Words Of Life

When some of Jesus’ followers left Him you know, some after He taught about Communion. He had already fed them, had to withdraw to keep from being taken by force, walked on water and now, those who don’t like the idea of or understand Communion left Him.

After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:66-69

Peter who had also wanted Him to be king at one time realized that Jesus was the only one go to for answers. Did you know that He had to ” withdraw ” or just disappear somehow through crowds on several occasions, what has been called a cloak, a sort of invisible shield of protection at time, in the Spirit. He was a person and people wanted to crown Him and make Him ruler or do away with Him to prevent the fall of their rule, even the religious plotted against Him and accused Him falsely. But it was God’s plan for Him to be crucified to redeem those who would believe.

So, it is wisdom, to turn to Jesus for the words of life and here are a few.

the words — They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. Proverbs 4:22 Good News

What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words. Proverbs 18:21 ( the death and life verse )

The Spirit is The Life Giver; the body does not benefit anything. The words that I speak with you are spirit and life. John 6:63 God’s Word Translation

An angel in Acts uses the phrase ” new life, after letting Peter out of prison. Paul also uses it.

The words of Jesus are in red in many Bible, He spoke in parables which have to be studied, the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer are good studies and John, also 1 John, is full of His love.

In the beginning was the Word, ( Jesus ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1

Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. 1 John 2:23 ( and really a measure of the Spirit )

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. John 15:16,17

But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. John 15:26

I encourage people to read different translations, study for themselves and I use Bible Hub, some people want to start with Revelation but I suggest John and get to know Jesus first, and as we have a entered a New Year, a lot of people will be reading the Bible through. You know, I have been a believer for some forty eight years, I was saved at eleven and I am still sure I have not read every word of it, by the time you get to Leviticus or Numbers, but read it and you will better understand the sacrifice of Christ.

But more importantly than reading it or just hearing it, is obedience, as Mary said to the servant, ” Do what He tells you. “

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Are You Going The Wrong Way?

I like old movies, the thirties and forties ones. This was one of the disaster movies of the 70’s and has been remade. I took this title as I happened to recall the Poseidon sinking and there were lots of people following the doctor down a corridor, wandering aimlessly as the minister says. ” You’re going the wrong way. ” People keep walking, and he stops a nurse who says they are following the doctor, with an almost a blind and in this case deadly faith.

The minister keeps insisting, ” You are going the wrong way! ” again and again, maybe an expletive, I can’t recall for sure. But it is a good movie and sometimes you can learn a thing or two from the movies. Only six people survived, only eight in the ark. Get the picture?

Jesus said pretty much the same thing in the gospels when asked about who would go to heaven. He said many were called and few were chosen, that many would try to enter the straight and narrow path and gate and would not be able to. This is why as a believer, we are to hold fast to our faith. So many things can cloud our judgement, frighten us off, lead us to despair and even disappoint. You may think He has said no, but He sees the mountain or giant ahead of you, and is ready to help you, so don’t go the wrong way.

True believers will endure and overcome, and they will hear the ” Well done. ” while so many others, people who think that they have been good enough, done enough, or get in since they had not murdered someone might be turned away, even those who are mistaken that going to church saves you or just reading the Bible once in a while, may hear the words ” Depart from me. ”

Knowing Jesus is an intimate relationship. You are not following Him blindly because He gives you His Spirit to guide you, to teach and comfort and He is the Spirit of Truth. We are instructed as Christians to follow after love, which is Jesus, and the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians, 12,13,14. I suggest reading all three, and studying them. Everyone has a choice, to speak death or life, to believe in heaven or hell and whether or not to go there.

I pray you know Jesus, it is the desire of my heart that He saves everyone possible as soon as possible, because as a believer I have faced down so much and I am tired, I would like to see Him come, it is a sad fact that many are going the wrong way being deceived by false teachings and deceiving themselves, cheating, robbing, themselves of the truest love of all, Jesus.

Are you going the wrong way today? If you can hear His Spirit speaking His love to you and His peace, don’t harden you heart to the one who died for you. And if you are a believer, just turn around and go the right way, it is that, simply ask forgiveness and get back on the path, the straight and narrow. Did you know that is what repent means? The word metanoia means to turn around, reverse, change your mind.  It can be that easy.

