FRESH START TODAY (Blog 30)

FRESH START TODAY... Only you can change you, but you can ask for help!

Psalms 51:10-12, Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. NIV

The history behind this Scripture is a Psalm of repentance of king David after the prophet Nathan came to him addressing his adultery with Bathsheba. We may not have committed adultery, but there may be something we have done to rebel against the Holy God. I know that there have been many times in my life I had to repent due to my rebellion or lack of faith. I may have gossiped, or lied, or been unkind to someone, so I need to repent. This goes beyond just saying that I am sorry, but asking God to “create in me a pure heart!”

There was a time that I was so angry with someone that my heart had become very cold. I would talk and repeat the situation about the offense to anyone who would listen. I have been angry like this regarding a few circumstances, but it does not change what happened in the past. My memory just relived the hurt over and over again. Other people have spoken to me like this, too. You can get tired of hearing the same complaint over and over again with no change in the other person’s heart. Do bad things happen in our life? Yes! Can we forget the hurt? Yes! Do we remember the circumstances that caused the hurt? Yes, but we can find peace in our hearts when we repent of the anger and forgive the person(s).

I was going to share one of those hurtful situations, but why? You do not need to read about a negative experience that I have had, because there is probably enough negative around your own life. People have hurt you, talked about you, and treated you unkindly because that is part of the sin nature in this world that we face on a daily basis. We live in a world that can be very dark at times. We do not seek out the light that can brighten that darkness. Our physical bodies will stumble through the darkness in the middle of the night to go the restroom, but if we have a night-light we can avoid stubbing our toe. Why do we stumble through life in the darkness? Where are the night-lights through life that could keep us from stumbling? His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When we become a believer we will still stumble, hopefully not as often, so what is the answer? We cry out to the God that loves us! (The light) We read His Word! (Another source of light) We pray (A powerful source of light) We can begin to praise the Lord! (A regeneration of light and hope) We trust the Lord for His provision! (The light of Faith) We gather together with other believers for fellowship and encouragement. (A brighter cluster of lights where we can begin to see more clearly!) I pray that you can envision the night-lights that are provided for us as believers?

There was a movie that came out that was called the “Passion of Christ” directed by Mel Gibson. I have a copy of that movie and have seen it just a few times, but it gave me the closest description of what Jesus Christ was willing to do for me. My cry to my Savior is and will always be “Create in me a pure heart”! He will do the changing within your own heart and the pain of negative experiences seem to soften as you remember the gentle, caring love of a Savior that was first beaten, nailed to a cross and then died for you. His GRACE and PASSION are never ending for those who seek His light!

FRESH START TODAY - (Blog 29)

FRESH START TODAY... What do others think of you? Does it really matter?

Colossians 3:23-25, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. NIV

I have struggled most of my life thinking about what other people may think of me. The truth is that they probably do not think of me at all like I think they do in the first place. Some may have opinions, but they truly do not know my heart. You have heard the saying that you can’t judge a man, or woman, unless you walk a mile in their shoes. I am down physically right now, but my heart tells me to write something that would glorify God! I have been praying this morning asking myself why the Lord has allowed me to be suffering physically right now and His answer is “He is in control” and that settles it! He has brought to my memory, after speaking to a sister in Lord last night, that the devil has a personality and he wants to be God. The whisper of his lies began in the Garden of Eden tempting people to want to be in control and to be the god in their homes, their work and their church. Did you notice that I said in their homes, their work and their church? Who gave you your home, your job and who is the Head of the Church? Satan has whispered his words to those who want to be in control, and isn’t the church suffering like I am physically right now? (I need your prayers...) What is the answer? Who really has the answer? The church needs a Spiritual revival!

