To all those confused or angered, happy or sad about the whole Harold Camping mess

Well, six o'clock came and went.....no rapture......just a lot of mocking and laughing, undoubtedly some disappointed followers of Harold Camping who "invested" their life savings and their all to this cause.  The false prophet, Mr. Camping....no where to be found.  Christians who know the Word of God hopefully were not surprised by this failed prophecy.

I want to talk about what happened, why some believed it, and how not to be one of the causalities of this man or any other man who will surely show up again with another lie.

As I listened to this man and read some of his interviews over the last few weeks leading up to May 21, several things he said caused red flags to immediately go up in my mind.

1.)  First and foremost, Mr. Camping distorted the Word of God and manipulated it to say what he needed it to say in order to support his idea.  It is possible to pull verses out of context and make them say just about whatever you want them to say.  It is important that we look at Scripture in context.  Who was God speaking to, what were the circumstances surrounding these verses, do these verses apply to everyone of just the people of those times.

2.) Mr Camping had come to the conclusion that every other pastor, every church, every Bible teacher had it all wrong......everyone but Mr. Camping had it wrong.   BEWARE of any man who claims to be a teacher of the Word of God and claims that everyone is wrong but him. Mr. Camping teaches that all the churches and their pastors don't teach the Word of God correctly, in fact, he goes on to state that the devil runs the churches and the Holy Spirit has left the churches.  My friend, step back and think about that.  The church is not a building, rather it is you and me, we are the church.  The moment we accept Christ we receive the Holy Spirit and the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit will remain with us so that He can comfort us and counsel us.  He is the Paraclete.-a Greek word that means "Comforter" and "Counselor"

DON"T BE SUCKED IN BY ANY TEACHER WHO CLAIMS HE IS THE ONLY ONE WITH THE ANSWER.  Step back, pray and ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit who resides within you in order that He may help you discern right from wrong, truth from lie!

3.)  Mr. Camping taught a false doctrine on salvation-  In the end all Mr Camping could say was "I hope I make it"  You've got to be kidding me!  Mr. Camping is saying he is the only one with the truth yet the best he can say is I hope I can make it.   Jesus said I came that ye may know that ye have eternal life.

I John 5:13- (NKJV)- These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life; and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God

So why were people deceived, why did people fall for his teaching only to be disillusioned at 6:01pm?.  How can we guard ourselves from being entrapped by such teaching.

 1)  Know God!-  Do you have a relationship with God or do you try to feed off someone else that claims to have a relationship with God.  Let me explain through this example-  Have you ever heard something about someone that you know of but you don't really know.  Perhaps on your job someone will tell you something about another co-worker.  They may know that co worker better than you do so you just automatically take that juicy bit of gossip as truth....after all they seem to know that person.  All of a sudden we view that person through the eyes of another.  It can be that way with God.  If we don't personally know God, we will just live off of what someone else has to say about Him- it may or may not be true.  When we have Jesus Christ as our Savior we can know God.  When we know God we grow in discernment of the Truth and we will be less likely to be fooled by false prophets

2..)Know the Word of God, know the Word of God, know the Word of God!!!  The best way to detect the lie is to know the Truth.  We learn the Truth through :
    1) Our own study of the Word-  When you get ready to read the Word, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and help you understand what you are reading.

    2)  Be in church- Look for a good, Bible teaching, Bible believing church where you can grow in your understanding of the Word.  Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to the right church.   Don't stay in a church that is teaching a false doctrine!- It is easy to get comfortable where we are at and just stay there even when we know it is not where we should be.

3)  Test everything you hear up against the Word of God.- When you hear someone say something about the Bible or God that just leaves you with questions- go home and search the Word of God and pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern Truth from error.-This is what a group of people, known as the Bereans
did as we read about it in Acts 17:10-12:

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul  and Silas away bu night to Berea.  When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.  These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.  Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

We are also reminded to do this very thing, as we read I John 4:1- Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits, whether they aer of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

4)  Remember that God never acts in a way that is contrary to His character. So much of what Mr. Camping had to say was not consistent with God's character.  That immediately poses a problem for Mr Camping.  God never goes contrary to His character.  As we know God and know the Word, we learn the character of God and we are better able to discern Truth from error.