Is your ship sinking? Don’t go down with it, get in the boat with Jesus and don’t go the wrong way.

Tatyana Buzmakova Krasnova / Pixabay

Turn The Other Cheek

But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:39

You know, I just read about this in a prophetic word and I felt I had to include it in my Soul Care study. I saw this in one of the many Jesus movies I have seen and I wish I could recall which one. I’m thinking perhaps the one with Jeremy Sisto, but I am not certain. But the scene was powerful as Jesus is slapped He does not retaliate, and I do not think it was a part of the crucifixion scene. Though all the movies take liberties and will not always be accurate, even Passion of the Christ, what He went through was worse, they show us a lot about Him.

So Jesus has said something and was slapped, with that Holy Spirit power on Him, He stands defiant and the man does not slap Him as He turns the other cheek. That is power. That is peace that is love in action. Jesus didn’t need to defend Himself, the Spirit did, and He will for us.

I agree with the prophetic word that too often we are being just walked all over in an effort to be good Christians, I know I have been. And for too long. When I stood up for myself, sometimes it was worse with people, even of faith who did not see eye to eye with me and I just have to walk away, I can’t always just reason with or explain why I do what I do or what I believe, and I have been the doormat. People wiped their feet on me. But now I speak peace and shake the dust off, and now I will turn the other cheek, not expecting a slap, but knowing the Spirit is defending me and I am worthy of His protection, because He chose me. John 15:13.

Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will deliver you. Proverbs 20:22

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. Isaiah 50:7

See how the Lord will defend you, you don’t have to retaliate in kind, that doesn’t mean to stay in an abusive or dangerous situation, He can make you a way out, but it does mean we don’t have to put up with just anything or anyone and their behavior, we have the Lord defending us.

And though Isaiah wrote this to Israel, it is none the less a prophetic word about the suffering of Jesus. Don’t you think the one who loved you enough to die for you and to save you, to make your heart His home and put His Spirit in you, will not protect you.? I have had Him to literally defend me and I knew it, I did not see Him but I know He was there.

I did not know how much danger I was in though I had a prophetic dream, I never put myself in these situations again not that I did that one, I was defending someone who could not defend herself, and it was verbal but could have gone very wrong had I not sensed His presence and did nothing. He is that good friends, He loves His people and if you are living to serve Him, giving Him your life as a living sacrifice, He is there, and He is good, all the time.

When you stand up for yourself the right way, you can’t go wrong. The other way, will get you slapped and worse. He also talks about going the extra mile, giving the other tunic and says even what was stolen to let it go. He is talking about among believers and that gets into lawsuits and such which goes into 1 Corinthians 6:7, disputes among believers causes their lives to played out in court, and in front of unbelievers which causes everyone to lose. Christians should not blend in but stand out with exemplary conduct.

This is not saying not to report something stolen or not teach that we are not to steal, it is talking about letting God repay, restore, and defend. I used to believe that  we could name the thief, which is the devil, even working through believers ignorant of his devices, and he would have to return it sevenfold, like Proverbs 6:31. But now I think it is better to let God restore, we can’t control anyone or the devil, though he has to flee. It is better to let God repay and restore. We have all had a lot more stolen that we know.

And while Ephesians 4:28 is a good verse for those have stolen, they don’t always get the message. Zacchaeus did as a thieving and hated tax collector, he offered to repay. God has ways of restoring and He will defend and care for us and we are worthy children because of the beautiful and beloved Son, if the plucked His beard and spat on Him, I can remain a child of the living God as one dear lady called me recently, and turn the other cheek. And keep my crown that He said to let no one take.

Aiilolo / Pixabay

Is Fear A Sin?

Is fear a sin? That depends on the fear. Normal caution is not a sin. You don’t step out into traffic, leave your purse open, leave money sticking out, lock your doors at night. Carry a flashlight or mace. Fear that is obsessive, that rules your life, cripples your faith, that is a sin.

Proverbs 9:10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So how does that stack up? Fearing the Lord is a very healthy respect for Him, and that He is the ultimate authority, the one who takes you to heaven as a believer in Christ. He does not want your love out of fear.

