walk with Jesus, we should be walking closer to Him. With each passing day it should be more about Him and less about us. Yet, every now and then we need to do a self examination to see where we are in this journey of faith. So let us take a good look at who we are.

So often people will call themselves Christians because of a childhood decision that was made years earlier, yet nothing in their lives says Christ lives in me. The scriptures tell us that Jesus said "If I be lifted up (speaking of His death) then I will draw all men to Me." So if our lives lift up Jesus in how we speak, in what we watch, in what we say, how we behave, and in our lifestyle, then the lost will be drawn to us not because of who we are but because of who He is in us. Do you need help in this area?

Our title of this post is "Let the Fire Fall" often we sing this in our popular praise and worship music. One day as I was talking with my Lord and thinking of this song, Jesus spoke to my spirit and said "Do you know what you are asking for, when you pray for this?" Well, apparently I didn't because He went on to explain "My fire is a consuming fire it will consume everything that is not in Me, every thought, every action and every ministry that is not in Me and under My blood. It is also a purifying fire it will purify everything that is of Me." Are you ready for that He says, and I am asking you today are you ready for that. As I said yes Lord, I lay my flesh on the altar consume my flesh, consume any motive, any thought, any plan, any purpose that is not of You and purify me Lord in everything that is of You. Just let me say and testify the pain is the same whether it is the consuming fire or the purifying fire.

In the Old Testament whenever a sacrifice was placed on the altar God answered with fire. Remember Elijah and the priest of Baal, when Elijah placed the sacrifice on the altar God sent down fire it consumed the offering and even licked up the water around the offering.

Malachi 3:3  He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.

When you speak to one who refines silver he tells you this, In order to purify the silver to get rid of all infirmities I have to hold the silver over the hottest part of the fire. I have to sit an watch it continually so that it will not stay too long and become damaged. If asked how do you know when it has been in the fire long enough, the refiner will say that part is easy, when I see my reflection. What a picture that has been painted for the children of God.

Are you ready to move deeper in your relationship, are you ready to move deeper in your worship, are you ready to move deeper in your praise, are you ready to move deeper in your study of His holy word. Then pray Lord sent down the fire, I am ready Lord consume anything in me that is not of you and purify everything that is. God is ready to get His bride ready, are you ready?

This has been my prayer for awhile now and I am amazed at how God is moving and working in me and around me. I continue to pray this even now because I know that the out come of the finished work will be worth it all.

Paul prayed I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ Jesus lives in me.

I too, say crucify my flesh, I want more of Jesus and less of me. Thank you Jesus, for You are faithful and true.

The Day God's Mercy Saved Me

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the lord.

So do you understand that our praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are essential in our everyday walk? We praise Him for who He is: He is the creator, redeemer, savior, Lord, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega, He is faithful, just, holy, true and I could go on and on. He is worthy of all our praise in good times and bad times; because without Him we would be nothing, so did you wake up today? Then lift up your voice to praise Him and Him alone.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name

We thank Him for what He has done for us. Think about what has He done for you today? Why He saved me when I was lost and traveling the pathway to Hell, He will always love me, He will never leave me nor forsake me, He is faithful even when I am not, He is my provider, He watches over me in the night keeping evil from me and me from evil.

Psalm 91:5-6,10 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day 6.Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.10 No evil shall befall you. Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.

The above scriptures have taught me how to praise God and to be thankful for all He has given and done for me. Psalm 91 has been my prayer for His protection. It is this that I am praising God for and so thankful that His mercy saved me and enabled me to write this to bring Him Glory.

I live in a downstairs apartment. If you divided my apartment in half I actually have two apartments above me. As in most apartments there are times when noise from upstairs finds it way downstairs. But this time things were a little different.

My dining room table is also my desk; I use my laptop, and study the word there. Behind me is my china cabinet. You will usually find me here in the evening and then different times during the day.
At 2:30 am on Saturday morning August 4, 2012 I woke up. I said "Lord, what do I need to pray about and since my children were on the rode to Florida I prayed for their safety. Yet I just couldn't seem to sleep, I prayed, I tossed and turned and occasionally I would hear sounds of arguing from upstairs. At 5 am the thought crossed my mind "Well, you might as well get up, you aren't sleeping anyway, go get on the computer" so I sat up then the next thought came "Don't do it" so I laid down and in peace fell asleep. At 5:20 I was awakened by a loud BANG I got up and went to see what it could be. I found white powder all over my bible and laptop, so I looked up and to my horror and shock there was a bullet hole in my ceiling. It entered at just the right angle to send it pass my chair and hit and busted the door on the china cabinet the the bullet bounced into the,living room. If I had gotten up at 5 am I would have been struck by a 45 in the head. Evil of domestic violence was taking place upstairs and MY GOD spoke a word to me that caused me to lay back down.

