Just a couple of weeks ago I was face to face with my past. (There were in one place 3 past abusers, but I want to speak of this one in particular because he was the one I had not seen) This man had taken my heart in that I loved him like a dad and I trusted him very much, he was my friend and confidant. But one day he decided for reasons only he knows to take advantage of me (abuse) me. His thoughts and intent were not pure by any means. At his first wrong gesture, it felt like my heart ripped into.

Our relationship suddenly went from what I thought was great to something very different, want and demands I did not know how to handle. It did not take long to realize that the only way to stop what was happening, protect myself and others that I loved was to never put myself alone with him, to go away and avoid any communication or contact if I could help it. My life at this point had been one person after another. I had decided that I was damaged goods and meant for this kind of life. I hated myself and had no confidence to even say no and stand up for myself.

Jesus and my husband know the details, but no one else really knows much about it. As a child and teenager, I was abused and used by several different men. I know what you are thinking how could this have happened, why didn’t you tell someone and a slew of other thoughts. Back in my day, it was not talked about, no one had ever heard, or at least that I knew of, that this type of thing happened more than we know. Also, there were no safe houses etc. It was just a different time. And since I was already a victim, and had been trained to keep silent I did just that every time with whoever it was at the time. And there really is something about a victim mentality, you are vulnerable and predators will find you! I had no self-confidence and hated myself, so why did I care, that was my life. Side note: Please don’t feel sorry for me, it’s all okay, God has redeemed it all! Anyway back to my original thought, coming face to face with my past.

As I walked into a room I started past two men talking and all of the sudden I hear my name spoken which turns my head in the direction of a very familiar voice, there he is, looking not too different than I remember him. Because I am in a hurry I say hello and move on. I know you are wondering, what was going through my head and how were my emotions. Well, I will tell you.

My first thought was, oh I did not expect to see him here. My second thought was, he looks basically the same and my mind flashed to different moments that had happened all those years ago, then nothing. I felt nothing, not anger, not hurt, not resentment, nothing but God’s peace, love and presence. This boogieman from my youth did not elicit any type of anything from me. Why? Because when God heals you, he does not do a halfway job, it is complete and his peace reigns!!

After a while, I actually went in search of this person. I wanted to talk to him and see where life had taken him. I wanted him to see what God had done in my life and actually desired (without his asking) to tell him that I forgave him a long time ago, and I hoped he had forgiven himself. He is not a believer, never claimed to be one. He is simply a man, who did a wrong and I happened to be at the right place at the wrong time. But more than that it is another step in the path of my life that God had written down. Just because it makes no sense to anyone and it was not a good thing does not discount that God allowed it and it matters not the why of it. He is God, He does as He pleases, and all of it, the good, the bad, the ugly was and is for my good. I know that God takes us down many paths in our walk toward knowing him, and probably because of the hurts I had endured, I was able to run to him when he called my name. And since coming to the Lord and allowing His healing I have never regretted letting go of any of it! God has been faithful!

I have allowed God to heal the broken places of my heart to the point that it is as though they never happened. God has ministered to me in so many ways and his word is healing, his love is complete. It fills up all those places left open by jagged hurts and now there is only His peace and love there. I am not a victim, I am not dirty, I am not worthless…I am the child of the “King of King’s and “Lord of Lord’s. I am forgiven and bound for Heaven, and have His precious Holy Spirit living in me. It does not get any better than that my friends.

See God knew the plans he had for me and he works them out in his way and his time frame. His plan is never to harm me (although it may seem that way at the time.) Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Well, I do not feel harmed, I do have hope and I know my future, I am good!

Maybe you find yourself looking at a painful past, or it could be something recent if so know that God can heal you and when he does it is a complete healing. Allow his sweet Holy Spirit to minister to you, give him full access to your pain, (he knows it anyway : ), but desires that we ask him into the middle of it.

Here are a few scriptures that through all the dangers toils and snares he has brought me through have helped guide and heal my heart. I hope as you read them if you need God’s healing and peace you feel him near giving you those very things in abundance. Because when we seek him and desire to heal it comes in abundance! Seek him with all your heart!

Exodus 15:26 “For I am the Lord who heals you.”

Psalm 147:2 “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

Jeremiah 17:14″O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!”

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you.”

Philippians 4:7 “And he peaces of God, which transcends l understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 29:11 “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.”

Isaiah 26:12 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.”

Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. ”

Psalm 34:4 ” I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”

Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Ephesians 4:31-32 “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Colossians 1:13-14 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.”

So many times in scripture we see where God told people to go and they simply went. No argument, they simply obeyed what they were told to do. They had this level of trust in God that they knew and understood that if he said to do it, it would be okay. Sometimes they did not know where they were going, or what they would find when they got there. Abram was told in Genesis 12 to leave his country, his people and his father’s household and go to the land that God would show him. What? Just pack up and head out, nothing on the GPS, just go!

He knew he could trust God to get him where he needed to be in the time he needed to be there. He did not let question stall his leaving, he simply obeyed. How often do we feel the gentle nudge or the big nudge of the Holy Spirit telling us to do something, and we are unwilling or hesitant to do it. We want all the details before we go. What if we don’t like this place, what if the people are not nice and so on.

What would have happened to Noah if he had bulked at building this massive Ark and putting into it the animals and his family? God said to do it, so he did, he trusted what God said. In Genesis 6:22 we read: “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” He did not argue, he did not whine that it would be too hard, he did not care if others thought him silly, he simply obeyed.

Think about this if Mary the mother of Jesus had said NO, what would have happened? Would God have chosen another? Mary did not ask for all the facts beforehand, she responded to what the angel had told her with this: Luke 1:38 “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” She could have been killed any number of things, but she trusted God, she said yes. Her yes, took her on quite a journey, the journey to the foot of the cross seeing her son suffering a horrible torturous death.
She did not know all the details she simply obeyed.

We can read so many accounts of the people who obeyed when God said to do this or that, go here or there. The greatest yes we see is that of Jesus. He was fully God and fully man. He went to the garden, he asked if the cup could pass, but when God the Father said you must die, he went willingly, to the cross for our sins. Luke 22:42 “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Jesus always did the Father’s will, even if it meant pain, even to the point of death. Oh, where would we be had he refused to drink that bitter cup?

God never sends you where he hasn’t already prepared in advance for you to go. He never asks you to do anything he has not already equipped you to do. He will always prepare the way, even if it is a hard way. It does not mean it will be a place full of joy and happiness, all the comforts you can imagine. No worries, a bed of roses, however, he does promise to never leave us or forsake us. Deuteronomy 31:8 “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Not only will he not forsake us, but he will not leave us. No matter where we are, God is there with us. Even if you are at your lowest point in life, God is with you. He never ever leaves one of his children alone.

Great things happened because of these yes’s. The human race continued and has prospered because of the obedience of these mentioned and so many more. Our very Salvation and Eternity are all done because Jesus saying yes to death, yes to the Father’s will. His good news was spread throughout the world because men and woman have said yes to the calling to follow him. To leave places, famililies, and jobs.

Maybe right now you feel the Lord calling you to something, or asking you to give something up, or leave somewhere and you are hesitant. You want to know all the details now before you go or do. What if you simply trust God, step out in faith, remembering all he has done in the past, and head into the unknown? Remembering that you may not know the way, the where, the how; but God does!

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Walk by faith…trust his plan…remember you are not alone…he knows the way!

What happens when we are inwardly focused? Our paths get blurred. When we are so taken with ourselves and not looking to Jesus our sustainer and helper, we cannot know the way to go.

Have you been guilty of making yourself the idol in this world, everything revolves around you? I have at times, it pains me to admit it, but I am guilty. I have learned in those seasons of selfishness that I will inevitably do the wrong thing. Why? Because my heart deceives me. (Jeremiah 17:9) Even though I have read it in the scriptures that my heart is deceptive above all else, I still follow it when in selfish mode.

When our path is blurry we may take a wrong turn thinking all is well only to find ourselves dangling over a cliff ready to fall, or worse yet lying in a heap at the bottom of the cliff, wondering if we are beyond help. Does anyone follow me, have any of you experienced these times or am I alone here.

I found this written in my Bible as a reminder to myself. Maybe you might want to write it down and remember it as well.
“Help me Lord to always look to you; for when I look inward my path is blurred before me, and self-takes over. Lead me and guide me always in your presence. I want to come clean and righteous covered with Jesus.”

Isn’t it so much sweeter to come into his presence with clean hands and a clean heart? Knowing you have been obedient to his will and way. Not only reading his commands but following them to the best of your ability?

