FRESH START TODAY - God Prunes His beloved Followers

FRESH START TODAY – God Prunes His beloved Followers – 11-22-2014 By: Lenni Nordloh John 15:1-5, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing NKJV On April 10, 2014 my beloved husband entered the hospital through the emergency room after we had just spent three weeks going to people’s homes to pray with them as they were headed back to their northern, cooler, homes for the summer. My husband began to feel very ill, so sensing a whisper from the Holy Spirit, I insisted that he get dress, taking him to the emergency room. After many hours in the emergency room the medical staff determined that he had sepsis due to an inflamed gallbladder. He was admitted to the ICU department. At the same time my daughter was in the emergency room at another hospital with my granddaughter having her first asthma attack! I was tired, but very numb to my own feelings as to what was happening. The last thing I was concerned was about myself. The Lord had whispered His warning and I was obedient. The next day, as the hospital staff prepared my husband for surgery to remove his gallbladder, and with my daughter at my side, he had a heart attack! We were both were asked to leave the room. My daughter called our son who decided to head to Arizona. The medical staff was able to get my husband stable, but they decided to check out the condition of his heart first. Our son arrived from Oklahoma two days later. My husband had a tube place through his liver to drain his gallbladder and eight days later he had triple bi-pass surgery with my husband’s brother and sister arriving from Washington State. There were eight of us in the waiting room while the surgery was taking place. When I went home that evening I cried alone. The scripture that Jesus was the true vine came to me as another whisper to my heart. “Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit!” I knew my husband would recover, but I knew then that I owed God more of my life then ever before! As a believer, we must make the decision to abide in the power, protection and grace of Jesus Christ. We cannot do anything without Jesus. He brought to me His Kingdom people to comfort me both physically and through their prayers. Jesus made the way for all believers to become interdependent to each other. Today is my son’s birthday and I want to thank him for staying with me for over a month and for being the rock of faith to all the rest of the family. The strength of God’s Holy Spirit fell strongly on him as he denied himself to serve and care for His mom and dad. The hand of God is on him, even though sometimes he does not think of it very much. Our daughter was an amazing woman of faith as well. Please understand that both good things and difficult things happen to all believers. I want to encourage you that if you are in a difficult situation, trust the heart of a loving God. How do we continue to abide in Jesus? We pray, read the Word of God, seek answers from Him and ask for His wisdom. God’s Holy Spirit may be in the process of pruning you to become more fruitful that will further His Kingdom. My husband is back preaching and teaching God’s Word. I am leading the music as a worship leader and teaching a woman’s study again. My book ‘Simply a Whisper’ was just released on 10-21-2014. God does prune His beloved followers!

FRESH START TODAY - Food or Spiritual - 2-13-2014

FRESH START TODAY – FOOD or SPIRITUAL? – 2-13-2014 By: Lenni Nordloh The past few weeks a group of ladies have been studying the Book of John that I have facilitated. It has been a blessing to witness what the Lord is doing through their lives. One precious soul has received the gift of Salvation by trusting Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She will be baptized this next Sunday as a witness of her commitment to the Lord. Reviewing what we will read next week I thought that it would be interesting to write a devotional due to the context. These Scriptures could be difficult to truly understand without the power of the Holy Spirit giving us His wisdom. John 6:43-52, "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" NIV Jesus spoke many times using the physical that people understand to elaborate the truth of the wisdom that comes from God. People are visual and often times do not grasp the deeper truth of what God reveals to His people. What is food to us? We see, we taste and we eat. Food sustains our physical bodies. Remember that there is a saying, “if you are born once, you die twice”, or “you can be born twice and then only die once.” This is also a physical statement, but there is Spiritual Wisdom in all that is being said. Jesus spoke Spiritual Wisdom and only those that the Father draws to Jesus will understand the real meaning. Jesus will raise the true believers on the last day. When will be the last day? That is what is wonderful about Jesus and His wisdom. He knows all things, sees all things and prepares us to be with Him forever. We do not need to know the last day, but trust Jesus at His word. The Prophets who will be taught by God and listens to the Father, will go to Jesus. Jesus has the words that come from God, the Father. Jesus was with the Father from the beginning of time, because Jesus and the Father are one. We who have learned this truth will have everlasting life. Jesus said that He was the Bread of Life. He said earlier in the Gospel of John that He was the Living Water. Bread and water is what sustains our physical bodies, but the belief in Jesus, the Bread of Life and Living Water gives strength to our Spiritual life. Jesus came to us from Heaven to teach us this truth. There is more to life then just our physical breathing, eating and existing. We have a purpose and that is to live in the wisdom that Jesus was teaching. We do not eat the flesh of Jesus nor do we drink His blood. He was clearly stating that we must consume Him and what He teaching to sustain our Spiritual Lives. He is what gives life eternal. Our eternal life began the moment we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We were born again, which is the Spiritual birth, and we will only die once, which is the physical death. We will live forever with our Heavenly Father. Jesus was telling His disciples that He was going to give up His flesh and blood for the life of the world. Dear ones, we have a Savior that loves us passionately and wants to be with us every day. The Jews did not understand that Jesus spoke about Spiritual matters only. The Laws that Moses received were Spiritual Laws, too, but people have not understood the Spiritual Truth of those Laws. Take a pencil and hold it close to your eyes. What do you see when you are just looking at the pencil? Everything behind the pencil becomes blurred, doesn’t it? Hold it again at arms length. Now what do you see? The Holy Spirit of God reveals a deeper truth if we look at the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. We need to look beyond the physical, or traditions, to see Spiritual truth.