Six weeks earlier, God had spoke a word to me to do something, I didn't do it at the time because I wasn't sure it was from me or Him. Afterward, I knew it was of Him and I said Lord I never want to disobey you again. I began to pray Lord let me be so in tune to you that when you say jump I jump, when you sit I sit, when you say move I move, when you say stay I stay. God said to me that when I began to pray for that He was beginning to work in me to prepare me to obey. You see obeying 3 little words "DON'T DO IT" would mean I would live and not die.

Where Am I Going?

I have found myself without a local church to worship at. Now what do I do? I began to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide me and direct me to the church of His choice for me. I visited several churches some more than once, and deep down inside I knew those were not the churches where I belonged.

I Corinthians 12:18 says: "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased"

As you begin to seek the direction and the church God would have you to go to remember the scripture above and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Often times we stay or go to a church because it is convenient to our home, or comfortable to what we are used to, we may like the seats, the singing and last but not least the pastor. But that is not the basis for why we should go there. We should be willing to be placed by God; Himself, into a body of believers as He has chosen. This may not be your first choice.

So how do you decide if this is where God wants you. When walking with Jesus, as you sit and listen to the word of God, the Holy Spirit will confirm in your inner man if this is where you need to be.

I have been at the my church now for a year and a half and I am truly in love with the body here. Yet, when I first sat down the very first time, I was diffidently out of my comfort zone. It was smaller than I was used to, yet a very pretty church, praise team and music was great, the anointing on the pastor was obvious, great message. But I was not used to such praise and adoration of Jesus during the praise and worship time. I stood there unsure of what was happening around me and at the same time I knew I liked it. It was right. People were honestly telling Jesus they loved Him and I found myself saying "I love you Jesus, I adore you" I knew I was home.

Following Jesus meant I left what I was used to and was willing to let the Holy Spirit guide me to the place He wanted me. I have never been happier, I am feasting on the Word of God each time I enter the doors, and I am serving my Lord as He directs me. I make no decision without asking Jesus first.

The Pruning Shears

To understand what I am about to say it is necessary to go back in time. In the 70's and early 80's I was a new christian, hungry for the word and listening to my pastor and teacher believing what they were saying without even a question. Then came what I call my "Wilderness Years" when I chose the pleasures of this world over my relationship with God. After repentance and coming back to my Lord I really began to dig into the word myself, seeking a closer walk with God. During this time I began to realize that through the years people had many times taken the scriptures out of context of how God had intended it. Sometimes people will say "that was for that time, it is not for today." I have even heard" people who do that are of the devil".

2 Timothy 3:16-17  "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work"

You see the three letter word "ALL" do you know what it means in the Greek you guessed it. It means exactly what it says "ALL". Every word written is as much for us today as it was for the early church. If it weren't God would have left it out, right?

Matthew 12: 31-32 " Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men,but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Powerful words Jesus is speaking. He was directing it to the religious leaders of His day, who had just said that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Satan. This warning is for all of us, maybe we don't understand something, perhaps we do not believe something but never give Satan credit for anything that may be of the Holy Spirit.

John 15: 1-2 " I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit"

When you are walking with Jesus, He will begin to show you teachings in your past that do not line up with His word. He will begin to prune these wrong teachings and wrong way of thinking out of your mind . Now you will need to replace this with the truth of God's pure word. This is called renewing your mind. It is a hard thing to realize that most of what you were taught in the beginning was error but awesome to also realize God is willing to spend time with you and teach the truth of His word. Yes, we need preachers and teachers these are gifts and callings Jesus has placed within the body (His church). Our responsibility is not to accept everything that is taught without first searching the scriptures for yourself. There are times when confirmation within your spirit will come from the Holy Spirit that this is right and sometimes He will tell you it is wrong, but mostly God wants you in the word so you will learn directly from Him.