We also find that children are to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, Ephesians 6:4. That my friends is the power of words, imagine being called out on God’s red, gold or purple carpet. I can tell you from personal experience, that the only thing I have ever had Him to admonish me for was fear. I had some situations that were causing me too much angst.

I used to think that fear was the opposite of faith, but according to the Word, fear is the opposite of love. Fear is the devil, his lies to our minds and hearts to get them off Christ, to delay answers to prayers, to cause doubt and worse unbelief, and for a believer, it hardens the heart and makes it evil, Hebrews 3:12, I have seen it happen. The adversary can easily deceive and blind the minds of unbelievers, and it’s not too hard to run things by some believers who are unskilled in the Scriptures, who don’t rightly divide.

The quote, ” The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself. ” is not exactly so, FDR said that in 1933, as the Great Depression was going, while he was saying that Nazi Germany was using fear to control people in an already war torn economy, stripping away at their fears, using propaganda and blame, inciting superiority and hatred for the Jews, and bringing about a second world war.

Should we fear, fear itself? No, His perfect love will cast it out, 1 John 4:18. We can never defeat all our enemies in our own strength but in His. Jesus made it possible to go to a loving Father and be brave and bold in asking for help. He hates fear for what it does to His children, just as we never want to instill fear in our children but we do teach them about dangers, and see that they are supervised. At least as much as possible, things that get by us never will God and His Holy Spirit, and a multitude of angels.

The shepherds feared at the appearance of angels, and so did Manoah at the appearance of the Angel of the Lord, which was actually, Jesus, in this instance. Fear and awe, the healthy respect of the Lord is not a sin. Perhaps, it would be if you were so afraid to go to God, that you let salvation pass you by.

The first people who go to hell are the fearful and unbelieving. Revelation 21:8 I have dealt with fear, had to tell it to go in Jesus name, and it will because it is the enemy. You have to learn the discernment. If something is bothering you to the extreme ask the Lord, He sees the things in the Spirit that we often do not, unless you operate in spiritual gifts, then you can take up the serpent, in the Spirit and cast it out. Don’t go picking up snakes or think it proves your faith. Just like you would not drink  poison, that refers to false teaching and in Bible times, water could sometimes be poison and you might not have known it. Mark 16:6

I know people are suffering with stress and anxiety like at no other time in history, perhaps, as we await His return. Morals are no longer in place, and families divided, people from broken homes that are lost and broken trying to create a healthy and  stable environment  and suffering themselves, we need His perfect love to cast fear out, and it does. No matter how much you have to call on Him, He never gets tired but we sure do.

Many were afraid of earthly fathers or did not know one, don’t let that stop you from seeking God through Jesus Christ, He loves you and does not want you to fear Him but to love and respect Him with obedience. He could have sent us all to hell but sent His Son instead. How many times has He gotten me through trouble? I could not count.

And sometimes, He will tell you to wait and let Him work something out, to be still as He fights the battle. We can get ourselves deeper into trouble trying to solve a lot of problems. As always, I will not tell you not to seek treatment or  to take medication, but seek the Lord and His peace as well, and don’t let the fear that His love will put out cause you to live in fear and sin.

And as long as you keep a repentant heart, He is forgiving. Jesus knew fear, look at what He went through. He felt the fear as a human but He never gave in to it and never sinned. Sometimes, we may back off, and that can be alright, to refresh ourselves and regroup in prayer, some oppressive fears He understands as He can heal immediately and other instances may take more time, just let Him love you and cast out fear and sin.

Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes. Proverbs 3:25

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, (divine retribution ) with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. ” Isaiah 35:4

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. 1 Peter 3:14

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment,    ( or torment ) and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. I John 4:18

xusenru / pixabay

My Hiding Place

I was just recently writing a story about the Holocaust based on the life of Corrie ten Boom. I remember reading the Hiding Place as a girl, and seeing the movie, but as an adult having much more appreciation for the testimony. I realized I have a hiding place of my own.  let’s look at the verse.

