Tag Archives: Jeremiah

You’re Almost There…

24 Sunday Dec 2017

Posted by in Hebrews, Jeremiah, John, Matthew, Philippians

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What inside of you needs to be birthed?  What vision?  What dream has God given you to further the Kingdom that you keep telling God is for someone else?

You’re Almost There

The Holy Spirit put something inside of Mary that she not have conceived for herself.  He imparted on her the Living Word of God (John 1:1-5) and inspired into her a hope for eternity. How many times do you think she wanted to give up?  To throw her hands up in defeat?  To say, “This is to hard”?  Yet, each day, God manifested in the physical the dream that she could no longer deny as she grew daily with the promise and fulfilled her purpose.

You’re Almost There

You constantly talk yourself out of the one thing that will set captives free and you release yourself from the call; but, if you are new in Christ, then you are chosen (Matthew 22:14)  to hear the voice of God and obey. A willing heart on this lonely road of walking in blind faith is all God requires of you.  The person next to you and their opinion is of no matter. Trust the Father to provide for your every need and provision.  Everything worth having costs something.

You’re Almost There

The wait is unending, beloved, and the pain of THIS labor is excruciating, I know.  But God will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).  You are giving birth to the hope for people you may never meet and leaving a legacy for eternity.

A new life…an answered prayer…a living dream…the end of  a journey signifying the beginning of something else…death must flee…

You’re Almost There

Dream big, my friend! It wouldn’t be your dream unless God gave it to you and He who began a good work in you will see it to completion…(Philippians 1:6)

You’re Almost There

Jeremiah 31:31-34 – 

“The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.

33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

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Sick and Tired

28 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by in 2 Corinthians, Jeremiah

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I have been just sick (in my head) the past few weeks and at home alone with just my thoughts. Prime playing ground for satan and his minions to come in and start talking smack…ABOUT EVERYTHING. I am listening to words whispered in my ear saying, “Who do you think you are? You aren’t good enough to even be sitting here. What is your purpose anyway? You can’t even remember to do the simple things. You are no good to anyone. Why aren’t you writing? Or reading? Because you are WEAK.”

sick2Terrible, right?!?!? MY GOD!! Sick, sick, SICK. The battle begins in my mind and I am on a course for self-destruction if I don’t start looking to His word for HEALING, in my body and my mind.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 – The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Every thought, even ones I don’t even realize I am having, need to be taken captive and given to Jesus. Deceiver get up under MY FEET! You have no place here.

sick1Jeremiah 1:19 – “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

God is with me and He will see me through. I am going to give THANKS today! THANK YOU LORD! God knows what I need and when I need it and I was moving pretty fast so maybe it was time for me to stand still.

sick32 Corinthians 12:9-10 – But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Rock Bottom

29 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Judges, Psalms, Zechariah

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rockbottom4Gosh, how many times did I actually hit rock bottom? Too many to count. Everyone has a different bottom depending on which pit they fell into and how they got there and what it means for them to be stuck. Me? I jumped into my pits head first, knowing exactly what I would find down there. Sure, I blamed others for pushing me in. In doing so I bought myself some time so I could hang out down there and start decorating my mud walls and making it “home”. By the time I felt like I had enough, I would beg someone to pull me out and dust me off only to go jump right back in when it got too hard and the clarity of my mind became clouded with doubt, insecurity, oppression, fear, guilt, shame, remorse, and good ole self-loathing. I should have built a diving board on the side of my pit so at least I could practice my slick beautiful moves and at least TRY to look good jumping into that despair that always waited for me at the bottom. A swan dive is much prettier than a belly flop but both have the same result. They both land me in a strangely uncomfortable place….ROCK BOTTOM.

rockbottomHere is what I DIDN’T know. There is a trap door in the bottom of the pit put there by the enemy. Before long in the pit, boredom sets in for me and I go on a hunt for new adventure (as if my current adventure wasn’t destructive enough). I find the trap door of temptation and hop right in to a much dirtier, much darker place with no comfort at all, no curtains to hang here, no pictures on the wall. It took a lot more effort, but I eventually got out. The next time I jumped in I went straight through THAT door and through another, then another, and ANOTHER. My rock bottom became so low that I couldn’t even see a sliver of light. No hope.