This was the pruning of wrong things, but what about the pruning of right things. Yes believe it or not God will prune things out of your life that once was okay but now God says" I'm moving in you for something else, if you don't go with me now I will find someone else who is available and willing." This is what happened to me about one and half years ago.

I was happy and comfortable at my church. I loved the people, the message, the singing and I was serving God in many areas. Then I began to feel a stirring in me a restlessness and at times even a sadness I thought it was because I was grieving the death of my mother. Then I realized God was saying it is time to leave and I really didn't know how. I was afraid if I left I would not be used to serve again. But, finally I left. I did not leave in the way I should have but perhaps if I had not left at that moment I may not have left at all.

When I left, to follow Jesus, I said Lord maybe I just need to sit at your feet awhile and really learn from the Master. I had been pruned so I could bear more fruit.

Kingdom Living requires Kingdom Giving

This writing is about stewardship in God's economy. Fancy title for TITHE. One cannot walk with Jesus without dealing with how do we spend our money, how do we contribute financially into His kingdom through our local church, again another way to say " do you tithe".

Over the years I understood that according to the scriptures we are to tithe from the first fruits, this is 10% from our gross income. But for many years I looked at my debt and looked at my net and said " there just isn't enough" so I gave 10% of my net and called it a tithe. When the company I had worked at for many years decided to close its doors, I found myself 56years old and out of a job. I decided to become self-employed by cleaning houses and would also do cakes for different celebrations. I knew that in order for me to be successful at this I would have to tithe from my gross income. So I began my adventure, following Jesus and depending on Him to provide for my income. I tithed and when it seemed so small I would add an offering on top of it. But my finances were little and I seemed to be always living the "not enough" or "barely enough".

I would  pray that God would lead me and show me what I needed to be doing. People would testify how God was blessing them abundantly because of their tithing, and I would weep" Lord what is wrong with me, where is my sin." I reasoned since I  was struggling just to stay afloat then there must be sin in my life. I would listen very closely to each sermon hoping with each one I would understand what I was doing wrong. I prayed" Lord show me my sin so I can repent and turn from it." Then finally early one morning when it wasn't quite morning and I was not asleep yet not fully awake, God spoke this word to me.

"It is easy to serve me, it is easy to praise me, it is easy worship me, it is easy to give when you are on the mountain top. But I am looking for a people who will serve me, praise me, worship me and give when you are in the valley as well as the mountain top."

I knew this was for my growth for me to learn how to trust Him and not myself. For me to say this was easy to digest would be a lie, yet I knew I wanted to be a person who would keep on keeping on believing and trusting in Jesus and Him alone.

Eight years have past and I am still living in the "not enough" and the "barely enough". Sometimes I think if I hear Malachi 3: 8-11 one more time, or hear someone say "well I always tithe and God always meets my needs." I could scream. Does anyone understand what I am saying?

Yet, I remember the word God gave me and I cling to it. I know and believe it will not always be this way. Even now I am brought to tears, because there have been times when I just had to pay the bill and when I did that the tithe was gone and all I had was an offering. I would try to catch up but couldn't because then another bill or gas or groceries would take some more. I grieved because I felt like a failure. I would daily pray" Lord give the wisdom in how to use my money wisely". Then I would tithe and things would be fine for awhile. Then it would happen again. "Lord what do I do" finally He would say "Just as my mercy is new each morning, begin again anew". So I did.

3 John 2 says: "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers".

This is saying God does not want us live in lack in any part of our lives. Lack came into this world at the fall of man. Jesus has redeemed us from that. I believe this completely and absolutely, I may be in lack now but this is not forever, God will and is going to bring break through into my life. I just need to remain steadfast in my walk, in every area of my life: in my service, in my praise, in my worship and in my giving. God sees my heart He understands my desire to give and give some more and when I fall short He loves me and picks me up and says "begin again" and I do.

Do You Know Him 2012

Jesus Wept

In today's post I want to talk about the grief that will come into every christian's walk at some point. Grief can come in with the death of a loved one, the death of a marriage, the loss of a job, with children who have left you and the Lord to wander in a wilderness of their own making. Many things come into our lives to bring on grief, but today I want to talk about our grief in death of a loved one.