For you are my hiding place, you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Psalm 32:7, a lot of translations say deliverance. And that is good also, for it is Jesus who rejoices over you with singing and quiets you with His love. Zephaniah 3:17, and He does too, I sing myself out of a lot of places with praise, or just the quiet peace of Amazing Grace. How sweet is the sound of it. He is our hiding place and sings over us to deliver us and quiet us, what could be better than that?

And the icing on the proverbial cake is that He quiets us with His love. How wonderful is the sound of peace and quiet, the silence in a noisy and chaotic world and that can just be your house at times. I urge you to find your prayer closet. A war room is fine but I prefer that I am still and He fights the battles that would lose, and be wearied in. Exodus 14:14 says to do just that.

And while we are talking about hiding places, let’s not fail to mention the secret place of the Most High that we abide in. That place is Jesus and we are under His wing, referring to the cherubs on the mercy seat of the temple, there was singing at the temple, even day and night, and the shadow of the Ark of the Covenant could be seen as it was lit by the menorahs and cast on the tent. They could not enter the holy of holies, and the high priest only once a year, and even he had a cord tied to his ankle in case he died in the presence of God.

Jesus is our mercy seat and by His grace and the Spirit, we can have access, as a believer. And He is our secret place and we dwell in Him and He in us if we keep His commandment to love and not allow His words to be stolen from our hearts. He is Wonderful, one of His prophetic names, did you know He appeared to Manoah’s wife. Hazeleponi, as the Angel of the Lord? Though she is not named in the Word, that is her traditional name.

When she and her husband asked His name. He answered why did they want to know seeing it was secret, which can translate to wonderful. Isn’t that great?  Jesus is our secret place, our hiding place, our refuge and rock. He is the shelter from the storms and winds that are real and the demonic ones that are like the one on sea of Gennesaret.

Feeling like hiding? You have a hiding place in Jesus. And your hiding place is in you by the Spirit, it is as close as the mercy seat of your heart, as a believer. See why you have the kingdom of God in you. Find your secret place, your hiding place and let Him be your Ark, and surround you with songs of His deliverance and victory.

Find your prayer closet, I had a special place that no longer have access to but it was turning point, where I found healing and refuge. But I find my secret place in Jesus and in my heart. I can find a quiet place to sit and read or write, rest or sing my troubles away, and sometimes, I admit, it is not always quiet but I have to pray anyway.

Corrie ten Boom was in a concentration camp but had smuggled in a Bible, and after being forced to work, she and her sister would read and many women there came to find Jesus as Lord. Psalm 139 asks where can we go that we could escape His Spirit, even in hell, He was there.

While our situations are probably not that dire it may feel just as oppressive. I want you to know how much He cares and that He is the secret place and the hiding place, our deliverance and victory.

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Corrie ten Boom’s book is the Hiding place, and also the movie, another one was released in 2013, which I haven’t seen. Her sister died in the camp and she was released on a clerical error, while the other women with her sent to the gas chambers. She would later meet and forgive a Nazi guard who had been saved.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me, He Never Loves Me Not!

He loves me, He loves me, He never loves me not, that is a  lot of love isn’t it? And it is true, even if He is not exactly happy with how your life is going or that you are not always in His will, He is there to guide you back. Though in Genesis we are told the Spirit will not always strive with us, He makes every effort to save, heal and deliver all of us, but not all listen.

Even if you are a believer, you have to seek Him, love Him and obey the Spirit, to fully understand and walk in His love, to be completely loved. Though He always loves, are we always loving Him? Are we listening to the still, small voice of God that is so longing to lead us in love and grace? I’m convinced He still loves people that are turned into hell, it is not His choice but theirs for not receiving and following Him as Lord, once a heart has hardened so, it is difficult to get through, difficult but not impossible, at least for Him.

We have all sat with our flower petals and repeated He loves me, but this is not some silly childhood crush, though they can hurt, it is a flame, a fire set in our hearts by the Spirit and kindled by our words and actions. We have to let that flame be fanned by the Spirit and not be quenched or extinguished by falling out of the love of Jesus. Not that He leaves us but sometimes we walk away from Him, because we may not see results to prayer soon enough or something is amiss, we get trouble or overwhelmed, that is when we need Him the most and He is there, those little flower necklaces break easily, the three fold cord of Father, Son and Spirit will not.