Genesis 26:25 – Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

rockbottom2Dig your well, nourish yourself for once from the living water God gave you. Pitch your tent and CALL ON GOD!! Don’t jump in. It’s a wet, cold, dark, musty place and it isn’t your home!! Obey God no matter what everyone else is doing or saying. His voice and opinion is the only One that matters!

Zechariah 13:9b – They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, “They are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is our God.”

You can read Zechariah about visions and prophecy at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Zechariah

To further your reading, consider this from:

Judges 6:6-10 -Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help. 7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: I brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

Take responsibility for my own actions? That was a new concept. God has always gone before me. He has never left me. Even when I was lost to sin and a foot soldier for the enemy, God was with me. I CHOSE to jump into my pits. I CHOSE to disobey and then call out to God from rock bottom. I did that AFTER I jumped in and not before. One of the greatest lessons I have learned in all of this is to reach out BEFORE taking my Olympic game worthy leap into the pit.

Related Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:12; Psalm 50:15; Isaiah 48:10

Don’t Forget THAT…

12 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by in Colossians, Hosea, Jeremiah, Luke, Matthew

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For all the women out there who have children, you know having a baby is tough. It’s incredibly painful, it’s long and drawn out, it is the most exhausting 9 months we ever go through. Going into labor can last a couple of days then giving birth is the hardest thing a female body can endure. But the second it is over and there is a bundle of squirming joy in your arms, all is forgotten. The thoughts of swollen ankles, weight gain, sleepless nights, incontinence, fear, emotional upheaval, weird cravings; and most importantly, THE PAIN, is lost to the joy.

pain8There is the moment where I thought I was crazy when I was holding my firstborn son. I thought to myself that it wasn’t that bad and I was ready to do it all over again. It’s the same for a lot of people getting clean and finding the Lord. It’s easy to forget where I was, where I came from, how bad it hurt, how I almost died; how I lost my family, my children, my home, my things, and my soul to the streets. I CAN’T AFFORD TO FORGET.

pain7I was reminded this week by a long string of unrelated (yet related) events that had me thinking hard about how very grateful I am to the family and staff of Jacob’s Well. They put up with so very much; yet, they see women walk away and NEVER TURN BACK TO GIVE THANKS. The staff of Jacob’s Well still gives hope, they give of themselves, they sacrifice their families, they sacrifice their time, and they help people get HEALED. They help birth the baby! They wipe our sweaty brows, they coach us through the pain, they hold our hands through the labor, they are right there in the delivery room!! Yet some women walk away and forget that they left their bundle of joy at the door. This is a very small percentage, but it happens all the time.

Hosea 11:1-4 – “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.

level-of-gratitudeFacebook is a horror to look at some days because of the sadness I see in girls I sat right next to. Some end up back in jail, prison, homeless, lost to the world, lost to themselves, and some even in the grave. I’m not judging them, I have no right to. I hurt for them. The pain out here in the real world has been here for me the whole time. It’s my CHOICE whether or not to pick it back up and hold onto it. For me it was when the pain far exceeded the pleasure that I had to change for life or lose my life and it took me over 20 years to get to that point.

I want to grow in God’s grace. I want to thank Him even when He doesn’t ask for it. I want to learn from the pain and never go back. Childbirth is a beautiful thing so we choose to do that time and again. God gave us the gift of forgetting so we would continue to be fruitful and multiply. I thank Him for that! Nearly losing my life in the process of “birthing” my pain on the street is a whole other ball game. Yet, He STILL gives me the gift of forgetting. I don’t want to forget THAT pain. I will go right back to it, just like I would go right back to childbirth, if I choose to forget.