The most comforting verse in the scriptures at a time like this is: John 11:35 "Jesus wept" You see Jesus's good friend Lazarus had died, Jesus knew this and He also knew He was going to raise him from the grave, to show that He had authority over death, yet when He arrived He saw how his sisters, Mary and Martha were grieving, and feeling their grief Jesus wept with them. You see even when we don't understand and He does, even when we are in a dark hole, He feels our sadness He feels our sorrow and He weeps with us.

Christians should never get lost in our time of grief because it can bring a spirit of grief into our lives which will attempt to control us and bring in deep depression which will be hard to climb out of. We should always see the hope we have in Christ that one day we will see our saved loved ones again. Don't allow yourself to focus on regrets, or the whys or the what ifs. Just remember God is still God. He was with you before they died and He is with you

Going back to my early childhood; I was only 8 years old when the daddy I loved dearly died of cancer at the age of 40. In 1956 death was never really explained to children so I believed that since God had killed him He might kill me also. Now I know it is not God who kills; yet at 8 I could not see the difference. I decided I wanted no part of God and church I refused to go back to church until I became a teenager and then I went for the youth. I never really understood the gospel nor was I saved.

In an earlier post I shared how as I grieved in the death of my marriage I reverted back to the 8 year old and again said I want no part of God or church. My grief pulled me away from the loving Father into self and "poor little me".

Now I come to 2009 I am saved walking with Jesus and my mother who had been living with me for 10 years, was dying at age 93. How will I respond? My sister and I knew mother's wishes, so we made the decision to let her go at home. Mom was dying but not from any disease it was her time she lived long and was loved much. She was a hard working woman who cared for her family and helped us in more ways than I can tell. She had always been one to laugh and cut up with everyone, so it was hard to watch her drift away the last few months of her life. I sure am one who could have many regrets and satan likes to put them in my mind from time to time (like right now). No matter what difficulties we may have had from time to time I loved her and she knew it. From time to time I will say Jesus tell momma I love her and I know He does. All I can really say about grief is when it comes into your life hang on to Jesus He alone truly understands and the comforter, the Holy Spirit, will wrap Himself around us to get us through the moment. Remember the good memories and let Jesus get you through the sad memories.

Isaiah 53:3 " He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief...."

Let Jesus take your grief with Him on the cross and He will restore your joy. Everyone walking with Jesus will experience grief and He is the same, He will not leave you nor forsake you.

God bless each one who reads this post.

In the Potter's Hand

To walk with Jesus requires self-denial, it requires agreeing with God that He is the Potter and you are the clay, to seek God and Jesus actively each day. Is walking with God and Jesus in this way easy I would say No, but is it necessary for spiritual growth I would say Yes.

Matthew 16:24-25 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and pick up his cross and follow me. But whosoever desires to save his live will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

To deny yourself is to put aside my desires my way for the Kingdom of God. The cross is always a symbol of suffering and yes, the scriptures teach us that anyone attempting to live a godly life will be persecuted. It is also more than outside persecution, giving up of self can really hurt. It is saying Lord purge me, change me, mold me as you will, not my will but yours be done. You are the Potter I am the clay make me into the vessel of your choice to serve you as you desire not as I desire.

Isaiah 64:8 But now O Lord, You are our Father, and we are the clay, and You are our potter, and we are the work of Your hand.

What a marvelous place to be in the hand of a living God. Yet, so often we want to be the potter and shape our own lives.

In 1974 when I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior I set out to love Jesus and to learn what I didn't know about His holy Word. Looking back I see I learned what a lot of terms meant: Lost, Sinner, Saved, Redeemed, Justification, Sanctification, Glorification, Propitiation etc. But I didn't absorb or learn how to really walk with such a Holy God. But by 1998 I was getting ready to understand, walking required something from me.

Ephesians 4:22-24 explains that we are to put off the old man according to our former conduct. We are to put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness and we do this by the renewed spirit.

You see my responsibility was to stop behaving like I used to and as I applied the Word of God into my life my mind and spirit were being renewed and the new man created by God would come forth. If you think that this is easy or quick,well think again. Yes, God will take away certain things from us immediately but not everything. It is our job to deny self and pick up our cross and follow Him. He will not force us to change yet He will help us by exposing little by little the areas in our life that need immediate attention. It will take a lifetime of walking, praying, studying and obeying to even come close to getting the junk out of our life.

The hardest thing for me has getting control of my temper, it is now 2012 I am beginning to see some victory in this area. Remember I said "some". I am not who I was and yet I am not the finished product either. Here is a verse that just this last week God gave me some new insight and I will share this with you.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath,But a harsh word stirs up anger.