Here are some verse about love, and the next time you think no on loves you, remember who does and demonstrated it on a cross. Never underestimate the love of Christ.

I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion. Jeremiah 31:3

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Matthew 23:37

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:7,8

Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered His life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God. Ephesians 5:2

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Show love in everything you do. 1 Corinthians 16:14

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds., Hebrews 10:24

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.. 1 John 2:15

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:18

Beloved, we should love one another, because love is from God; and everyone loving has been born from God and knows God. 1  John 4:7

God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known Him. 1 John 4:8

And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11

And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16

We love Him because He first loved us. I John 4:19.

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so also you must love one another. 1 John 4:21

And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well. 1 John 4:24

But the one who loves God is known by God. 1 Corinthians 8:3

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Jude 1:2

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Completely Saved

Love Lifted Me, an old hymn, has the line  ” Jesus completely saves. ” And it is in the Bible, so let’s take a look at the verses.

…..because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.….Hebrews 7:24- 26

Once you have been saved or born again, you are completely saved, the enemy might try to talk you out of it but he is a liar. Jesus was asked if only a few would be saved and He answered that many will try to enter a narrow gate and not be able to. Matthew 7:14 and in Luke and 1 Corinthians 15:2 says you are saved if you hold fast to the gospel and not just hear in vain and with no commitment to Christ.

We are saved by grace and not works, Ephesians 2:8, but Jesus planned things for us to do, out of the desire of the Father’s heart. I grew up in mostly Baptist teaching, there were always rededication services, then the once saved always saved teaching goes around causing arguments. I do believe that when you are truly saved you know it, and that enemy may try, but he can’t shake you.

It is because Jesus said no one could take you from His hand, and they can’t and if you could take yourself out, that idea doesn’t work either. Judas never asked forgiveness and Peter was restored. Blasphemy against the Spirit, though spoken of to certain Jews, if you worry about it, you wouldn’t do it. But you don’t need to worry.

I do believe many do not really understand salvation, believing that He is the Son of God and died for your sins to save you from eternal hell, and so much more, and that all you have to do is believe and confess Him, Romans 10:9,10. You must be under conviction of the Spirit and know you are a sinner, once you are saved, don’t trample His grace and remain a willing sinner. If you can do that with no conscience, or remorse, you may not have been saved.

Believers know each other by the Spirit, your true colors shine through, and some have no fruit, another way to know them. I am not really a fan of ” repeat after me prayers “, though it is enough for someone truly repentant, some may take it like the pledge of allegiance and recite it, and not follow through.

Colossians 2:10 tell how He completes us, being with Jesus should be comfortable, like a pair of slippers, but not complacent, not recognizing the enemy arrows and darts against us. We should go together like hand and glove and be heart to heart, we should hear the still and peaceful voice of the Spirit and follow Him.

Add the verse says He is the High Priest forever but we are expected like Him, to live holy and undefiled, set apart from sinners and only Jesus can do that, He redeems us and sanctifies us, washes us clean. We are righteous only because of Him. You can’t be saved to day and lost tomorrow or get saved again and again. That is not the way it works, you have eternal life as a believer, and love.

He saves completely and completes us, but we have to be sure of our salvation, and that sin will find you out. Salvation is a one time experience, but is ongoing as we grow in grace. We are to forsake evil, and pursue peace. Psalm 34:4, and to follow after love which is 1 Corinthians 13, and is Jesus.

Salvation, has a lot of benefits, healing deliverance, peace, protection and He prospers us as our souls prosper. Lots of people may start off with Jesus only thinking they know Him and wind up in hell, He will turn away those He says He never knew, though they claim to have known Him in Revelation.

I want you to know Jesus as Lord, ask Him to forgive you, read about the Holy Spirit, He will baptize you in Him as well as water, for people who know little about religious teaching, that may be the best way, sometimes it is hard to unlearn old ways and the Spirit will give you power over the enemy of the soul and the gift of tongues, and teach you as you renounce all false teaching. I counseled a girl who appears to have been saved but still has problems, she is living with someone, and still casually uses drugs, she wanted the Holy Spirit, and she needs Him and He is there but she must change her ways. Often, I have had to just leave people in the hands of the Lord, you speak the truth in love, and let God take care of it.