I challenge anyone reading this who has either graduated Jacob’s Well, or know someone who has, to give thanks today. Post a comment here or reach out on your own. Give thanks and pray for the people who so freely gave of themselves to help give those of us that were suffering a hope and a future. They aren’t asking for it, they never do, but THEY DESERVE IT. I pray blessings over the Ministry, over the staff, over the Haynes, Brogan, and Tilghman families. I pray blessings over every single girl who has made the hardest decision of their life to step foot over the threshold of that beautifully anointed place and that safe haven for greatness. I pray for those out there in pain that they find the strength to make another turn when their mile markers come up. I pray they go in the direction God chooses for them. And I pray for the girls that are out there doing everything they can to walk their salvation out with fear and trembling. They are all courageous. They are all inspiration. They are all world changers. They are STRONG! Give them ALL guidance and love them as only You know how, Lord. Continue to show them who You are. Amen.

pain5You can read Hosea 11-14 about Hosea’s wayward wife and the prophecy against Israel at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Hosea

To further your reading, consider this from:

Luke 17:11-19 – Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

There are a couple of points behind this scripture. The one (the only one) who came back was a Samaritan, despised by the Jews, an outcast. I was despised by a lot of people and I was definitely an outcast. But I was healed anyway. I was released from my pain and my prison and I was given hope. Lepers had to go before priests to prove that they were cleansed of their disease and Jesus sent them off BEFORE they were cleaned. They went in faith, so He healed them as they walked away. They believed. They took off, pain and all, horrible disease and all, and believed. The six months I spent at Jacob’s Well were a lot like this. I knew I was sick, I knew I was in pain, but I believed that I could be healed, so I did things in faith before I saw the evidence. Here is the sad part…of the ten, only one returned to thank Him. My study bible says this, “It IS possible to receive God’s great gifts with an ungrateful spirit.” WOW. I am so grateful.

Related Scriptures: Colossians 3:16; Matthew 2:15; Jeremiah 18:15

Resist the Urge

09 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by in 1 Corinthians, 1 Thessolonians, Hosea, Jeremiah, Romans

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I used to think that I could never be set free. Temptations would come at me and I would jump on them like they were running away with precious things of mine. I tackled temptation head on. Because it FELT GOOD to be bad. Silly, right?!?! I was so entangled by my sin, that I found pleasure in things that were killing me. It wasn’t until the pain exceeded the pleasure that I realized there was something very, very wrong with me. The pain of my consequences was there even while I was trying to seek pleasure. I was being haunted by the repercussions of my actions on a minute by minute basis. I was lost. I was hungry, I was angry, I was lonely, and I was tired. Time to HALT and seek the face of Jesus. Temptations are still there. The devil doesn’t come to you with his red face and horns, he comes to you disguised as everything you ever wanted. That is truth! There is always an open door. It is a way out of every sticky situation we find ourselves in. Sometimes it isn’t very easy to find, especially in our culture (or pit) of sin-inducing pressures.

temptation3Hosea 6:10-7:2 – I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.

11 “Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,

7 1 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
They practice deceit,
thieves break into houses,
bandits rob in the streets;
2 but they do not realize
that I remember all their evil deeds.
Their sins engulf them;
they are always before me.

temptation5How silly are we to think that God doesn’t see and doesn’t know? All temptation is common to ALL mankind, meaning I am not alone. I may feel like I am the only one going through things but it is COMMON to all man. So there are others who face temptations just as I do? I would be selfish to think it’s all about me! But I have thought that way before. When we fail at things, or think we fail, we put pictures back up on the mud wall of our pits and decorate the floors with lavish rugs. Why?

Running from temptation is heroic in my eyes. I KNOW when I am being tempted. It’s not a secret, I just pretend it is. The problem comes when I see the BIG open door with bells and whistles and this lights up like the forth of July in radiant colors! What I fail to see if I choose to walk through it is the tiny little with it’s unpretentious frame, its modest handle, and its minimal adornments. That’s my way out and sometimes it is uncomfortable, so I choose to stay stuck. However, we cannot stay where we are and go with God at the same time. I would rather run in circles in a room with it’s big fancy door offering my temptation as long as I am running away than to step through it. Eventually I will find the right door because God says it is there and I believe His Word.

temptation7You can read Hosea 6-10 about Hosea’s wayward wife and the prophecy against Israel at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Hosea

To further your reading, consider this from:

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 – So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

I live in a sinful world and evil is all around me. I can avoid tempting situations and concentrate on obeying God but I have to be able to put Him FIRST in all I do!! I have to stand in front of that beautiful door with it’s flashing lights and pray for Him to show me the way. And He will!!!!