I have always looked at that verse as if I came into contact with an angry person and if I replied softly that their anger would cease. Yet, God said to me "Linda, when you become angry and you speak harshly it stirs up the anger inside of you and it kindles a fire you cannot control. But, if when you speak softly instead of harshly then the anger will disappear within you. This is about you Linda, not the other person Oh they may still be angry, yet you have not only stopped fueling their anger but you have stopped fueling your own anger and God's peace will remain in you in this situation." Losing the peace of God in bad situations can bring many regrets your way, trust me I know this for I have lived with many regrets. Yet, God has showed me in this last year I do not have time for regrets, they have been forgiven and washed in blood of Jesus, so move on you can't change the past but you can change the present. Worship God and learn to walk with Him by denying self and seeking Jesus. Your walk is just beginning enjoy the journey

Update from my last post: I told the story of how the Holy Spirit guided me to stop littering and be aware of the trash that was being thrown out in parking lots. It was a lesson I have been obedient in some 15 yrs later. God showed me just this morning why I had to learn this lesson. Are you ready, after the company I worked for closed, God led me to cleaning other people's homes as the source of my income. If I had not obeyed and picked up the first piece of thrown away paper, where would I be today? God has a reason for instructing us and that is to lead us to His plan and our next step.

Restored, Refreshed, Recomissioned

Isn't it wonderful that we have a God who restores, refreshes and recommissions. I was restored at the moment of repentance, I was refreshed as I sat in His house, as I studied His Word, and as I built our relationship in prayer.

I began to pray to serve my Lord and to use the gifts and callings He had placed in my life. To walk with God I had to understand the gifts the Holy Spirit had placed in my born again spirit. I already understood that I had the gift to teach His Word, and God was motivating me to study His Word so that I might teach it to others. The opportunity presented itself in the ladies Sunday school class I was in so that I was a co-teacher with one of the other ladies.

Obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit is also necessary in your daily walk (that is an area that I am truly learning more in today, and will speak more of in a later post.) Sitting in church one day they announced that they had a need for a director in the Awana children's ministry; which I promptly ignored, Then God said in my spirit "you do it" and I argued (I do that well) that surely Lord you did not want me to do that I reasoned it was just me wanting to do it and tried to dismiss it. But the Lord said "if it was something you wanted to do there would be no argument", So at invitation God said go tell him you will do it and me being me said do I have to in front of every one can't I do it after church? God said "I will not ask again" so I obeyed and was blessed to be director of the ministry for 8 years and learned how much I enjoyed sharing the Word and Jesus with children. If I had not been obedient to study, to take the position where would I be today? Through prayer God said Linda I want a ministry to begin at an assisted living near our church, so I obeyed and we not only went once a month on Thursdays, but had weekly bible studies and even began a Sunday school class there. A ministry I was a part of for more than 8 years and even though I have since left this church the ministry still continues.

I am going to back up a little, the very first time I remember the Holy Spirit saying to do something was in the parking lot where I worked. You see like some people I didn't mind throwing trash out on the parking lot after all they had a sweeper come every night to clean up. This time when I threw a piece of paper down God said "pick it up" and believe it or not I did any time I would start to throw down something the Holy Spirit would say " don't do it" and I didn't, then I started picking up other people's trash along the way. What if I hadn't obeyed, where would I be today? Fifteen years later I am still obeying this one.

John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.

John 15:12" This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you."

The entire bible is the Word we are to live by completely and absolutely. Yet we do this in a love relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and that love relationship extends to everyone around us. Let us love one another forgiving one another as Christ has loved and forgiven us.

Today's post ends with two thoughts:
1.Learn what your gifts and callings are. Put them into practice in your life.

2.Obedience to the Holy Spirit's direction is crucial in your daily walk

A Bright New Day

This one will be quite long since I really want to move beyond this part of my story. Last time I left it that was at crossroads in my life; I would love to say that I chose the right path and continued my daily walk with God,  but I chose the pleasure of sin rather than the presence of God. 

Luke 15:11-32 tells the parable of the lost son, many know the story but I suggest you go back and refresh your memory. Jesus secured salvation and all the promises of God through His death, burial and resurrection, His very blood cleansed me and made me a joint heir Galatians 3:13-14 says
"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us(for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."  that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus. that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." and
2 Peter 1:4 "by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."  Our inheritance goes beyond eternal life, it is that we have the promises of God contained in His Word imparted to us through the shed blood of Christ, when we align our life around His Word and His promises. This is what I threw away.