The Scripture today is amazing! Whatever we do, work at it with all of our heart, as working for the Lord and not men’s approval. We need to think more of the Lord Jesus Christ in our daily life. The pity party attitude does not glorify the Lord, but hinders the work of the Lord in furthering His Kingdom. The Holy Spirit will place you in leadership as He chooses, if you maintain a humble attitude and loving heart as Jesus Christ’s example has passionately given us to follow. His love for humanity looked beyond their weaknesses and He still does today. He saw what we could become through His eyes of mercy that would lift us up in His time. Do we allow people’s opinions of us to keep us from doing what the Lord is gently guiding us to do that would reveal Christ in us? The spark of the Holy Spirit will light the world where we live when we take the truth of the cross to the world where we individually live. Make a fresh start today to accept the truth of what God desires you to understand regarding this Scripture for this week. I really recommend that you pray the Scripture placing your name where it says “you” and keep a journal. The activity of the Holy Spirit is present in all true believers of Jesus Christ. Work to glorify the Lord and you will receive His inheritance that He desires for you to have as a reward for your genuine service to Him. Do not seek men’s approval. I have tried to do this and it does not work.

I asked myself a question as I was praying today and that is “Who has truly blessed and encouraged my walk with the Lord”? It has been people who were not afraid to share their weaknesses in order to bring the victory that the Lord has given them. Their testimonies were never “look at what I have done”, but look at the wisdom God gave me through His work at just the right time.

FRESH START TODAY - (Blog 28)

FRESH START TODAY... Do we have Traditions today?

Colossians 2:20-22, Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!" These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. NIV

I was raised Baptist and I remember the church frowned on dancing at the time I was growing up. I believe that this was a way of discouraging personal contact that could encourage actions that lead to sin. There are traditions that have arisen in any church over several years that are not from God. I believe at first well intentioned men placed them there to discourage rebellion against God. The natural man seems to rebel against unrealistic rules and this may be the reason church attendance today is declining. Some traditions cause slavery in the church today and if broken creates shame. The people gossip about the shameful actions and slavery continues in the people that are talking due to lack of forgiveness. We must remember true rebellion against a Holy God that loves us causes some form of slavery and then the activity of the Holy Spirit is not witnessed. I was asked one time from a woman in a Bible Study I was teaching, why there were so many dominations? I just said, because men’s interpretations get in the way of God’s truth. We need a true Spiritual Revival today!

The Old Testament Laws that were given through the servant Moses were meant to hold people accountable. They were there to protect people by a Holy God. The relationship with man and God had been severed in the Garden of Eden, but God continues to pursue a personal relationship with His people. The people of Israel were His chosen people at the time the Laws were introduced, but over the years those Laws became a source of rebellion the people could not follow. They made up their own rules to follow and created their own gods. Humans tend to make up their own rules and this get them into trouble. Today is no different than the time of the Old Testament.

The Holy Spirit draws people to Himself through the Word of God that gives believers the wisdom that we need to experience a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus confronted the religious people of the time and told them that the Laws were given to open the hearts of people to the truth of God’s love. There was no love witnessed or expressed. The Pharisees were interrupting the Laws as a way to control the people and to dominate the power in the community. Please read the Word for yourself and you will see the active communications between the Pharisees and Sadducees of the time and how Jesus spoke to the people to help them understand the heart of God. The hearts of the religious leaders were cold due to man-made traditions, but a few grew in wisdom to the truth of what Jesus was teaching. We are so very fortunate to have the Words that were spoken by Jesus Christ today. The greatest books that were ever written are contained in the Holy Bible. There are 66 books all together.

I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and to open my heart to the power of the Holy Spirit. Any wisdom that I may have is the result of the Holy Spirit’s prompting. The love that is expressed through the GRACE and power of Jesus Christ cannot be expressed in any words spoken or written. When you experience the true love of God you cannot contain the emotion and blessings that it brings to your heart. I ask the Lord daily in prayer to forgive my rebellion against Him and to open my heart to His words of wisdom. He is faithful! We are free from the traditions of men that cause slavery when we understand the truth of God’s Word.

John 4:23-24, Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." NIV

FRESH START TODAY - (Blog 27)

FRESH START TODAY... Do you Desire to be refreshed?