5) Surround yourself with some godly men and women from whom you can seek counsel concerning any questions you may have about the Bible or something you have heard someone say about God or the Bible.  Make sure that your "cabinet of counselors" always take you to the Word of God to find your answers.  This is one thing I love about my pastor.  When my husband or I have had questions and we go to him to seek counsel, he immediately takes us to the Word and supports his answers with the Word of God.

6) Run from anyone that claims to be the only one with the answers concerning God-   When everyone else is wrong and this man is the only one that understands and the only one with this knowledge from God, step back.  Pray for discernment.  Do not take a man at his word when he makes this bold of a statement.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth!

7.)  Remember, God is not a God of confusion-  When someone stands before you and gives some mathematical equation in order to predict the date of the end of the world- run!  God desires the salvation messages gets out for He is not willing that any should perish. (II Peter 3:9)
 God is pretty black and white.  If  God went to such great lengths to offer us the gift of salvation- it makes no sense to think you need an abacus or calculator to figure Him out.

8)  When a man speaks something contrary to the Word of God- stick with the Word of God not the man.  Mr. Camping, in all of his calculations and calenders still had one HUGE HUGE problem.  There is a very simple verse in the Bible that, try as he might (he did and he failed), could not explain.  "NO MAN KNOWS THE HOUR OR THE DAY, NOT EVEN JESUS" When we hear falsehood from some Bible teacher, - At that point we must be bold, be ready reject the man, stand on the Word of God. and say "God said it, I believe it, that settles it for me."

 Matthew 24:36- (NKJV)- But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.-  This is Jesus speaking.

So what do we make of Mr Camping ?-  While I can judge his falsehoods using the only standard, God's Holy Word....I cannot judge his heart.  That must be left to God- and trust me, we can entrust that job to God with absolute certainty that He will handle the situation.  My job is not to judge Mr Camping's heart, my job is to reveal his errors using the Word of God and praying that people are not led astray by Mr. Camping's false teachings.

What do we make of Mr. Camping's followers- Once again, I cannot judge their heart.  They could have been, and probably were, innocently sucked in to his teachings.  This is the very reason that we must have the Truth hidden in our heart.  Discernment is easier when we are already armed with the Truth.  This armor will guard against false teaching even getting a foot in the door of our hearts and make attempts to poke holes in our faith.

Advice to us all-  Just because a man carries a Bible and can quote it and sound very confident doing so, does not mean he is a man of God or a Christian or anything else.  Yes, the world is getting a kick out of all this, mocking us, putting all Christians in the same camp as Mr Camping (no pun intended).  We are not in the same camp as this man- we stand on the Word of God.  There are false teachers by the numbers out there, there are deceptions in every field.  I have watched news shows about individuals who pretended to be doctors, some show how they were able to fool the hospital and the people that should be checking their credentials.  Some have even done minor surgeries (appendectomy, etc) in a hospital without even having a license to practice medicine!  That is scary.  How did this happen?  Well, my guess is if the people who were supposed to be carefully checking their credentials had done investigation properly, this would not have happened.  The fact that this fake doctor made it to the operating room and performed surgery on someone could come with some dreadful consequences, even death of the one who is under the knife.  The consequences are also great for the hospital.  When the word gets out the reputation of this hospital is marred by this one crazy man who faked being a doctor.

So it is in this false teaching of Mr Camping.  If we fail to check his credentials (teachings) up against the Word of God, there can be great consequences, even some walking away from their faith or, God forbid, some spiritually dying and facing an eternity without Christ, but rather in judgement and an eternity of suffering and torment of  a place called hell.

The reputation of the church will be marred in the eyes of the unbelievers.  We must rise to the occasion and speak the Truth with boldness and in love so that the eyes of the unbelievers will be opened.

The Lord is returning- all events seem to reveal that His coming is right around the corner.  Nonetheless, we don't know that day or the hour, so we must live our lives each day as if He were returning today.

Matthew 24:44 (NKJV)- Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Don't become discouraged by the mocking and such that the unbelievers and atheist are having a great time doing.  Don't let your faith be shaken.  Our trust is not in Mr Camping, our trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We have to just keep on speaking of and living out and standing on the Word of God!

Ephesians 4:14- That we should no longer  be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.

God said it, I believe it, that settles it for me!

To God be the glory

Roses and thorns

This is a subject I 've had on my mind a lot these days.  Finally I am getting around to writing about it!