If it were not possible for us to live Godly, sacrificed lives he would not have told us to do it. We are to constantly seek him above all else and when we do, we find less of us in the equation. We become more focused on heavenly things than the earthly thing that will one day fade away. We become doers of the word not just hearers. Maybe these words in Psalm 119 should become a prayer for each of us. We need to read God’s word daily and ask for understanding, hide this word in our hearts so that we are ready to come before him at any time clean and unashamed. When we seek him, he strengthens us and gives us all we need for the journey ahead.

Psalm 119:27-39 “Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. 28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. 30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. 31 I hold fast to your statutes, O Lord; do not let me put to shame. 32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. 33 Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. 35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for here I find delight. 36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. 38Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. 39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.”

There is no better way to get our focus back than to immerse ourselves in his word, read and pray, pray and read and repeat! My pastor tells us this all the time, it is a good reminder for me and for you!

I pray for you today that if for any reason you feel out of focus, you a have veered off the path of righteousness that you will be arrested in your soul as you read this and you will humbly approach God’s throne in repentance and once again take up the torch and follow him. When we ask for forgiveness he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) and once that forgiveness has happened he remembers it no more, so, therefore, there is no condemnation, walk in that forgiveness. (Psalm 103:12) and (Romans 8:1)

Blessings to you!

Beneath what, you may be wondering. Beneath the cover of your Bible, that is what. All the wisdom of the ages, all the answers to our prayers, needs and wants. All the life-giving healing words our Lord spoke, everything is beneath that cover. Do you open it and read it? Absorbing all the wisdom it contains. Do you let it sit and gather dust, an artifact of times gone by? Do you tell others to search its pages while you simply glance at it in hopes of getting enough for the day, the year even?

From the first words “In the beginning,” until the last, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” Amen. Its pages are filled with real people just like us with real hurts and disappointments. Men and woman of extraordinary faith, and others of those struggling to believe. There are murders, liars, cheaters, haters, adulterers, prostitutes, kings, poor folks etc. It seems that whatever we experience today was happening back then, just like Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” In other words, even though times and seasons change, men and woman still wrestle with the meaning of life, and that human nature never changes. We are born sinners all of us and we struggle with the same issues that plagued those that have gone before us.

Each of these people of old Adam, Eve, Noah, King David, Solomon, Bathsheba, Job, John, Paul, Luke, Thomas…the list goes on and on had to make choices, life decisions. They worked and ate and loved just like we do.
These very real people had to answer the question about God, belief, following, surrendering, obeying and dying to name a few. They did not have these holy scriptures in their entirety as we do. They did not get the privilege of looking into the lives of these holy saints as we do. They had a few parchments that held the word, and the testimonies of their forefathers were passed down through the family. But we have it all, everything he wanted us to see and know is under the cover between the pages of our Bible. If it were not enough there would be more. There are no new revelations out there, so do not be fooled.

God did not have to include the bad stuff. He could have only given us all the good stuff, the best Christian’s with the best outcomes, and we would constantly feel as though we are falling short and walking in disappointment and unfulfillment. But instead, he included the bad, the ugly, the dark secrets of these people to help us when we walk through similar situations. And we do walk through them, some more than others. Whatever you’re going through now, there is an answer in his word. The same sins we commit today are the same as those of old, such as lust, greed, fornication, rebellion, lying, cheating, adultery and murder, shall I go on? You get the picture, same stuff, different people.

The wisdom that comes from God is poured through the pages of our Bible’s. The heart of God revealed before our eyes. The life-giving, active word of God is powerful and unchanging. It had the power to change lives then and it has the power to change lives today. We, or at least I can identify so well with so many. I see and hear myself as I read these stories in God’s word. But as I read my heart begins to hold tight to what I am reading. It starts to hear that still small voice teaching me, guiding me, disciplining me, helping me. Things that once seemed too hard to handle, too difficult to surrender, to terrible to forgive, really don’t matter so much anymore. Only Jesus matters his love for me, his saving keeping power, his forgiveness. My life sold out, fully surrendered, walking with God, reading and obeying his word takes precedence and all else simply fades away. He helps me through those situations that give me cause for pause. He understands my heart and meets me at my need. The Holy Spirit ministers me as I read and meditate on his word.

There is life in his word…it has the power to change you…it is still as living and active as it ever was…he is still the same God…still all-powerful, all-seeing, full of wisdom and knowledge…still living…still coming…still Holy and worthy of all our adoration and praise. If we do not read his word, pray and seek him daily, we will get too busy with life and find ourselves drowning in stuff that threatens our joy, our hope. No, nothing can steal our salvation, but our joy, our hope can be taken from us. When we do not read God’s word, suddenly the storms of life seem bigger than God. We need his word to help us properly see life through Him instead of Him through life and its struggles.

