ARE YOU IN?

Tomorrow begins the 8 days of listening to God's Word sponsored by Anne Graham Lotz.  If you have not signed up, it is not too late.

…Blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.  Revelation 1:3

Join together August 1-8, 2016 as we listen to God’s Word being read.

In the 8th month — August
For the first 8 days
For 8 hours — one hour per day

In these days of chaos and confusion, hopelessness and helplessness, what would happen if everyone hit life’s pause button and made time to listen to what God has to say?  Let’s find out.

Catch the vision.  Let’s ignite revival.

Partner with Anne Graham Lotz and Faith Comes by Hearing to saturate our nation and the world with God’s Word. Available in over 900 languages.

Please visit GodSpeaking.com to sign up to participate!

The first part of II Chronicles 7:14 says "If my people who are called by MY name will humble themselves...."  If we are to be healed as a nation we must first humble ourselves.  Have you ever thought about why God asks us to humble ourselves?  If we do not humble ourselves, then HE will have to humble us.  

In Deuteronomy 8:2 God tells us what happened to the Children of Israel:

Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. 8:3 He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

God gives us a choice.  We can either humble ourselves, or he will humble us.

I believe that a good beginning is to listen to His Word so that we allow God to speak to our hearts and show us where we are off the track.  Are you willing to listen to His Word for 8 days and ask Him to show YOU?  

I am in.  I have signed up.  So can you.  Will you do that today and join hundreds...hopefully thousands of believers across the United States in listening to God's Word?

If we have had time to listen to political speeches, debates, arguments and media commentary surely we can find 1 hour a day to listen to what GOD has to say!  They will even break it in to 2 segments, 30 minutes each, if you prefer.

So, are you in?  I'd love to see how many of you are.  So just leave a "yes" or "no" in the comment section!  

ARE YOU IN??????

COMPELLED TO SPEAK

COMPELLED TO SPEAK


As much as I love writing, I have not had the time to write on my blog for a number of years.  Yet I am feeling compelled to begin again, compelled to speak out and to urge believers to WAKE UP!!!

The Lord told us that in the "latter days" things would get worse and worse.  And they are.  From every corner of the globe we see that "iniquity is abounding" according to Matthew 24: 12.  But He also told us that we, as believers, are to "continue in the things we have been taught" (II Tim. 3:14) and that we should "preach the Word" (II Tim. 4:2)

The last couple of months have been a continuous succession of upheaval here and abroad.  We have seen acts of terrorism played out before our eyes, killing hundreds of innocent people in the name of ISIS.  We have seen our policemen gunned down in the streets as they sought to protect innocent lives.  We have seen corruption in every branch of government go unpunished. Crime abounds.  Our own nightly news is a litany of murders, night after night after night. We watch in horror as thugs snatch purses from the arms of frail, elderly women and break into the homes of the elderly beating them almost to death.   We are almost afraid to turn on the television in the morning for fear of what may have happened during the night.

It is madness.....sheer madness!!

America, founded on the principles of God's Word, established by godly men, has now pushed God to the side and continues to denounce Him, deny Him and rebel against His Word.  What are we to do?

Well, II Chronicles 7:14 tells us what we are to do.  It says "If my people, who are called by my name (BELIEVERS IN JESUS CHRIST) will (1) humble themselves (2) pray and seek my face (3) repent and turn from their wicked ways THEN will I hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

So it is up to us....God's people, believers....THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST!!  If we want to see change in America, it is going to have to start with us!  But how much do we really want it?  Do we want it enough to do those 3 things mentioned above?  It is one thing to talk about it, to discuss it, to agree with it, but WILL YOU DO IT?  Will the Church do it?  How many churches across this land are willing to get serious and call their people to their knees to DO it?

Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of famed evangelist, Billy Graham, IS serious about it and has been for some time.  She has been calling for Christians to wake up and to get serious with God for some time.  But she is now giving us a way, an avenue to take action.

I invite you to listen to the following 1 minute clip as she lays out this plan and tells you how YOU can get involved.

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/;2016/07/25/plumb-line-hand

This plan of listening to God's Word for 8 straight days in August is not a magic bullet.  But, I believe, it is to wake up God's people from their slumber, from their complacency and from their lack of discipline.  I believe it is the  desire of her heart and others who have orchestrated this plan to get believers into the Word and the Word into them.

I hope you will choose to listen to this 1 minute clip and even more I pray you will follow Anne's suggestion and join the movement for 8 days of listening to God's Word.  

Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis in his devotional book, Morning Manna, wrote of Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher "For almost 40 years in the 1800s, he preached to over six thousand people in London every Sunday.  Like Apollos "he was mighty in the scriptures" (Acts 18:24)  The sacred text richly dwelt within him.  God used him to reach masses of poor people for Christ.  Communism later lamented its inability to infiltrate England with its devilish doctrines because Spurgeon had already SATURATED the common people with the Gospel."  