Proverbs 11:25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. NIV

There are people that can burden you with many requests at times. Some people seem to have unrealistic expectations, because they may be young in the Lord or may not even know the Lord. I have been a pastor’s wife and people seem to expect that the pastor needs to do everything from preaching, to teaching, to visiting the sick, to visiting the well, feeding the hungry, to meeting the financial needs of others, to cleaning the church, to counseling the weak and to not have a personal life. Pastors and their families live in glass houses and are watched every day by people who want to see them fall in their spiritual walk. Let me relate to you an experience that was very hurtful to us because a member of a church family would not forgive. We went on vacation for ten days and while we were away this man’s wife became very ill. The Sunday we returned he was in the worship center and he approached my husband very angry with him for not visiting his wife in the hospital. We were gone! He did not believe that we were gone and stayed angry until we left the church five months later. His unwillingness to forgive was a major reason we chose to leave the church even after several attempts to reconcile. His attitude towards us was damaging to the entire church body. We have forgiven this man and have asked God to bless him. I encourage you to support your pastor, allow him to be human and encourage him to take time for his family. He needs to take vacations that will refresh his ministry in your church. Do not be quick to judge him when he is not perfect, pray for him. You really want to be refreshed? Give your pastor a monetary handshake and tell him to take his family to dinner. People have done that for us and it has been a blessing. Do this for others that may need it, too, if you have the financial resources.

We have some wonderful memories that have refreshed us as we have served the Lord. I will not cast my alms before you, but to let you know that God has been faithful in blessing us privately as we have been sensitive to His requests to be generous. We can never out give the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. His generous heart made Him willing to die for our sins. God the Father has lifted up the name of Jesus and we will worship Him. Jesus has given us wisdom and guidance to what our attitude should be towards one another in the faith. Remember that He chose us!

John 15:16-17, You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. NIV

These words that Jesus spoke could not be any clearer about our appointment to go and bear fruit as believers. We cannot rebel against the Lord and expect our prayers to be answered. We must be generous, caring and sensitive to being obedient to the Lord. He commanded us to love each other!

This is the last blog for this week on the Scripture of choice to be generous. If you have not been faithful in doing this you can START FRESH TODAY and reach out to others. I want to encourage you again to write down the Scripture for the week, read it every day and keep a personal journal. This way the Holy Spirit can open your heart to what His Words will say to you. I write these blogs sharing what the Lord is saying to me, but it may be different for you. The Lord Jesus Christ desires a personal relationship with you.

FRESH START TODAY - (Blog 26)

FRESH START TODAY…  Keep secret your generosity?

This morning I am sitting here writing this blog looking out the window of our recreational vehicle seeing the tall pines of Northern Arizona.  The campground is empty because it is too early in the season for most people to camp and we are here because we are to open another campground in the area in about a week.  This campground will soon be buzzing with people wanting to get away from the heat in the Phoenix valley.  My husband and I are Campground Hosts for the summer season.  Today my thoughts are on the Scriptures chosen for this week found in Proverbs 11:25 (A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. NIV) and I had to ask myself what more could be said?  The Holy Spirit directed me to read Matthew 6:1-4 and then it became clear what else God was saying to me.

Matt 6:1-4, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.  "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. NIV

Did you ever wonder when Jesus did one of His many miracles why He would ask that person not to tell anyone?  He never wanted to bring attention to Himself, did He?  The healings were for the glory of God and to ultimately draw the recipient to understand the reality of a Holy God that truly loved them.  I believe that the passion of Christ was being revealed daily as He encountered people whose hearts were ready to receive His message.  Jesus did tell a man who had been healed of leprosy to go to the Priest to show that he was clean, but this involved obedience and the custom of the time to show that he was able to be reunited with the community and his family where he once lived.  He never said, “Tell the Priest I healed you!”  The word soon got around about all the miracles that Jesus had done, so He had followers by the hundreds wanting for miracles.  Jesus did become weary, not from the work but from the press of the people seeking miracles and not relationship. He loved the people, but He would often retire to a private place to pray.  He was human and needed to regain His strength. 

In my book “God Sees the Heart” I share experiences I have had through the years and how I have seen the Holy Spirit working through the hearts of other believers.  Yes I was in the picture, but I never meant for the focus to be on me.  The message of the book is that God sees the heart!  I came out of my prayer closet to share my heart with you, the reader, so that you will draw closer to the Lord in your journey.  Our acts of righteousness should never be expressed in a prideful way in saying, “Look what I have done!”  We need to shout the truth of what Jesus has done through our life! We would never want to loose our reward that Jesus intends for us to receive. 

The announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the Savior and the angel telling her “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” Luke 1:42, was for Mary’s benefit privately.  Somewhere along the way, Mary shared her heart with someone, and one day it was recorded in print for the world to see.  She was a humble woman of faith and a loving God recognized her generous soul.

I ponder in my heart the full joy of wonderful and generous people of God that have loved me through the years.  I am thankful for people that have unselfishly given their money, time and encouragement to me when I have been in need.  It was seen as the power of the Holy Spirit working through believers that have never desired to be noticed for their generosity.  My heart reaches out to you to encourage you to be generous with your time, money and love expecting nothing in return except to glorify the Lord.  This was the desire of Jesus as He walked among the people when they were in need of knowing the Savior.  He wanted to encourage them to return to the God who loved them.  We need to desire to grow to have the mind of Jesus Christ and reach out to others in generosity.

FRESH START TODAY - (Blog 25)

FRESH START TODAY…  What are your plans today?

Prov 11:25, 

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. NIV

I was going to delete this week’s topic, but I struggled with leaving this Scripture out of the FRESH START TODAY.  The Lord had a message through the Wisdom of Solomon, so they are important to remind us all that if we need to be refreshed then we need to be generous to others. 

I know that if I sit in my own home alone for long periods of time my mind will begin to wander towards negative thinking.  This may open the door to becoming self-absorbed and to possibly think that I have no value in life.  I need to be willing to drop the lonely feeling, step out and care about other people.  The thought here is not to go looking for someone to listen to our concerns, but to listen to what others may need in their life.  My sister and my sister-in-law have said that volunteering at a place that serves the needs of other people is a sure cure for loneliness.

Three days ago Marty and I walked over to another friend’s home to say good-bye, because they were leaving town the next morning.  We were there just one hour, but probably laughed more than we had in weeks.  I am still refreshed from the silly things we were talking about and the laughter stills rings in my heart this morning.  The laughter was refreshing to all of us.  Do you want to know the conversation?  The men were talking about how silly it is to tease cats and dogs!  I am sure you have some interesting memories of your own. Our beloved pets can sure tolerate a lot of things from their owners when it is gentle teasing.  My husband likes to tickle the toe hairs of our sleeping Sheltie.  He twitches and kicks and it causes him to wake up quickly! 

What about people that may not be able to get out because of a physical handicap? What would your suggestions be for this person knowing that being generous to others would refresh them?  Do you know of a person that you care about that needs to be generous to you?  God created us to be interdependent in our world, so that no one should experience loneliness.  When I have visited nursing homes I have found people of great value that have given me words of wisdom.  My mother-in-law is 87 years old and just last night she asked me what I was writing about now?  I told her the main theme is to decide on a FRESH START TODAY.  She said that was always her thoughts each day that she has lived.  She is now so thankful for all the new beginnings that God has given her everyday and she is more aware of His presence in her life.  My mother-in-law has been a generous lady (not with money) most of her life, but with her time to encourage other people.  I believe that is why she can reflect on memories that keep her refreshed every day now that she cannot get out of her home on her own.

What about telephone call?  Do you want to be generous today to someone, so that you can be refreshed and prosper?  Just a simple, but powerful thought from the Word of God!

 

FRESH START TODAY - (Blog 24)

FRESH START TODAY…  Remember today is a new beginning

I cannot begin to encourage you enough to see that each new day is a new beginning because you cannot change your past.  We can learn to be humble before a Holy and loving God.  I started reading a book called “Redemption… Freed by Jesus from Idols we worship and the Wounds we carry” by Mike Wilkerson.  This book was sent to Marty and I to read by a young man that we knew when he was a teenager.  He was in a Sunday School Class that I taught and was part of a group of very active teenage boys.  He is special to me!  He has made mistakes by his own confession, but has learned the power of forgiving himself with humility.  He now reaches out to others and he has reached out to our son.  He lived two houses down from us in Anchorage, AK and was part of our son’s life at that time.  God has blessed us with a reconnection with this man of faith.  A new day brings us the opportunity to make new choices. 