Why don’t you dust it off, open the cover, read his word, breath in the fresh aroma of the Holy One? Give him access to your mind and heart. Yes, he can do it without you ever doing a thing, but he invites us to come, sit at the table and feast. Feast on His word, learn of him, gain the kind of wisdom that goes deeper than your head, wisdom that drops into your heart. Will you come? Are you hungry and thirsty? Do you feel you just cannot go on another day? Then read it, ask the Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes and your heart to receive this life-giving transfusion that will change you forever!

Listen for his heartbeat as you read with eyes wide open. Need a starting point, the beginning is good or you can read these words as a prayer first.

Psalm 119:18-19 “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.”

Christian’s are or should be standing firm, buckling down, focused, ready at any moment. We need to have our armor on, all of it. Is this because we are ready to fight, yes, but not people, the battle we are engaged in is spiritual. Yes, there are lots of horrible things going on, things that make you almost lose heart. People think that we are in control of what goes on in this world. In the Government, or other high offices. However, if you read scripture you have a clear understanding of who is in charge and who places people in high places, (for His purpose). Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but from God; the powers that be are ordained by God.”Just because you do not agree with God, or like what he is allowing does not make him any less Sovereign over it all.

Our world seems to be spinning wildly, everyone is out for himself/herself. Anything goes as long as it feels good. And everyone is going to heaven.
Scripture is plain when it tells us that “we do not wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12), but how can we wrestle well if we are not spiritually in the trenches, watching for signs of the enemy lurking about. Should we ever be caught without our armor on? Ephesians 6:13-18 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

We are in the day of evil! If you do not think so just look around listen to the news, whatever, it is here and getting worse. We are not called to fight people, we are called to love and to stand firm. And when we have done have stood, it is repeated to (Stand). What is standing firm? It is “refusing to abandon one’s belief, hold fast to what you know is true.” What is the belt of truth? It is what we read in God’s word, his truth is the only real truth there is that, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6,) it is only through him that we can be saved. What is the breastplate of righteousness? This piece of armor covers the heart. It protects the sinner from evil and deception. Our own righteous acts are no match for Satan’s attacks, this breastplate has Christ’s name stamped on it, and it protects this precious vital organ. His righteousness protects us!

We then come to the next part of our armor, our feet. What does being fitted with readiness mean? It is peace, the peace that comes from the Good News, and what is that good news, it is God’s peace, given to all those who believe. We have the assurance that we are God’s children, dearly loved. And we are to be ready, (vigilant) ready at all times like any good soldier in battle. We need to know the enemies strategies have our feet firmly planted to hold our ground. Next, we are to take up the shield of faith. What is this shield of faith? In Roman times this type of shield was called a scutum. It was as large as a door and could be used for full coverage of the soldier or for pushing back against the enemy. If a bunch of soldiers was being attacked they would all cover themselves in a group with their shields, like a tortoise shell protecting themselves against arrows and such. So, simply said it is a blanket of protection. The first barrier of protection against attack painted with the Commanders identification. Ours has Christ on it.

We then come to the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. What are these used for? The helmet protects our brains, our minds. It is the last piece of battle armor to be put on a soldier. We need clear focused, alert minds to know what we are to do next and see plainly what the enemy is up to. Our minds are the command station of our bodies if our minds are not surrendered to the Lord, then our hearts and bodies will not be. Sin, starts as a thought then moves to the heart. We are told next to take up the Sword of the Spirit. What is that? We are read, meditate on and know the scriptures, God’s word. His word is called a sword in Hebrews 4:12, and is called living and active. Two-edged, sharp and powerful.

After all of this is complete we are told to pray continually on all occasions. What does this mean? We are to pray about all things. This does not mean we spend all day kneeling down and praying but offering up prayers all day in any situation. Do you find yourself offering small prayers up all the time, talking to God on your way to work etc. Bathe yourself in prayers, every day, every month every year. Sometimes hour by hour and minute by minute. Prayers offered to our Lord about whatever is on your mind and heart.

None of these pieces of armor are too hard for a Christian to do, if they were we would not have been told to put them on. It takes discipline, yes, but it is certainly not impossible. And if we put on the “full armor” as we are told, then this world and all it’s evil and craziness will not rob us of sleep or peace. We will know we possess in us all that we need to fight a good fight and finish well. And finish well is what we want to do, right?