Roses are one of the most adored, if not the most adored flower.  They are placed into a beautiful bouquet for the bride to carry as she walks down the aisle on that most special day of her life.  They are carefully assembled and placed on top a casket of a loved one who has departed from this life.  Valentines Day and Mother's Day are very important days for a rose.  We will empty our wallets and pay the premium price to make sure the one we adore receives that dozen of red roses on those holidays.

Much time has been given to ascribe meaning to the color of a rose.  Such as...
.a red rose represents romance and love.
 A deep pink rose represents "Thank you".
 A regular pink rose represents happiness.
  A light pink rose represents sympathy.
  A white rose represents innocence and purity..  When combined with red roses it represents unity.
  A yellow rose represents friendship and caring.
 A lavender rose represents "falling in love".
  An orange rose represents "desire".
 A blue rose symbolizes the rarity of your partner.  "You have attained the impossible"

Yet, in the midst of their beauty and their lovely fragrance, they have something other beautiful flowers to not have......thorns!  If you've ever met up with one of these nasty thorns, you know how they can prick the finger and draw the blood.  Therefore, when we handle roses, we do so with the utmost care, lest we experience the pain that a thorn can cause.

So why does a beautiful flower have such ugly thorns!  It just doesn't add up.  Well, I have read about those thorns and found out that those thorns are there to protect the rose!  The thorns keep animals and insects from eating the blooms and destroying the beauty of the rose!  What a brilliant invention!  I imagine biting into one of those thorns would  do the trick....I don't think I'd be desiring to eat a rose ever again!

One thing is certain, the thorns on roses may deter the insects and the animals but they have never lost their value or admirers.  In spite of their thorns, they remain the most desired flower of any girl, they remain an expensive flower and they remain the flower of choice for the many special occasions in our lives.

What do we have in common with the rose?   Yep, you guessed it, those nasty thorns!  We all have them, they come in many different  forms.  Some of us have thorns of a chronic health condition that continually drain our energy and our pocketbooks, some of us may have the thorn of having been physically or mentally abused by someone that was supposed to love us.  Some of us have thorns of fighting an addiction or a sinful habit that continually tries to erect a wall between us and our Savior.  These are just a few samples of thorns, I have in no way come close to giving you a comprehensive list!

Yet, we also have something else in common with a rose.  With all the thanks and praise going to Jesus, I want to tell you what else we have in common with roses.

1.  Our thorns can protect us- Listen closely......our thorns have a way of keeping us humble.  We are so easily prone to pride, an attribute that is not of our Savior, rather, of the one who became so prideful he actually thought he could overthrow God.  His pride bought him an eternity in hell.  Our thorns have a way of bringing us to our knees in prayer.  Our thorns remind us of our helplessness and take us to the One who has promised to meet our every need.  The Apostle Paul realized this.  Listen to what he writes in

 II Corinthians 12:7-9.  "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should become exalted above measure.  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that is might depart from me.  And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:  for My strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 . Our thorns enable us to help others who are going through similar struggles.  It can be very comforting  to hear those words "I know how you feel, I've been through that exact same thing"  Yes, our thorns can be used to protect us from the ugly "insect" of sin, and draw us closer to our Gardener, the Pruner, Jesus Christ.

2.  Our thorns do not diminish our value to God-  I have yet to hear that the prices of roses are reduced because of their thorns.  Nor have I heard someone unwilling to pay the price for roses because of their thorns.  The rose is an expensive and treasured flower in spite of the many thorns each stem has.  My husband buys me roses quite often.  I have yet to think about the thorns.  I know they are there and I am careful in my handling of the rose, but I've yet to tell him or even think of telling him to get me a flower that doesn't have the thorns.  I am so taken in by their beauty and their fragrance.....


If you see yourself as a rose with a host of thorns, come to the throne of grace.  When we submit ourselves, our thorns and all to God, we will feel the hand of God embrace us.  Don't worry, He is not harmed by our thorns.  He will fully embrace us.

You  know, there is one Rose who had no thorns, yet interestingly enough wore a crown made of thorns and felt the piercing pain of those thorns as the roman soldiers pushed that crown on to His head, causing the thorns to dig into His scalp.  That rose is the precious Rose of Sharon, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus understands all about thorns, He wore them for you!