He saves you from so many things everyday, and saves through and through, and is rich in mercy and grace but be sure you have a personal relationship and are not just a casual acquaintance, or that He is just a name or a character or prophet to you, just someone who was crucified, I believe that, I’m okay, Think again and be completely saved.

Spa-ntoneity

Spontaneity is a good word. I love words and studying meanings.  We are always in a rut of some kind, going out to eat every Friday night, shopping, Sunday church and dinners. We do the same things all the time, we need a little bit of spontaneity in or lives, don’t we.?

I have served breakfast for dinner. A little early morning ice cream instead of coffee. Call up someone you have not talked to in a long time. Go somewhere new for lunch. Pick up and go away for a weekend. Maybe, you get pedicures in the summer, do it in the winter.  A good massage, a long hot bath. The possibilities are endless.

I realize a lot of work is 9 to 5 and there are children running around but get creative, call in some favors, exchange childcare with friends. Husbands and wives need personal time and everyone needs quiet time to be still and know who God is. The world is so loud, it can drown Him out if we are not careful, if we are to busy, bogged down, overworked or stressed out. We may not hear the still small voice.

I realize that with the pandemic, so many are working from home or quarantined, lots of parents who may not have chose to home school have been forced to. But I know there are still ways around these major stress issues and we need not be to busy for God or to receive His rest. which is more than just extra sleep. It is knowing that He is control and will keep His promises as we endure the wait. He is not holding out on us but rather holding on to us.

We have been through a lot last year, I have prayed for so many people with so many problems and these are not unbelievers, not are casual Christians, many of these people are prayer warriors and the enemy has ramped up attacks as his time grows ever shorter.

People have had to be constant caregivers, which is taxing to the heart and soul. Being locked up together is not a good idea for long periods of time either, not only is it cabin fever but mentally challenging to hear the complaints and deal with problems of others. Online school and church is not the same. People do need people and people need the Lord.

So not only do we need a prayer closet or a war room, we need to be still and quiet and let the battle belong to the Lord. If we are still, He fights for us. Exodus 14:14. If we fight our own battles we can lose. We will never be victorious in our own strength but His.

Why not do something different? Go birdwatching or to a butterfly habitat. We have one here in Georgia. Get out in the sun, especially if it is winter. Open blinds and curtains, let some light in and declutter your mind and heart and house if you need too. While we take out the winter wear, we can donate some clothes. Cook something, a new recipe.

I know a lot of people make resolutions but I don’t, I stopped because I never kept them long. I always pray in my new year and this year I just pray His will be done, it is exceedingly abundant, it can out do my imagination. And I thought I had a good one.

So, instead of just being concerned about taking off pounds, I want the Lord to take off the weight of the world. Let the love of Jesus flow, and heal the broken hearts, we are sealed with His Spirit and He is our most precious gift, we must never stop  believing that ..

Father, in Jesus name I pray that your peace surrounds us as we move into 2021 and that your blessings catch up to us and overtake us.

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Little Girl Lost

As a part of Jesus Cares January, I was inspired to write this post after being in prayer. The prayer may have been for a specific person, but it applies to many women I am certain, this post is guided by the Spirit.

God wants you to know that you are loved, no matter what has happened, some of it was not your fault, some of it was, as you lashed out in anger and fear. Sometimes, you could not hear your Father calling you, the Lord says, but I am coming to take you home, and Jesus is wooing you back to His love.

When you became a believer, and were saved by grace, you grew and blossomed my child, and your Father was proud of you, jealous in a good way, that you were becoming a beautiful woman created to conform to the image of Christ. You fell, and failed many times, like a child on a bicycle or swing, but I picked you up, and you were loved in a way that natural parents or foster parents could not.

You heard me, and sang for me, and danced, you dreamed and I dreamed even bigger dreams for you. They may have flashed across your holy imagination, but they paled in comparison to mine. I had you wait, sometimes I wanted to rescue you from the cares that encompassed you and those who persecuted you for my sake. My arms ached to hold you again but you are my butterfly, little one, and your wings had to grow strong to fly, and soar to the heavens as I desired. You have always been in my heart and hands. When you could no longer sing, dance or dream, you were a little girl lost.