I pray that you will be in the word, praying always, getting battle ready and marching forth in love. Stand firm soldier, stand firm!

With a heavy, ​but joyful heart…

In Luke 24:6 we read 6″ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how He told you, while he was still with you in Galilee.” These are the seven words are among the greatest words I think that have ever been uttered or written. Because of Jesus resurrection, we who are the called now have an eternal hope. We are promised a home in heaven with Jesus and that we will never die.

Oh, our earthly vessels will cease to exist. We will one day breathe our last breath and our final heartbeat will pound and then we who belong to Christ will leave our mortal bodies and find ourselves face to face with the one in whom we have believed. The hope of eternal life is suddenly a reality. Scripture says that those who die in Christ are sleeping. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.”

However, for those who do not know Christ, the word tells us a different story about them. These people have no hope, they rejected Christ in life and he rejects them in death. If you die in your sins there is no second chance, no do-overs. Their souls will forever be in torment. John 3:3 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” There is a very real hell for unbelievers. Unbelief is the only unforgivable sin. You cannot just know God exists, you must KNOW God, in a personal, relational way. When you do your spirit bears witness of the fact you are his. Romans8:16 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

Today my Aunt fell asleep in Christ. Her eternity started at birth because we begin to die as soon as we are born, but it did not turn into an eternity with Jesus until she was born-again into the kingdom of God, it was at that moment her destination after death was determined. I have the hope that not only will I too go to heaven when I die, but I will see her again and all those I have loved who have died in Christ.

There have been loved ones who have left this earth and I do not have the assurance that I will see them again, it breaks my heart. We who are alive have “that day” ahead of us. Now is the time to believe. My mother spoke to her sister this morning and she said she was doing pretty good, within a few short hours she was gone. We do not know “our day,” just as she did not know that today was her day.

Oh, there is a very real possibility that Jesus could return at any moment…there will be no do-overs. He will come as a thief in the night, at a time no one but the Father knows. Be sure now…let these seven words become some of the greatest words you have ever read. He is not here…He has risen! Halelujah, Praises to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was and is and is to come!

We have a Hope…His name is Jesus…I believe…do you?
If you died right this moment…where would you spend eternity?
I pray you truly know him as Lord and Savior?
Read his word, search your heart and be sure, please!

We all have them, seasons that just seem hard and days that seem to go on an extra twenty-four hours. We need a reprieve, we need our hearts, minds, and souls to rest, not to mention our physical bodies. We are losing heart because this thing, this illness whatever it is has been causing us sleepless nights, more stress than we feel we can handle and it is affecting everything we do. You are in the season of hard!

We have a few options when we are in this season, we can either sit down and just quit, throw our hands into the air and announce to the world, “I am done.” No matter what we turn our attention to a new set of problems pop up, or maybe you are in a season of illness. Every doctor’s report you get is worse than the last and you feel you just cannot hear another report, have another procedure and endure more pain. Should you just give in to the illness and let it run its course or keep fighting.

We have to make a decision, the line in the sand is drawn, what will we do. The world tells us to do one thing and our hearts scream another. When you become a child of God it is not a free pass from the heartaches and hurts of this world, as a matter of fact, we are promised them. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
So how do we handle all that comes to us? Good question and down below you will find answers in these passages.

We are told in 2 Corinthian’s 4:16-5:1 “Therefore do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

First, we need to “not lose heart,” We are not fighting these battles alone and our sufferings however they come to us, have a purpose. And if we stay the course with Jesus, we are promised that although outwardly we may be a mess, inwardly we are being renewed. How can we be renewed?

Second, Trust in his plan, walk in faith hand in hand with the Lord, lean in and let his sweet Holy Spirit minister to us. Read his word, remind ourselves of his promises to us.

Third, remember that whatever is going on is a temporary thing. Everything for us eventually ceases. We will not be on this earth forever. One day our bodies will give way and we will step from this life into the next. Just think in most instances the thing that was troubling you six months ago has already passed. At the time it felt it would never end and now you are on the other side of it, I dare say wiser than when you went in.

Fourth, remember that this that is happening is achieving in you something eternal. You are being changed, whether you feel you are or not, it is happening. God is moving you, stretching your faith or letting things fall away that cloud our minds and hearts. I can assure you, when you come out on the other side you will think differently about it.