You are very valuable to the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.  Do you know Him?  Please don't turn Him away.  Don't let Satan whisper in your ear trying to convince you that you are not precious to God because of your thorns.  Don't let another day go by without Him!  You can know that you know that you know that you know that you will spend eternity with Him.  Click on my page on how to have a personal relationship with God.

If you accept Jesus into your life, please let me know.  I would love to rejoice with you and send you (if you would like) a Bible and some helps to assist you in growing in your relationship with your Savior.

To God be the glory!

One of His Sheep!

Why does my Heavenly Father and my Savior refer to me as a sheep?  Have you ever wondered that child of God?  When I think "sheep"  I think of cute woolly animals.  Yet, that is not why Jesus  opted to call us sheep!  He wanted us to understand how much we need Him.  He wanted us to understand our helpless estate.  So let's look at sheep and then shepherds.  Your pride might get knocked down a few rungs but as you read, may you understand just how much our Savior loves us.....He knows our frame.  Thank you Jesus!

1.) Sheep are not all that bright- sheep are not cunning, they tend to wander from the protection of their shepherd.  Sounding familiar?  God is not saying we are not intelligent in the book sense but we are people who left to ourselves will crave darkness over light.
2.) Sheep are directionless- They can easily become lost and this puts them at great risk for harm because they don't know their way back to the pasture they were in.- Isaiah  53:6 confirms this same trait in us...."All we like sheep have gone astray.  If not for our Shepherd, we would become so easily entangled in the affairs of this world and lose our direction and some may not find their way back for a long time, if ever
3.) Sheep are weak and defenseless.  They will freeze in their tracks and panic in a dangerous situation.  The sheep's best defense is staying close to the shepherd.  So it is with us.  Just as sheep are prey for wolves, Satan goes after the sheep of the Savior, without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives we too will not be able to defend ourselves- in a panic we become an easy target of the enemy.
4.) Sheep easily become restless- two reasons sheep will become restless is hunger and bugs.  A well fed sheep will not quickly eat from anyone's hands but a hungry sheep will eat anything!  We must stay well fed Christians, fed by the Word of God.  If we fail to satisfy our hunger through the Word of God, we will find ourselves eating from the hand of the enemy!  Bugs are a big problem for sheep.  They land on the head of the sheep and nest there.  If the bugs go undetected by the shepherd, the sheep can actually be blinded.  The shepherd takes care of this problem through rubbing olive oil of the sheep's head so that the bugs cannot land there.  We have Satan and his demons constantly trying to destroy our spiritual sight.  That is why we need the Holy Spirit (oil is associated with the Holy Spirit)  When we have His anointing on our lives, the demons are unable to land on us and blind us.
5.) Sheep are a prized possession!- A shepherd pays a great price for his sheep and he will carefully guard them.  No other animal has a shepherd like the sheep does.
6.) Sheep need a lot of water-  If there is a dry spell a sheep can actually die of thirst.  We are like sheep in that we need the water of the Holy Spirit, the Living Water!  If we are not drinking from Him often we will face a spiritual drought and even spiritually die of thirst.
7.) Sheep know the voice of their shepherd- while they don't have great understanding, the moment they hear the voice of their sheep, they respond!  Unlike other animals they don't need marking to identify them, they know the voice of their shepherd, even when they are mingling with another herd of sheep.- So it is with us!  We may not have understanding of all that God is doing in our lives- but we know His voice and we must respond to it.
8.) Sheep cannot get up on their own- Sheep fall down and you will see it frantically struggling to get up on its own.  However, they are unsuccessful!  The shepherd has to come and help them.  If the shepherd doesn't help them they will become easy prey for their enemies.  So it is with us- we need God and we need each other.  When we fall, we have a Shepherd who will always run to pick us up lest we stay down and become a target for our enemy.
9.) Sheep must be sheared for its own good-  Sometimes a sheep will fall over because it has too heavy a fleece.  The shepherd will come along and shear the sheep to remedy the problem.  While sheep don't like the process, in the end they feel better.  Often their fleece is weighed down by manure and ticks and sticks and burrs.  It ends up being a relief.  We, too, have a Shepherd who sees when we are weighted down with sin.  He will come along and shear us.  While it may not be a fun process, in the end we feel the same relief the sheep feel.  It feels good to have the weight of our sin lifted off of us even though it might have been a painful process.
10)Sheep will remain dirty until someone cleans them-Sheepskin is full of lanolin (an oil)  It conditions the wool so that the animal will be warm in winter but oily wool catches all kinds of dirt.  We also remain dirty until the Savior cleanses us from sin.

