unthinkable

Yesterday was a little thought stretching on what we might consider obstacles.

Today, imagine yourself in the journey with Mary and Joseph when they hear what God has in mind for them…

“You will be with child”- but I’m a virgin!
A quiet divorce – “Keep her as yours!”

How would you advise them?

Mary was told she was “highly favored” yet she could be stoned because of this pregnancy. She still said, “Let it be unto me according to Your word.” Joseph was ready for separation but heard the Lord in a dream – STAY.

Mary and Joseph listened, trusted and moved in faith. The simplicity from John 10,

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

 

I pray you will seek His voice and find a new measure of comfort and knowledge of His great love for you. That He also desires for you to birth something more amazing that you could ever dream (not necessarily a child.) It’s not about the obstacles seen on this earth but about His heavenly plans laid out before you were even born. Trust that He knows you more intimately than you know yourself and that you are filled with all the fullness of God. 

Using both the Luke 1 and Matthew 1 stories of Joseph and Mary. You might even see how you might advise Elizabeth and Zechariah with the obstacles in their part of the story. 

obstacles

This word brought more than I could “fathom”.

Do you feel earthly life should have no obstacles?
Can Christ followers expect an easier life? 
Are some obstacles acceptable?

As I study the Word, I see how my view of life on this earth has been in error. As I minister to and walk with hurting and stuck people, I recognize places I am still there too. I return to repent and seek His wisdom and revelation.

Thankfully He is generous through the Bible and sharing when we listen!

Yes, His Word does say we will do immeasurably more… Eph 3:20
But I also read those verses many glance past…

In this world you will have trouble… John 16:33
You are blessed when you are persecuted… Matthew 5:11
Count it all joy when you face trials… James 1:2

As we come into the Kingdom with our yes to Jesus, we are now not only of this world but also a threat.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16

God gives wisdom generously. His answers are the only ones that will bring the peace needed when the obstacles seem too large.  Ask – seek – knock…

 

you are

…you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

Looking in our mirror we often see flaws and failings, but that isn’t our TRUE reflection.

We really should be asking God what He sees in us?

In Christ, we have been made new.
In Christ, we are redeemed.
In Christ, we are more than conquerors.

We are not our past, we are not our circumstances, we are not our job or family. We are each made in His image and likeness. Unique. We are not designed to be like everyone else but to be more and more who He created us to be. It’s not about what we once were, but what we are becoming.

I’d like to challenge you to seek His perspective and ask Him to share how He sees you. You are His beloved, His chosen one and He wants to share His heart with you.

 

dare to ask

Spirit Dance

I know God has many places in His Word that say IF we do something, HE will do something but do you ever put conditions on God in your prayers?

God if you will heal, help, stop, change…
then I will………

Some might say that isn’t how you should pray – I would usually agree, but I’m seeking a bit more understanding on this after considering Jacob’s wrestling match and the many places Moses would put conditions before God.

If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth? Exodus 33:15-16

Thankfully, God is not afraid of our questions. In fact HE likes them!!

I definitely realize that God is Holy, Creator of All, but He also wants a “relationship” of intimacy with us. We don’t get to know anyone without asking and listening.

If all we know is the fear, awe and reverence of God, do we really know Him?

Have you every asked God, “What’s on Your heart today Lord?” 

Try it – see what He has to say to you today – or maybe ask it everyday. He definitely has a lot to share if we will give Him room to speak.

no quitting

Sometime reading scriptures, it’s more self-condemnation than heavenly revelation.

You have not because you ask not. (James 4:2) Or maybe I did ask with wrong motives…search me God – You know my heart, see if there is any more ICK in it. (Psalm 139:23)

My prayers are not answered as “I assumed” so something must be wrong with me because nothing is wrong with God.

Have you ever felt any of those things? Or repeating your prayers gets old and it’s not working so you might as well stop and since there are no roses to smell, you might as well pick up a shovel and dig a hole…

It’s time to LOOK UP!!! 