To me that said that we as American Christians have been too busy with our secular lives to be saturated with the Gospel and because of that, "sin that used to slink down back alleys now struts down Main Street" (Adrian Rogers)

It's time American Christians to WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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GIFTS OF THE HEART

I have so missed writing my blog!!! So much going on in my life right now prevents me the time to write.  Yet today as I was cleaning out some cabinets, going through some old journals and writings of mine, I ran across this piece I wrote in 1984!!!!!  I remembered these events like they were yesterday and still remember how much these special "gifts of the heart" touched me.  So I decided to share this with you today in hopes that it will inspire YOU to be a "people angel" too, and share a gift of the heart with someone who crosses your path in need of that special touch.

Do you love presents?  I do!! I am still a child at heart, I guess.   The sight of a gayly wrapped package always excites me, especially when MY name is written on it!  I have received some wonderful gifts, too. Just this past CHRISTmas my mother gave me a set of gorgeous crystal. . My mother in law has made me several ceramic pieces which I will always treasure.  My sweet husband has always showers me with wonderful gifts.  Our first CHRISTmas he gave me a beautiful gold heart necklace which I still wear.  And many, many more gifts, too numerous to mention.

But, you know, as wonderful as these and all the hundreds of other lovely gifts I've received are, they can never compare with the gifts of the heart which I've received.

You see a gift of the heart is more than an earthly treasure which "moth and rust can corrupt and thieves can break through and steal". A gift of the heart is eternal and its memory never fades.

I will never forget the first time I realized I'd been blessed with a gift of the heart by a "people angel".  I was in my early 20's and my people angel was my mother.  We worked at the same place, but we usually arrived at different times.  She came an hour early to enjoy her coffee and newspaper and I usually arrived a minute or two late because, unlike her, morning is NOT my time of the day.  However, this morning was different.  It was Wednesday and on Wednesday we both arrived an hour early to attend devotional services.

My husband and I had had a disagreement the night before and had not yet settled things.  My heart ached and I hated the silence between us.  All the way to work I had poured out my heart to the Lord.  As I walked into the building, Mother stopped me and handed me the most exquisite red rose I'd ever seen.  All she said was "I brought you something!".  She smiled and walked away.  She had no idea what she had done.  She had no idea that she'd just delivered a gift of the heart.

Big Deal, you say?  It WAS a big deal to me!  I was heartsick and I had cried unto the Lord and to me that red rose said "I heard you, my Child.  Everything is going to be ok."  And in just a couple of hours, my husband called and invited me to lunch and everything was made fine.

My most recent gift of the heart came just days ago.  As I said, I'm a child at heart.  I love birthdays and think they should be celebrated with all the pomp and circumstance possible, whether you're one or one hundred.

Well, my 32nd birthday came and went as uneventful as washday.  Oh, I received some lovely gifts from my family and they all wished me "Happy Birthday".  But that was over and done with in 5 minutes and that was it for my birthday celebration.  My husband had to work that night so our usual birthday dinner was off.  No cards arrived in the mail.  No calls came until after 7:00 pm and NO BIRTHDAY CAKE.  

Now no birthday cake should not have bothered me for I had not had one since I was 13.  Oh I had had cakes, ice cream or pies every year.  But not a G E N U I N E birthday cake complete with candles and "HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT" written on it!  And for some reason that missing cake this year just did me in.  I thought this year might be different.  In fact, I had almost bought myself one, but I changed my mind at the last minute.  I just felt so alone, so forgotten and just plain unimportant.  I was really in despair.

The next morning, I woke up thinking, "Well forget it.  It's gone til next year...maybe NEXT year will be different."  But I just couldnt' shake the blues.  A friend called and after a few minutes of conversation she asked what was wrong.  I told her I didn't really know...I was just low and didn't care for anyone or anything that day.

That afternoon about 5:00 pm, someone knocked at my door.  When I opened the door there stood that friend along with another close friend of mine.  They both smiled and said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Sorry we're a day late!"  In their hands was a real honest to goodness birthday cake with MY name on it and candles too.  The tears began to flow and the despair was washed away in a flood of love and concern.

That was a gift of the heart!  The cake itself was temporal and was gone in a day, but the love and concern that it represented will never leave my heart.  I had not mentioned WHY I was down to either of them, and had not mentioned birthday cake to either of them.  Yet they had sensed a real need in my life and they responded with a gift of the heart.  They could not not have known that NOTHING they could have done would have thrilled me more.