Chasing the world, the flesh and the devil always comes with a price. I was in torment the word rage can not even describe what was going on in me and screaming it's way out. My sinful condition was so grievous that I even tried suicide. Yet, God's mercy kept me.  Still I had come to believe this was my lot in life, no one loved or wanted me, so settled for much less. I sunk deeper and deeper into the filth of the world (the pig pen) I was unfaithful to my God, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit. I played the role of a harlot and hated myself but couldn't seem to stop (addiction). 4015 days later I came to my senses and began the journey home. I said how can God still love me after all I have done and said, my repentance was real and sincere and just like the prodigal son God was waiting right where I had left Him and as I started back He came to meet me wiped the tears away and washed the filth of my life clean.

I asked God to show me that He loved me and He did. For the next 365 days I sat in church feasting on the Word, I was back in studying the Word, back to establishing my prayer life. Yet, I was very weak from the years of famine so God poured out His love on me by keeping evil from me and me from evil. Supernatural things happened that year to keep me pure of heart, mind and body. Then when I became stronger I said Lord give me the strength to say no, so all of this will be permanently behind me and sure enough He did and a bright new day was on the horizon.

Some would say that by grace I was eternally secure, others would say because I left God I was now lost. This issue I will not debate, I have found many scriptures supporting both. In fact one Is the story of the prodigal son. I will say this God cannot look upon sin, He was not with me when I was playing the harlot in the world. Yet, He is a wonderful Father who kept watch for me to come back to Him and came to meet me when I was on my way. He is a God of second chances. A God who never stopped loving me, my condition is between me and Him. For I am His and He is mine.

At a Crossroad Which Way Do I Go

As I said earlier I had been saved for 12 years and my life was becoming a great struggle. I was turning 40 and felt unloved, unwanted, unappreciated and unlovely (lot of un's). Instead of growing closer to my Lord I was drifting further away, I had begun to blame God for all that was happening to me and my marriage (after all Linda could never be to blame). Depression had settled in, divorce was on the horizon and someone in the wings was saying I want you, I appreciate you, I think you are pretty. What do I do everything in me had been taught this is wrong, he is someone else's husband. Misery set in, I'm now divorced, two young girls to take care of, lonely beyond imagination, and someone is saying "I want you, I appreciate you, I think you are pretty." I felt rejected by my husband and abandoned by God. Instead of calling on God for strength I said" I will not pray, I will not read the blble, I will not go to church, because God did not keep me from temptation. With all the I will's who do you think was pouring that into my head? At a crossroad what did I do?

The Trap of the Enemy

After I was born again, I immediately bought a Bible (red leather King James), found a church, got involved in bible studies. In fact the first book I read after salvation was the book of James and was thrilled that I could understand it especially chapter 3. You see I had a foul mouth, and through the grace of God He cleaned it up first. I brought a lot of baggage in with my relationship with Jesus and a little at a time He started removing them. I was so excited about Jesus and my new life that I bubbled, and was anxious to tell people about Jesus, heaven and hell. Being married to an unbeliever and as more children were born, I began to grow weary. I could not understand why my husband refused salvation and he couldn't stand my new way of thinking and living. I was learning and believed I was maturing, yet satan had a snare, a trap was waiting for me. Twelve years of praying for my husband and being tore down for what I believed was dragging me closer and closer into the enemy's trap:  2Timothy 2:24-26  "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance,so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." 4,380 days have gone past. You think I would be walking closer with God, but am I?

Finding Christ

Since I really have never done this before I really do not know where to begin. The purpose of this blog is to share my walk with God.

In 1974, at the age of 27, I had been searching for sometime for an answer to the void I had in my life. Then at the right time, the right moment God placed my own sister in front of me and I noticed there was a change in her(a change for the better) listening to her and watching her; I realized what she had was what I needed. I finally asked her what is going on why have you changed? She began to tell about the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and as she talked conviction fell on me and I repented and surrended my life to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wasn't that great and life was happy everafter; not hardly. That is only the first step, salvation is free Jesus paid my debt. 2Corinthian 5:21 " He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"  Day one and all is well.