Related Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Jeremiah 14:10; Romans 11:20

Process to Promise

08 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by in Hosea, Jeremiah, Joshua, Psalms

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So many times in past situations I caught glimpses of promises on the horizon and I in turn did everything in MY power to make it happen…NOW. I was a master manipulator of time, resources, and people, and a very impatient one at that. Without fail, every single time, someone would get hurt in my unwillingness to go through the process.

process2There absolutely has to be opposition before opportunity (thank you Susan Brogan) and I always went against the grain, never doing what I was called to do, which was to wait…patiently. There is that word again. “Patient. Patient. Patient. Just do what I have asked you to do RIGHT NOW Julie and be PATIENT, even if it doesn’t make sense.”

process3Do you remember, in Genesis, what happened between the petty jealousy of Sarai and Hagar? (Refer to Genesis 16:1-10). Sarai (later Sarah) jumped ahead of her promise and people were truly hurt in the process. The blame game instinctively ensued because, HEY, didn’t Adam and Eve start that crazy train rolling? Hagar then had the first of TWO desert wilderness experiences. Her first instinct was to run when the heat came on. I’m sure she didn’t fully enjoy being given over to the husband of a woman she loved and looked up to and served everyday. Wouldn’t you be upset, being prostituted out for someone else’s selfish gain? Sarai proceeded to take matters into her own hands, interfered with God’s plan, then refused to admit her error. And Hagar, I’m pretty sure, didn’t like to be told to go back the way she came and have her own time of waiting in submission.

process4Hosea 2:14-15 (NIV) – “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a valley of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”

I’m not going to lie. I completely see the big picture here and I am taking heed to the warning placed before me. I can so easily relate to both women in their struggle to find inner peace. I need to work on MY attitude while in the waiting, trust that God knows best and His timing alone is impeccable, remember His promises when the temptation to flee is so great, and when the enemy comes a knocking, to rely solely on the voice of God to lead me to the proper destination. He always provides a way out and the process is just that…a way to get to the intended destiny God has for us.

process1You can read Hosea 1-5 about Hosea’s wayward wife and the prophecy against Israel at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Hosea

To further your reading, consider this from:

Joshua 1:9 (NIV) – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Even when we are walking completely blind, we can rest assured that God has been this way before, or He would never lead us down the path, regardless of how strange it looks. BE STRONG!

Related Scriptures: Joshua 7:24; Psalm 27:1; Jeremiah 1:8

Writing on the Wall

06 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Daniel, Exodus, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Psalms

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“You knew all of this, and yet you still did not heed the warning. You saw, with your own eyes, the demise of those around you, but you chose to turn the other way. Why?”

What if these were the words you heard as you stepped into heaven and spoke to our Lord for the first time face to face? How would that make you feel? Would it cause you to make better choices today?

Daniel 5:22-30 –  “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

writing125 “This is the inscription that was written:

mene, mene, tekel, parsin

26 “Here is what these words mean:

Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

We are but a wisp in the air of time and space. What makes us think that we still have tomorrow? Can you read the writing on the wall? I grew up in the church, I heard the word of God, but it was like jibberish to me. I did understand the stories, I could not comprehend the meaning, I felt like I was learning something just to learn it but had no idea how to apply it. The same happened with Belshazzar. He knew the writing on the wall, but had no clue how to interpret. Why? Because the Holy Spirit was not with him. He had chosen to not follow the one true God. What can you do differently to interpret the meaning behind what God is trying to tell YOU? What are you choosing not to heed this day? Whose blood is on your head for you not speaking out against the things of evil?

You can read Daniel 5-8 about Daniel in the Den of Lions at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Daniel

To further your reading, consider this from:

Psalm 62:9 – Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.