Fifth, we need to fix our eyes on the unseen, not what we see in the here and now. Let our minds find strength in knowing that God is with us, we are never alone. God has taken us to this point and he will take us through. There is more than just the here and now. We will move on into our eternal dwelling. At the time the Lord has appointed our last heartbeat we will go into our heavenly home, (if we belong to Jesus.) All the stuff that weighs us down now will not be remembered then. We can look forward with expectation to the release of the here and now into the there and with Him. What we have waiting is not something made by human hands if it was it would fail, but is instead made by divine hands. The same hands that stretched out the Universe have something beyond what our mind can conceive waiting on us. A better place devoid of hurt, illness etc.
Think on those things and your burden here and now will feel lighter.

Sixth, keep your faith strong, the same God who got you through the last storm of life, is the same God who will get you through this one.

I am sure there were many times when the Israelites thought they would never get to their promised land. They could see it on the other side of the river, yet that was too far for them. They had been given all they needed while in the wilderness to survive. God had supplied all their needs. And here they were staring at the river, longing to go over and there was only one thing to do…hold hands with faith, the same faith in God that had gotten them to this place; the same God who had provided their needs was waiting for them to do the next thing… every step of the way he was with them, even in their rebellion and he was leading them to a river, a flooded river what were they to do…what was the next step in their promised land journey? All they had to do was step into the, actually, their toes simply touched it and when they did the waters parted and they once again crossed over. This was the second time God had parted the waters. Read it for yourselves. (Joshua 3:14:18)
God had promised he would take them there, just like he promises us that we will never face anything alone and one day we will see him and be with him. When we are afraid or uncertain…just take the step of faith, toward God and he will meet you there.

We can trust his plan even in the hard places. He has promised to see us all the way to our heavenly home, this life is just a vapor, full of temporary hardships, all working a greater good in us. So, don’t lose heart, this same God who breathed life into you, will help you pass through it and then onto the next better thing.

As I am studying in Genesis, I am trying to be more focused on all the words I read instead of skimming over them. One such set of words said this: “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.” Those words are part of Genesis 8:21. And so I wanted to be clear in understanding exactly what “inclination” meant, although I know, I wanted to see what the dictionary had to say about it, so here it is:”A person’s natural tendency or urge to act or feel in a particular way; a disposition or propensity.” (tendency, propensity, proclivity, leaning, predisposition, disposition,predilection, desire, wish, impulse, bent, bias…you get the idea…we are born evil.

Really people for anyone out there who wants to argue that we are born innocent, you are wrong, our very nature, the desire that rules us from birth, God calls evil. It became apart of us when Adam fell. Have you read the story in the first few chapters of Genesis? Adam and Eve are in a perfect place, everything except one thing they can partake of, yet the one thing is what they had to have, tempted by Satan they caved. They immediately knew they were naked, where before it did not matter, and they were ashamed and hid from God. God a little deeper and we see Noah being told by God to build an Ark because he was going to flood the earth.

Noah was faithful and only he, his family and a bunch of animals survived. And tucked at the end of that story where Noah gets off the boat and builds an altar and offers sacrifices to God, we see these words. People God could have wiped everyone out. It was and is his right to do so. He is holy and cannot abide sin, yet he chose to allow humans to continue on and to multiply, even set a rainbow in the sky as a reminder of his promise.

God knows who we are, we cannot hide from him. And when we are feeling all puffed up thinking very highly of ourselves we need to remember that we are not so great! Our very nature is one that tries so hard to win out and enjoy the world and all it offers. Our sin nature tries to rule and reign in us. For those of us who are born-again into the kingdom of God, we have a new nature. God looks at us through the blood of Jesus and sees us as perfect, clean, righteous, holy. We who at our very core is evil, suddenly through no work of our own are clean! Wow, does that not bring you to your knees. Sinful man, suddenly fit for heaven with a holy and pure God. All because he decided a long time ago that he would let the human race continue, remembering we are evil, yet loving us anyway.

If you think for some reason that we are not as bad as the folks who were killed were, guess again, I am positive in some ways we must be worse. Sin is sin, no matter how vile or seemingly mild it may be. We try to grade it, but the truth is even our inmost parts are evil and God hates it all, every single sin we commit down to the seemingly mildest one.