A gift of the heart originates in the heart of God and is transferred to the heart of a people angel by His precious Holy Spirit.  More often than not, the people angel has no idea the impact a small insignificant deed or word or gift will make on their recipient.  But to the one on the receiving end, it almost always comes as a direct response to a heart that is crying out in despair or grief or heartsickness.

If we are available and in tune with God's Spirit, we too can be a people angel.  There are those around us every day who are in dire need of a gift of the heart.  And when God impresses you to go to someone or call someone or bake someone a cake, even if you don't know why, do NOT suppress the urge.  God may be calling YOU to be a people angel and to make delivery of a gift of the heart.

Now that was almost 30 years ago, yet I have been blessed by many gifts of the heart since then.  And I've delivered a few of my own.  The invention of email has really been a great tool for delivering those gifts.  I can't tell you how many times I've felt impressed to email a friend or to forward a devotional that I thought might bless them, only to receive a reply that said "You have no idea how much I needed that today!"  And they were right.  I didn't.  But God did.  So I again I say to you.  Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.  When you are prompted to send a card, an email, make a visit or take a gift, DO IT.  Don't ignore the urge, even if it seems odd to you.  I guarantee you, you will be a blessing as you deliver that gift of the heart.

JOURNEY TO EASTER

Journey to Easter

Like me, most of you are busy with your day to day lives. We have our daily schedules which are overly full, then we add to that the "extra-ordinary" things that are occuring....babies being born, children getting married, people moving from one location to another, doctor visits, family illnesses, deaths, special projects we are undertaking, preparing our yards for spring.....the list could go and on! All of these are just part of life. Yet in the midst of all this busyness, we need to stop and reflect upon the significance of this coming Sunday..... Easter.

That day changed MY life..........has it changed yours?


I'd like to invite you to take a journey with me this week, back to Jerusalem, back to the roots of the first Easter. Let's take a few moments for the remainder of this week and reflect upon how Jesus, the centerpiece of Easter, spent his last week on this earth. Maybe by doing that, it will help us to truly appreciate Easter and make it truly a day to celebrate.


This past Sunday was Palm Sunday. What does that mean? Well, scripture tells us that on Sunday, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and entered the city on the back of a donkey. So why is that such a big deal? Let's look a little further:


Matt. 21: 1-7
"When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, telling them, 'Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you should say that the Lord needs them and immediately he will send them' This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled,
"Tell Daughter Zion See your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey,
even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden" (Is 62:11, Zec 9:9)

The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their robes on them and He sat on them."

The Roman leaders (who were then occupying Jerusalem) had probably paraded through the streets earlier that day. It was almost time for Passover and everyone would be entering the city in preparation for it. It was customary for the Roman royalty to come through in a fine chariot, the red carpet rolled out before them, the colors flying, a parade of great splendor! But when Jesus comes, he comes riding on the back of a lowly donkey, with borrowed robes for a saddle. He was probably followed by a rag tag group of followers, children, lame, poor, who were all expecting Him to become their king, roust the Romans from Jerusalem and FINALLY set up his kingdom. They laid palm branches and their coats on the road for him to ride in on, it was the best they could do. They had great expectations, yet little did they know what the week would bring as they shouted Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to God in the Highest!!

When He arrived in the city, he was not bowing and waving, cheering on the crowd and enjoying his moment of triumphal entry. No, he wept. He wept for Jerusalem. Luke 19: 41 says "As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it ..." He wept because they had hardened their hearts. He wept because they would not believe He was their Messiah. He wept for their loss.

Today Jesus comes to man and too often man does not recognize Him. They are looking for someone or something different and they fail to see Him as He really is. He has come to seek and to save that which is lost. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Many are expecting something else from life. They are looking in all the wrong places. When what they really need is Jesus and He is right in front of them, yet they cannot see. It breaks His heart.

Even those of us who are His often miss seeing Him. We are so busy with our everyday lives that we miss the evidence of His presence all around us. I encourage you this week, TODAY...to look around, to realize how God is with you every moment of every day. He is in the small things and the BIG things! See him in the beauty of spring. See him in the blessings He loads you with every day. See him in the answered prayers. See him in the unexpected blessings that seem to just come from nowhere. It is NOT coincidence, it is NOT luck, it is your Heavenly Father who loves you and loves to give you good gifts. And even in the midst of your storms, He is there. He is holding your hand, watching over you, caring for you, meeting your needs before you even realize you have one.

This week, LOOK FOR HIM.. Be aware. Do not be asleep as those in Jerusalem were! Dont' miss the blessings!! Open your heart this week. Ask God to help you SEE Him as you have never SEEN Him before. If you don't know Him, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He will!

Easter is coming!!!

COME LET US ADORE HIM

On this Sunday morning, Lord, I want to worship YOU.

I acknowledge who you are...