In a severe drought…Elijah starts talking rain… es muy loco mi amigo. Yet he prays and prays and keeps looking for what he knows is coming. He keeps looking and trusting and praying. And KNOWING GOD’S CHARACTER and FAITHFULNESS, Elijah doesn’t give up.

You might say, “I’m not Elijah. Well God is still God and He does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

So keep yours eyes toward the heavens…He is still there and you really are seated with Christ in heavenly places. (Eph 2:6) Ask Him to show you things from His perspective. He knows what is coming across the horizon.

….I see a cloud, small as a man’s hand…its rising… (1 Kings 18:44)

a new thing

One of my friend’s favorite sayings is,
“God is doing a new thing!” 

After hearing this many times and knowing it was part of a verse, I looked it up and committed more if it to my memory bank.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

And then you start to notice same and very similar words are used in many more places. God has always been making something out of nothing, bringing life where there was death and flowing water even from rocks. Nothing is too hard for Him. He loves the impossible, the improbable and taking the foolish things to confound the wise. And many days – I’m confounded in ways that bring me even more AWE and WONDER at His great creativity!!

The Message version is fabulous here – verses 16-21
This is what God says,
    the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
    who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
    they lie down and then can’t get up;
    they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
“Forget about what’s happened;
    don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
    It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,
    rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’
    —the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,
    rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,
    the people I made especially for myself,
    a people custom-made to praise me.

I pray even this week, you will see God making a way where there seems no way and will recognize His hand at work in your life and relationships. He is so very generous and loves to give good gifts to His children! 

 

 

dam release

Shower of Blessings

I remember days of thinking, “Oh no – I still have to blog!” So I would stay up later, put something else aside and often force something out. I’m definitely not finding that pressure in this season of life but instead a desire to share some of the deeper things God has been showing me.

This message from my personal journals is a great example. I was surprised to have this be as if I were speaking compared to His usual direct way and felt it should be shared.

“When we build walls – we think we are protecting ourselves, but we really are building a dam that also keeps His blessing from pouring out. It’s not that blessings stop, but the wall/dam holds them back. It’s not until we dare to break down the wall and destroy the dam that we will see the fullness He’s been releasing consistently. It’s not God’s nature to withhold but we are not always ready or willing to receive. He is patient and knows the time will come when our hearts are ready and we can walk in the fullness of His treasure. Much of it is up to us when we dare to tear down our man-made structure and allow God to rebuild.”

No good thing does God withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)

Are you ready to break down those walls and dismantle the dam?

The heavens have been opened through Jesus…there is no need for His fullness and blessings to be held behind any wall or dam.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

Lord, we repent for building walls and dams that limit Your work in and through our lives. Today we come to tear them down so nothing further will separate us from You. And when we find another boulder going into place, let us recognize it so we can move it out of the way!

be strong

Sword is the Word

A Fight to the Finish
And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
Ephesians 6:10-12 MSG

seeing new

I have been doing some occasional work with a company and the view is amazing. Even when I’m seeing the approaching storms – its glorious because I know I’m well protected.

Do you know God’s protection?
Do you feel secure in His plans, His timing?
Are you confident of how He has designed you?

I can’t always answer yes to these but I have definitely learned that what we look at and think on is as important as what we say.

If we focus on what is not happening, what is a mess, what the neighbors say or do – we are not keeping our eyes where they need to be – on the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Even focusing on ourselves – is not focusing on Him.

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! Hebrews 12:2-3 The Message

Maybe this week you’ll invite the Holy Spirit – the Counselor and Friend – to let you see new things as you read His word, enjoy His creation and listen to His voice in the wind…

 

storms of life

 

Tempest – 8×10 oil on canvas

I’m very intrigued by clouds lately. Such drama displayed in the sky. Ever changing and moving – yet constant in its existence.

This recent painting was sparked by photos of tornadoes. Such powerful untamed forces. I think of the great power and majesty of God. Nothing can stop Him yet He is so gentle to give us freedom and choice.

Do we want to stay in the storm, fighting on our own or let Him take the lead?

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city, this sacred haunt of the Most High. God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn. Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten, but Earth does anything he says. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us. 

Psalm 46 – The Message