Something from the book brought a new light to my heart that I did not realize before this date.  The new revelation comes from the Adam and Eve documentation in the Bible.  God had a personal relationship with His created beings where He talked with them daily.  He instructed them not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  We have all heard the story, probably from childhood.  The serpent, which was the enemy of God, persuaded them to eat from the forbidden tree by telling them that they could be gods.  WOW!  This is where our self centered, self-reliant, self-promoting, self-destructive, self-hatred, self only attitudes, self ideas of being super important began and why people seem to not need God.  The persuasion to focus on self was offered by the enemy to direct them away from the Garden of Eden that was full of harmony.  We were created to have a relationship with God who had our best interest in mind.  He was willing to teach us this gentle harmony, love, peace and creativity that would bless the earth.  The Lord Jesus Christ’s message that comes from the cross is to get that harmony and relationship back that the devil and disobedience once destroyed.  The enemy has no interest in us accept to cause suffering, because this has successfully created a barrier between people and a Holy God.  The truth is that the devil wanted to be God and there is only one God through the power the God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! 

We take too lightly the powerful message of the cross of Jesus Christ. The GRACE that has been offered to people who have accepted the truth of His death has renewed the heart to have a relationship with God.  We must humble our hearts to a pure God asking Him to forgive our rebellion, accepting the cleansing that Jesus offers and choosing to take steps to start fresh every day, to read the Word, pray and worship God with our lives.  We will still struggle and suffer with temptations from the enemy, because that is the nature of a fallen world that was once perfect.

1 Peter 5:6-9, Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. NIV

FRESH START TODAY - (Blog 23)

FRESH START TODAY ... Under God’s Almighty Hand

I spoke earlier this week about my discouragements, but I have seen the mighty hand of God at work since I shared what we were facing the next seven months.  I mentioned that we would not be attending church, but since then the Senior Pastor has told us that he plans on getting out of the heat of the Phoenix area to spend time in the cool mountains of Arizona where we will be Campground Hosts.  Maybe even more than one time!  Marty received a call from a retired minister friend of ours from Las Vegas, NV saying the same thing.  Maybe in Arizona’s favorite campground called “Aspen Campground” near Woods Canyon Lake, we will have several friends show up to relax and enjoy God’s beautiful outdoors.  One of my brothers and his wife will be hosting along side us, so we will have family with us and this too is a blessing.  I sometimes just do not like change.  Does anybody else have this problem?  Another issue that has been a discouragement is our son’s on going heartache.  Please pray for him to return back to the understanding that God’s still loves Him.  He is in bondage like we all have been from time to time. 

1 Peter 5:6-7, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. NKJV

I chose this morning the true focal passage for this week to encourage you.  You can read the verses just prior to this Scripture and the ones right after to see the bigger picture.  Peter gave a believer, through the power of the Holy Spirit, encouragement in the Wisdom of God.  He suffered many times for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because he was obedient.  You know, from reading the Scripture, that prior to the death of Jesus, Peter was not always obedient to furthering the Kingdom of God, but furthering his own image.  Jesus knew his heart, his zeal for life and compulsive personality.  Jesus knew also what Peter would become as the Holy Spirit humbled him in the work that would continue through him after Jesus was crucified and resurrected.

I remember my own zealous personality when I first became a believer and I thought that I knew what everybody needed to know to be free in Jesus Christ.  Yes, I had the fullness of the Holy Spirit within me, but I was just drinking the milk of the Word of God.  I had not started on the steak of the Word until being broken through suffering.  One can easily have an attitude of self-righteousness.  We are all sinners and at the foot of the cross we are all on level ground.  No one is righteous accept the one on the cross that was crucified.

Do you believe that you are under the mighty hand of God?  Do you believe that He may exalt you in His time?  Do you trust Jesus Christ enough to throw all your worries and concerns at the foot of the Cross?  Do you truly believe that Jesus cares for you?  Do you believe that His passion for you is so rich with love that He would have died just for you?  You are special to Jesus Christ and I am too, as a believer.  I am equal with you in that I am a sinner.  I needed to recognize that Jesus has a deeper love for me than I can see with my human heart and eyes.  I am humbled that He sees me differently than I see myself.  I am humbled that Jesus sees me differently than others may see me.  Do you feel the same way?  Do you believe?  Through our faith in Jesus Christ and His Grace, He has given us righteousness before a Holy God.  His work on the cross and not our works!  He will lift you up as you trust in power of the cross of Jesus Christ.