The Messiah

Our Lord and Savior

King of Kings and Lord of Lords

The Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End

Creator God

Sovereign

Holy

Righteous

You alone deserve our worship and praise.

You came into this world in a lowly stable, born to a peasant girl and boy.

Your first bed was a manger filled with hay.

Your first witnesses to your glory, the ordinary cows and sheep and donkeys.

Your first visitors were common men...shepherds.

But you were anything but common.  Anything but ordinary.

Your story began in a garden, became manifested in a stable, was lived out on a cruel cross and will one day culminate in Heaven around the throne of God!

You and you alone are God.  You deserve all of our worship and all of our praise.

May you be our central focus today.  Not a man...not a teacher...not a particular church...not a style of music or a song....just YOU!

Worthy....Worthy is the Lamb of God.  Worthy of all honor and glory and praise!!

STINKIN' THINKIN'

I woke up yesterday with a lot on my mind.  A ton of things that needed my attention, things weighing on my heart, and I really wasn't sure where to begin.  I had fixed my coffee and was standing in the middle of my kitchen, contemplating what to do first.  I breathed a prayer and said "Lord, what do I do first?!"  At that moment, my eyes fell on my Bible lying on the kitchen table.  It was almost as if God shined a spotlight on it.  I sort of laughed, and said "Ok...I hear you."  Although I would be leading a Bible study in a few hours in my home and I did need to look over my notes, I sensed that I just needed to open it up and let God speak.

I did and He did.

After flipping through several passages, I landed where I almost always do...Psalms.  My eyes fell on the verses 9-10 of Psalm 119, "I have sought you with my whole heart.  Do not let me wander from your commands."  I felt that voiced the desire of my heart.  I continued reading and then came to verses 15, 16

"I will meditate on your precepts
I will think on your ways
I will delight in your statutes
I will not forget your word."

Those words just jumped off the page at me!  Two reasons.  One, I am the world's worst at rehearsing my woes over and over and over in my mind.  What I should have done or said, what can I do or say, how can I fix this, what if....., etc."  I talk to the Lord constantly about them (not a bad thing, but I have a feeling even HE sometimes wishes I'd give it a rest!).  I know better.  I know not to dwell on those things, not to worry, but I still do.

So when I read those words, it was as if God was reminding me GET YOUR MIND ON THE RIGHT THINGS !!

The second reason was that the Bible study I've been leading has been about God's Story.  We have been doing a chronological study of the Word of God and the one thread we have seen throughout the Bible has been the thread of Bible literacy and how important it is to the survival of a nation and of a life on a personal level.  These verses speak directly to that!

So I have challenged those in my Bible study to memorize these 2 verses for next week.

The first line says "I will meditate on your precepts."  

What does it mean to "meditate"?  Webster defines meditate: "to focus one's thoughts on, to ponder, to chew over, to study, to question, to 'kick around', to wrestle with."

What are precepts?  "A command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action".  

So, if we are to "mediate on your precepts", we will ponder, chew on, wrestle with and question a command or principle put forth in the Word of God.  That will require more than a mere glance at this principle or verse.  It will require that we take it with us, either by memory or in written form.  We will think on it again and again throughout our day.  We will contemplate what it means for us specifically.  We will ask the Lord to open the eyes of our understanding to His meaning for us and for our lives.  Once we begin to do that, we will begin to "own" that verse.  It will no longer just be words on a page.  It will be personal to us, to our situation, and that is when, I believe, that God will begin to change us and maybe even our circumstances.

"I will think about your ways."  God's ways are not our ways.  He is our role model.  When we begin to think about and read about His ways, we will learn to follow after Him.  We will begin to see how He wants us to live.  That, too, will change our lives.  We are to be image bearers to the world, witnesses to the world of the life that resides within us as believers.  If we never give any thought to God's ways, we will never be like Him.

"I will delight in your statutes."  A statute is defined as "an ordinance or a law."   God gave a number of laws and ordinances for us to live by.  Do we "delight" in them?  We should.  They are for our good and for our protection.  It is important for us to know what they are so that we can live within their boundaries.  We can feel secure and cared for when we know the laws that God has instituted for our good and when we obey them.  God never enacted any rule or law to harm us.  Just like we, as parents, make rules for the good of our children, so God has made rules for the good of us, His children.  It just shows He loves us and wants what is best for us.  For that reason, we CAN delight in His laws.

"I will not forget your Word."  If we are meditating on His Word, thinking on His ways, and delighting ourselves in His laws, we will NOT forget His Word.  It will become a part of us.  If we allow God's Word to fill our minds rather than our problems, agendas, and concerns, we will find those things somehow becoming "strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace". 

I challenge you to memorize those verses with us this week and free your mind from "stinkin' thinkin'"!