Our Shepherd
1) He protects- A shepherd will literally lay his body across the opening of the door to the pasture.  This position kept the sheep in and the wolves out!-  Jesus laid His body out on a old rugged cross and today He stands at the gate- protecting us from Satan and from ourselves.
2.) He lives with the sheep- He knows them intimately, living among them.  Jesus left heaven to live among us so that He would understand all that we go through.
3.)A shepherd uses suffering as a last resort for the straying disobedient sheep.  Jesus never desires for us to suffer but if we continue to stray and disobey, He will use extreme discipline in order that we don't lose our lives.  A shepherd will break the leg of a forever straying sheep.  A straying sheep will even cause other sheep to go astray.  (Sheep aren't too bright!)  If one sheep walks off to the edge of the cliff, other sheep will follow and they too will find themselves in danger.  At first a sheep is angry with the shepherd and may even try to bite the shepherd.  But within a few days the sheep is loving and submissive to the shepherd.
Jesus loves us too much to let us continually wander off or take others with us down the wrong path.  He will permit suffering in order that we might come home to Him and never stray again.
4.) The shepherds motive is not in anger to punish but in love to rescue- So it is with Jesus.  The wrath of God was satisfied on the cross so as His children we do not face his wrath but we will face His love in order that He can rescue us from our sin.
5.) A shepherd will search until he has found his lost sheep- As will our Shepherd Jesus- this is how much He loves us.
6.) A shepherd lifts the sheep- When the shepherd finds his sheep he literally picks it up out of the danger.  This is what Jesus does to us as he carries us in his arms.
7.) The Shepherd wants to find his sheep-  Jesus wanted to find us- that is why He came to earth to die- He wanted us to turn to him.
8.) The staff and the rod of the shepherd bring comfort-  The rod is used in defense, the staff is used to direct the sheep.  God has given us His Word.  A rod in the face of the enemy, a staff for us to find guidance for our lives.

God doesn't look down and think "Stupid sheep!".  He instead sent us a Shepherd, Jesus Christ.  May we find even greater comfort in being called a sheep.  It is an animal that is cared for in ways that no other animal is cared for.

I love being a sheep!

Dwelling between the shoulders of God!

Deuteronomy 33:12- (NKJV) Of Benjamin he said: "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him, Who shelters him all the day long; And he shall dwell between His shoulders."

Moses is about to die. In this chapter he invokes blessings upon each of the tribes of Israel.  Verse 12 is my favorite verse in this chapter.  I began to research out this verse and I loved the picture one commentator painted the picture of riding "piggyback" on God's shoulders.  Imagine that!  After reading that I began to think back on my childhood.  We would go on vacations each summer and usually it involved amusement parks.  By the end of the day I would be so tired.  When I became tired I would hop on my dad's back.  He carried me piggyback.  That took the load off of me and placed it all on him.  All I had to do was hang on.  It was my father that had to bear all my weight.

Friend, do you realize that is what God offers us?  He says "rest between my shoulders"  He takes on all our weight, all we have to do is hang on!

I have to remind myself of that a lot these days.....it's an offer you really can't refuse, yet so often, we carry our burdens and never take God up on that offer.  He is waiting for you, hop on.  If He carried the weight of the world on His shoulders, surely He can carry you and me!

To God be the glory

The Bible is so much more than just a book!

The Bible has the amazing ability to teach you new things each time you read it even if you've read it countless times before!  The Bible was given to us by our Heavenly Father...not to sit on the coffee table, or bookshelf, or to stay in the back seat of your car until next Sunday.  It was given to us to answer our questions, seek guidance from, comfort us and better acquaint us with our Heavenly Father.  The stories in the Bible are there to let us know that there are others that have gone through similar problems.....it shows their successes and their failures, proving true that what we sow we will reap.  The greatest reason we have the Word of God in our hands is so we may read the salvation plan and we may walk through this life victoriously.  It gives us insight to the tactics of the devil and tells us how to defeat him....which by the way, is with the WORD OF GOD.