“I’m in a higher class.” “I have more money.” “I am a different race.” “My religion is better than yours.” We hear these things daily, Christians turning against one another because of pride and prestige, two things that will get us nowhere when God comes to balance us on His scales of want. We are just a breath, so make the most of it by honoring God in all you do.

Related Scriptures: Jeremiah 27:7; Habakkuk 2:19; Exodus 10:3

Take a Stand

05 Monday Sep 2016

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stand8Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV) – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us  from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Have you ever been in a spiritual fire so hot that you know beyond of shadow of a doubt that there is no way you could possibly survive? I’ve been placed into several furnaces, most of the time by MYSELF. Other people have thrown me in, out of sheer anger toward the behavior that I was displaying that sent everyone around me packing. Sometimes I am thrown in against my will, sometimes I jump in head first knowing full well what I am getting myself into. I’m soon to be thrown into another, but there is no need to defend myself when I know the truth.

stand7Isaiah 43:1-2 (NIV) – But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

WHEN…It says WHEN, not IF. Here is the thing. When we are walking in the will of God, and when opposition rears its ugly head, we are not back down. However, and here is the kicker, we must submit humbly to authority in every situation because the truth never needs defending. The TRUTH, not the silly lies we tell ourselves to get by and manipulate situations for our benefit. Hello?!?!?!

stand2We are also called to take a stand. There are so many dead churches in the world, people filling pews and claiming to know God through their words but missing the boat completely through their actions. Who is taking a stand for God? Are you only doing it when it suits you and times are easy? Or are you taking a stand when other peoples egos and pride are causing them to lash out at your very existence? I am talking to myself here. I fight against pride and ego on a daily basis that comes from the inside of ME. Who am I to judge? I only see it because I got it but I know now what to recognize so I don’t cast other unsuspecting souls into the blazing furnace. Are you like me and react on instinct and forget to praise? The enemy of our souls wants us dead, but we can stand up with NO FEAR and walk in the truth and authority given to us by Jesus Christ. I am not afraid. Let the fires rage. I trust and believe in the promise of God.

You can read Daniel 1-4 about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Daniel

To further your reading, consider this from:

stand10Jeremiah 1:8 (NIV) – 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

What are we afraid of? Them? Yourself? The lady playing piano in the front of church with her judgmental stares? The pastor preaching condemnation and fear to lead those to repentance? The ex-spouse spitting and ranting from the other side of a courtroom? Or are we standing boldly in reverence to our Lord and Savior no matter the situation? Who do YOU stand for? What is your legacy?

Related Scriptures: Psalm 27:1-2; Joshua 1:5; Ezekiel 2:6

Restoration

01 Thursday Sep 2016

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I know a woman who is very close to me who was struggling against the restoration of her family. She has a sister who had written her off years ago and she prayed for her sister daily. Other members of her family came back into the fold after many years of watching their beloved (the woman) run head first into pits designed to keep her in bondage. After her recovery and after watching to see if it would happen again, forgiveness and love began to be the cornerstone of all their relationships, except for this one cherished, lost relationship between sisters and friends. Forgiveness and love were there, but that was it. Nothing more was made available by either party as to the words of encouragement these sisters used to share, the long nights on the phone talking about life and love, the trust. All of that was gone. Until…

restore3Ezekiel 39:25-29 –  “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

restore2God is in the business of restoring things. Recently, these two sisters, not by any choice of their own, were reunited in a family environment and eyes were opened to the truth. Healing took place, revelation of the future ran aground, and each saw from their own vantage point that their battle was not against flesh and blood. God promises to restore to us all the years the locusts have eaten and in one recent conversation, both women were able to share everything that had taken place in their lives since their last positive encounter over 10 years ago. The Holy Spirit of God poured out, overflowed, and manifested in the hearts of two women who love each other dearly. They were gathered back to one another and each were no longer in exile. Praise the Lord for He is awesome!