As I do this study through the Bible, I am sure along the way I am going to read and see things I have missed. I know every word is for our edification and each word is living and active. I want to read with fresh eyes who God says I was and who through him I am. I do not think we can truly appreciate our salvation until we truly understand the depravity of our souls and the change that God does at the moment we believe and are born-again.

Maybe the next time you see a rainbow, not only will you remember the Ark, Noah, the flood, the promise, but you will have a new kind of gratefulness and appreciation for this salvation, freely given, when you understand that the flood came because man was and is evil, and God chose to spare us and allow us to come to him and be forgiven. He is Holy…take a moment and worship God where you are and thank him if you have been called and are now seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Knowing who you were and what he has saved you from should elicit some sort of praise about now!

Psalm 119:60 “I made haste and did not delay to keep your commandments.”

Hum, this is something to think about. Do we hasten to obey all the Lord tells us in His word to do? Are we eager to obey those things he has told us we must do or we must not do? I think all too often we are very quick to jump into things we should not. We forget that we are being watched by a Holy God, a jealous God. All too often without much thought, we find ourselves doing that very thing God said not to do and we have jumped in with both feet before the “wait a minute, what am I doing?” kicked in. And then we are crying to him when it all goes wrong, asking for his help.

What does “made haste” mean? It means with “excessive speed or urgency of movement or action; hurry.” Are there times when the Holy Spirit pricks your conscience and you know without a doubt you should not do something, yet onward you go. Thinking it isn’t really that bad and I really want to, God will forgive me anyway; or maybe it is the opposite and the Lord has quickened you to do some task for him, or help someone and you sense the urgency in the request, yet you still hold back, taking your time, because to be honest you just don’t feel like doing it at the moment.

We are like children, we hate being told what we can and cannot do. God has not given us rules to follow to pen us in, it is to protect us from those wrong urgings that we have. Those desires for things not of God that creep into our minds. He wants us to live freely under the umbrella of protection he has put in place so that we can forgo the circumstances to many a bad decision. He loves his children and he wants to see us flying high, not hitting the ground wounded.

What if we were swift to hear and to do those things he has commanded us to do or not to do. What if we heard his voice and we said yes Lord and did the thing that he has asked with the urgency it deserves. What do you think would happen then? I dare say God would be pleased and he would bless our obedience. And if we were quick to listen to that voice of warning that you know you hear when you are headed down the wrong path; in thought, in our actions, with our eyes. Yes, even our eyes can betray us. What if we trained our eyes to look away quickly so as not to give the mind and heart time to dwell on whatever we took a moments pleasure in seeing?

Maybe we would begin to grow spiritually and the sins of this world would lose a little of their shimmer and we would see them for what they are, pain, hardship, consequences. I am confident in saying that I do not think it is ever possible to be sorry for listening to the Holy Spirit’s voice and obeying what he speaks to us in those moments of decision and certainly we will never be sorry we obeyed God’s written word.

I know too many times in my life, especially my youth, I did not heed that still small voice, I spit on the words God has given us in his word. Maybe not literally, but by disobeying what he said, I might as well have. Many a time I have known when I was wrong and heading down the wrong path and basically said that I didn’t care, that God would forgive me. I presumed upon the precious grace and forgiveness of the Lord. I took him with me into sin. No, it pains me to say it, but it is true and I am sure it has been true for you at some time in your life.

It can be as simple as gossip, yes gossip. Maybe you have found yourself talking about someone unkindly sharing a secret or something and you know it is wrong, but you just go ahead with your words never knowing or thinking of how that person will feel when they hear what you said, and trust me, most of the time they do hear. Saying I am sorry does not remove the hurt of the words, we can forgive someone something, but most often we never forget.

Oh, precious fellow believers. We need to be hearers of the word, doers of the words and be swift in both. Our desires need to be focused on the Lord, eager to hear and obey. We need to realize that it is better to live in obedience with a clean conscience than to live with the consequences of bad decisions or slowness in obeying.

For myself, I love when I feel God’s pleasure toward me. I love knowing that my Father in heaven is pleased with me. I love hearing that still small voice at the end of my day that says, “well done.” I do not know how many more heartbeats I have in this life, but I want them to be heartbeats for God, doing his will, with haste and resting in his protection and grace.

If he has asked you to stop something or to do something, it is not too late to obey. Simply acknowledge your sin and confess it to him and he is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you. After the cleansing…say Yes Lord, here am I. Then you will hear that still voice whisper to your soul, with directions for stopping something or doing something, whichever it is, hasten to obey!