All that being said.....have you read it today?  I sure hope so.  The Lord took me to Psalm 119 today and I want  to share with you what the longest chapter in the Bible has to say about the Word of God.

Psalm 119

vs 1-blessed are those who walk in the Word
2-blessed are those who keep the Word
4-God has commanded us to diligently keep His Word
6-Walking in the Word will keep us from shame
7- Knowing the Word will cause praise to flow from our heart and our mouth
9-The Word cleanses us
10-We are to seek God with our whole heart
11-Hiding the Word in our heart will help us keep from sinning against God
12-We are to pray for God to teach us His Word
13-We are to declare the Word with our mouth
14-We are to rejoice in the Word
15- We are to meditate on the Word
16- We are to delight in the Word and memorize the Word
18-We are to ask God to open our spiritual eyes that we may learn and understand the truths of the Word
21-We are disciplined by the Word
24-The Word is to be our counselor
25-We are revived by the Word
28-We are strengthened by the Word
31-We are to cling to the Word
33-We are to keep the Word til our final breath
34-We are to pray for understanding in order that we can keep the Word with our whole heart
36-Clinging to the Word helps us not to covet
37-Keeping our eyes on the Word helps to take our eyes off of worthless things
42-The Word provides us with answers for those who reproach us
43-Our hope is to be in the Word
45-Walking in the Word allows us to walk in freedom
46-We are to speak the Word unashamed before anyone big or small
50-The Word is our comfort is affliction
52-We find comfort in the Word
67- The Word keeps us from straying
77-When we delight in the Word we will find the mercies of God fall upon us
89-The Word of the Lord is settled in heaven, unchanging
92-Delighting in the Word gives us strength in our affliction
103-The Word is sweeter than honey to our mouth
105-The Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path
114-The Word is our hiding place and our shield
117-The Word holds us up and keeps us safe
127-The Word of God is more precious than the finest gold
130-The Word provides light and givens understanding to the most simple
133-The Word keeps sin from having dominion over us
136-We are to be grieved when others do not keep the Word
140-The Word of God is pure
143-In the midst of trouble and anguish the Word is our delight
147-We are to rise in the morning seeking the Word
160-The entirety of the Word is Truth
165-Loving the Word brings peace to our heart
176-The Word is the way back when we go astray.

This is just a small list of everything this chapter teaches about the Word of God.

Friend, do not neglect it....it is your life.  When I have found myself in some of the toughest situations I have often slept with my Bible as a child sleeps clinging to a teddy bear.  The words on those pages are straight from the lips of my Heavenly Father and I know, while others will let me down- my Heavenly Father is faithful and speaks only truth.  He is Truth!  He will only do what is best for me.  For over 45 years now this Book has been my life.  I can testify every word to be true.....I will until I die and awake in heaven in the arms of THE WORD.

John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Why not spend some time right now in the Word.

Let me know how it goes.

To God be the glory!

What to do when you don't know what to do

I want to look at a verse from one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  II Chronicles 20: 12.


"O our God, will you not judge them?  For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon You."


Have you ever been there?  I have.  I've faced health problems, financial problems, just like everyone else.  I have tried to take care of things myself, thinking that I can handle it all....only to find that I can't.  But I can testify that EVERY TIME I went to God and said "God I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on You" and then REALLY fixed my eyes on Him, He comes through every time.  Oh perhaps He does not come through as I had hoped, but without fail, He comes through in a way that is for my benefit and will turn out better than any plan I had come up with.


We serve a God who has an endless supply of resources.  He speaks and IT IS!  This God is my Father.  I am a child of the King.  Oh that ought to bring us peace.  


The world just finished watching the royal wedding.  I doubt that Prince William or Prince Harry worry to much about finances....after all, they are related to the Queen!  Yet, I can top that one.  I am a child of the King of Kings!  God has an endless supply of resources.  He speaks and IT IS!  I am a co-heir with Christ to all that belongs to the Father.  That's not me talking- that's the Word of God.
  Galatians 4:7
 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.


Heaven does not operate on earth's economy!  God is not watching the stock market or trimming the budget in order to make it.  If you find yourself in a situation today that has you fearful and wondering what will happen, take it to the Lord.  Just throw your hands up and tell Him you don't know what to do, then fix your eyes on Him and sit back and watch Him work.