Not that you had lost salvation, never! I will never leave or forsake you! You are my child, I have called you by name and you are mine. Say that and add your name, call out the Lord’s grace and favor that is still yours as a believer. I want you to rest, to be still, to hear me call your name once more. ( I am His Becky! )

Speak my word, declare me as Lord. Speak my peace into your soul. Cast those cares on me, I am here. I want you to sing and rejoice in me for I am your Heavenly Father and my Son is the beloved you were accepted into and He woos you with His love and you are a beautiful bride of Christ.

I want you to have an intimate love with Him, He gave His life for you, and you walked the aisle as His beloved, it is a marriage in the Spirit. Husbands were meant to love like the Lord, many do not know Him as Lord, or like you do, and many are out of step, out of line, in their ways and my sons have lost their way, though they are still sons, they cannot love like the Son until they repent, are restored and return to me, little lost boys who strayed far afield. Lost boys and girls who need to find their Father’s love, and the Father is there when they call.

My love is eternal, ethereal, Spirit, I am the Father who loves with motherly love and I stand between you and the wicked one, do not delay in seeking me, I am here. I am the deepest love in the husband for His wife, and the deepest love in the wife for her husband, I created marriage and intimacy for men and women, and for family and friends, but lines are blurred and marriage and family distorted, when there is love, enough love, for everyone who would believe and obey the Lord’s command to love me and one another.

Little girl lost, I see you and I hear you, and I am here, take your Father’s hand.

That just flowed from the Lord, as an answer to a prayer for someone I was interceding for, and she said share it. It is for more than one, He speaks His words and peace and declares prophetic words over us all. I got lost once when I was little at the store, I was found in a clothes rack, and I was not one to run off. I got lost as teenager at an unfamiliar mall, but I was with my cousin, it took a long time to get found and we had to get someone at an information desk to call my mother and aunt. I always called my mother and never wanted to worry her, and always have. Sometimes, it is as easy as saying, ” I’m going to look over here. ” That is what happened and then they were gone, and we were lost. Perhaps, they didn’t hear, but God does, and sometime we don’t have to wander off looking at something else, someone else, or look for another way when He is the way.

We have all taken wrong turns, found ourselves in the wrong lane or on the wrong highway. Life is like that too, but God has good plans and wants no harm to come to us, He sends the Spirit and His angels to guide us back on track, on the path he chose for us, a path that is filled with love.

Oppression and depression have a way of heaping troubles into our lives but Jesus overcame so we could and He told us to be of good cheer, didn’t He? When we seek Him with our whole heart, He woos us back and we are no longer lost in the cares of the world, while as a believer we are no longer a lost soul, we never want to remain a little girl lost.

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Let God Take Care Of You

A lot of children grow up without parents, are in foster homes, or orphanages, live in impoverished nations or face neglect and abuse. It is easy to see why they would believe that no one cares for them. Children of divorce often feel the same, and even people with parents can have a longing and loneliness, a sense of not belonging and that is what is known as an orphan spirit, is is born out of needing to be loved and have a family who loves you, even if you already do.

It can be a calling from God that He wants to take care of you, to love you and make you His own. He wants to adopt you. The same is true for widows, and even single people, He can love you and find you the right person. Let’s look at how God cares for us as if sending Jesus weren’t enough.

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in. Psalm 27:10

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15

Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe? Galatians 3:5

In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5,6

Referring to Jesus –  Cast all your care upon Him for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 1 John 3:1

Feeling alone, lonely, unwanted? He takes the unloved and makes her beloved, Romans 9:26, and Isaiah 62 is a beautiful passage. The book of John is full of the love of Jesus, but then, so are so many verses.

So often we are trying to take care of ourselves, our health our families our work and others, it can be a challenge and overwhelming and we leave ourselves out. And even struggle to rest or feel we are not worthy or forgiven, but we are and He tells us to cast our anxiety or care on Him, He cares for us. Let God take care of you.

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