You can read Ezekiel 39-43 about Ezekiel’s call to prophecy and the vision of sin and judgment at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Ezekiel

To further your reading, consider this from:

restore1Joel 2:25 – “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you.”

That who sent among us??? GOD! He sent the army that devoured everything in sight? But WHY?? So that we would know that ALL good things come from Him alone and we cannot do anything in our own strength. He allowed it to bring us closer to HIM! The crops that were harvested long ago were eaten by the massive swarm that was unrelenting. The fields lay empty and we set aside every dream and let them die only to see them live again! God promises restoration.

I have to remember in the process of waiting that I am God’s servant, NOT His advisor. Hope surrounds me…the consistent expectation of what is to come.

Related Scriptures: Jeremiah 33:7; Micah 4:4; Psalm 126:3

Heart of Flesh

24 Wednesday Aug 2016

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I am acutely aware of my heart beating inside my chest. I can put my hand there, close my eyes, and picture the chambers moving in perfect succession to one another, blood pumping from one chamber to the next and flowing freely through my veins, giving life as it passes through each article of my being. I am also acutely aware that the spiritual part of my heart that I cannot see is broken. It isn’t shattered beyond repair, but the band-aid I keep putting on it continues to get ripped off and there is a deep wound that can only be healed by one gentle touch from my Savior. Everything that I do, every decision that I make, every word that I speak, comes from the heart and when it is broken, then my actions are also broken. Hurting people hurt people. When am I going to really get that memo? The life blood that flows through me needs to be pure and the only way for that to be so is to allow the craziness to surface so that I can receive healing.

heart4People think of idols these days as the things that mankind used to worship on high mountains that kept them from the Lord. They refuse to see that the idols in today’s world look far more different than the things of long ago. We worship things today and we don’t even realize it. We make idols out of our finances, our materialistic possessions, our family members, relationships with others, and even our own selves. We idolize people, places, attractions, and even feelings. This idolatry has us making decisions and doing things completely out of character and we wonder why our lives are in shambles.

Ezekiel 11:17-19 – “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’

18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. 19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

heart8There is a story I once heard of woman picking a potato. It sure did look clean and healthy to eat on the outside…until she cut into the hollow black core that had been rotted away from the inside out. So many people LOOK good on the outside, but what is inside holds a dark secret that the plastic smile and upbeat attitude hides so well.

Ezekiel was called to bring the people back to repentance. I am so tired of visiting churches who sing a few songs and have a feel good message that sends people away unchanged. I am sick of seeking pastors standing in front of a congregation and calling for them to come and find new hope, to pray at empty altars, and to make a new decision and those pastors end up standing up there alone. Why? Because we are a people with hardened hearts. The majority of “Christians” today are walking around with barely enough blood flowing through them they can hardly stand up. And I am talking about the blood of Jesus that brings fire and anointing and passion and compassion and hope and words of revival to those in darkness. For ever action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. What you put in, you get out. What you idolize will manifest in your life. What is your singleness of purpose? Are you content with your ONE GOD? What does your heartbeat sound like?

heart7You can read Ezekiel 11-15 about Ezekiel’s call to prophecy and the vision of sin and judgment at www.biblegateway.com. What a testimony to God’s favor and mercy upon us all! Join in the discussion by posting comments or questions below and let’s do this together!! #ReadtheBible #bgbg2 #BibleGateway #newbeginnings #Ezekiel

To further your reading, consider this from:

Psalm 139:23-24– Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Rebellion begins with dissatisfaction, then complaining, bitterness, and resentment. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Being discontent with what I already have will cause me to lose it without gaining what I desire the most. My wasted efforts in trying to prove my heart to those who could care less about it and keeping up appearances would have been much better spent on finding God’s answers to my troubling situation. HELLO?!?!?!

My situation is not impossible. My heart beats for the promises of God, even when I can’t see the answers. Patience is a beautiful heart virtue that symbolizes trust and I’m patiently learning patience. Fear can no longer crush the life blood of Jesus that flows through my me, but I first have to face reality and allow healing to begin.

Related Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 3:3; Zechariah 7:12; Jeremiah 32:39