Now I want to say just a few things.  God knows our heart, He will not give us things we desire so that we may consume it upon our own lusts.  He is not a genie in a bottle, granting our 3 wishes.


But when we have given our will to Him and we are walking in His will then we can be sure He has our back.  


He loves you.  Don't let Satan whisper anything different in your ear.  Surrender your heart to Him today.  Surrender your WHOLE heart.  God is not interested in "renting a room", He wants to move in to every part of our lives.  He is worthy, dear friend.  It is a decision you will never regret.


It starts with a desire, planted deep within your heart
You pray in faith, and wait for God to move
Times passes and you wonder
Did He hear me when I called?
Should I even have prayed that prayer at all?


There comes a time when child-like faith
Must graduate to trust
Trials come and you're convinced you're on your own
But the teacher's often silent
During the hardest test
But He'll answer when it's time 
With what is best!


You never pray a prayer, your Father will not answer
He can't ignore His child's earnest request
While you're waiting and believing
For what you thought was best
Trust God if He says no...............you're still blessed
There must be a greater "yes"

Gratitude

Recently someone told me they were starting a gratitude journal.  I think that is an awesome thing to do.  You see, it is our human nature to be quick to point out all the problems in our lives, but we are often slow to think about all that we have to be thankful for.  I am not just talking about the common things we all think of....family, friends, health, a job.  I'm also thinking about those "small" things.....a parking place.......a good nights rest....an unexpected thoughtful deed.


Thankfulness is important to God.  You often hear Christians talk about finding "the will of God" for their lives.  Well, let me help you.  Giving thanks is the will of God for your life.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (King James Version)

 ¹⁸In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.


How do we learn to give thanks for those things in our lives that have brought us pain?   

Romans 8:28 (King James Version)

 ²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose


God does not say that "all things are good" but He does say that He will work all things for our good.  A few years ago I had cancer.  Was that good? No, rather it brought with it some very difficult days.  But God did take it and worked it out for my good.  It was in those times that He grew me, and renewed me and used me and I can honestly say that I am a better person today because of  those difficult days.


If you are a born again, true child of God then you can rest assured that whatever you are facing today has been permitted by the hand of God.


I did not say that God brings about all the bad things, but because God is sovereign, He permits whatever comes into our lives.


Sometimes we face difficult circumstances as a consequence of our sin.  It is the sowing and reaping process God spoke of in Galatians 6:7 when He said that whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.


Sometimes we face difficult circumstances because of the circumstances of life, the fall of man in general.  By this I mean that we might suffer at the hands of the economy, or a disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane or tornado, etc


Sometimes we face difficult circumstances because God has us in the refining fires.  He is purifying us, just as the finest gold or silver is purified in the hottest fires.  God desires to grow us and conform us more to the image of His Son and this is not always a pleasant process, but as Job said in Job 23:10, when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.


Why don't you take some time to start a gratitude journal?  I believe you will find that there is no journal large enough to hold all that you have to be thankful for.  If you don't believe me, then test me....I am certain you will find what I have said to be absolute truth!


When He walks among us, all that He does
All of His mercy and all of His love
If the pen of a writer could write every day
Even this world could never contain
Just how I've been blessed


The warmth in the winter, the flowers in spring
The laughter of summer and the changing of leaves
Food on my table, a good place to sleep, clothes on my back
And shoes on my feet
Oh I have been blessed


Arms that will raise, a voice that can talk
Hands that can touch and legs that can walk
Ears that can listen and eyes that can see
Oh I've got to praise Him as long as I breath
Cause I have been blessed


Father and mother, nurtured and raised
my sister and family, memories made
My pastor to lead me, an altar to pray
Stripes that can heal and Blood that can save
Oh I have been blessed


We live in a country, the greatest on earth
Our flag stands for freedom and what it is worth
She stands in the harbor, Miss Liberty calls
All have gave some, but some gave it all
For me to be blessed


A shoulder to lean on when I am down
A Rock where He leads me when I'm overwhelmed
The place where He hides me under His wings
He's not just a song, He's the reason I sing
Oh I have been blessed


I have been blessed, God's so good to me
Precious are His thoughts of you and me
No way I could count them, there's not enough time
So I'll just thank Him for being so kind
God has been good, so good.   I have been blessed.


To God be the glory!