FRESH START TODAY - DOES GOD MEET OUR NEEDS?

FRESH START TODAY – GOD MEETS OUR NEEDS? – 1-23-2014 Elijah had just proclaimed to the king Ahab that there would be no rain in the land until he said there would be and then the Lord told Elijah to leave. He said to turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. He told him to stay and the ravens would feed Elijah every day. Elijah must have been very exhausted, so he was obedient to the command of the Lord. Day after day, the ravens fed him the food that he needed. When the brook dried he received another message from God during this drought. We do not know how long he had stayed in the Kerith Ravine. 1 Kings 17:7-16, Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." "As surely as the Lord your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread — only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it — and die." Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.'" She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. NIV How many times have believers say this same thing. “Oh, Lord, I have no money, or we have no food to eat.” The house payment is due and we do not have the full payment. The stress we put on ourselves as we cry out in desperation and do not ask God to provide for our needs, in His time and way! We attempt to take charge to find a way to get what we needed. Maybe we call a family member or a friend to borrow the money. We attempt to sell some valuable property or possession to meet that need. This does not seem to work until we are desperate enough to ask God. Do you think that possibly that God cares enough for you to meet your needs day by day? He may not supply all your wants, but He will supply for your needs. The first experience that my husband and I had, after becoming believers, was very similar. I had just started a temporary job to supplement our income. It was around Thanksgiving and our children’s birthday was close to that time. My first paycheck was on Wednesday before the long four-day weekend. The corporate office did not get my information until all the checks were cut. My boss called me in her office to tell me that there would not be a check for me this payday. I made a private phone call to my husband. He said to me that we had depended on my check for groceries for Thanksgiving and the children’s birthday party. In the mean time, the office somehow found out that I had not received a check, because at the end of the day there were bags of groceries in the back seat of the car. There was also an envelope, with $80.00 in it, and a scripture quoting Romans 8:28. The Lord works through His people to do His will. God is our provider and He is never late.

FRESH START TODAY - THE GLORY OF GOD – 1-18-2014 Who can understand the Glory of the Lord? What does the breath that He gave to humanity reveal? Isaiah was a prophet and revealed what God said to Him. He would prophesy about the coming Messiah in Isaiah 53, but what would He say in Isaiah 40? Isaiah 40:22-26, He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. NIV When a person stands straight under a starry sky we see the Glory of God and how he created the balance they are viewing. A person does feel like a grasshopper standing in the one spot. You may ask, “What else is out there under those stars?” Let us take a journey of what might be there. There are deer grazing in an open field about 10 miles away, a owl hooting in a tree, campers sitting around a camp fire, hundreds of people a 100 miles away enjoying the comfort of their homes, businesses open for service as people shop. Some people are too busy, worry about circumstances that never happen and remain unaware of the Glory of God as that person is looking at the stars. What about beyond the earth? The stars stay stationary while the planets rotate in a designed pattern through the Universe. Do people live in a protected canopy and a tent to live in by God? The people of the earth are like grasshoppers, but how much does God love what He has created? He is enthroned above the circle of the earth and watches every move. He feels the breath of every human being. He hates sin, and protects His own. The Scriptures continue to say so much more to any person that would put their trust in Him. Many generations of people have come and gone, but the Glory of God remains the same. People continue to complain today, so what the does Isaiah reveal to humanity today? Isaiah 40:27-31, Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. NIV Why do we not put our trust in the Glory of the Lord? He will never grow weary like we do so many times as we live this life. He sees our hearts, He hears our cries, He is blessed by our praises and He is pleased when we put all our hope in Him. He is the wind beneath our wings as we sour in companionship with the powerful Holy God. When our heart trusts in His Divine love, believes in His GRACE through Jesus Christ, we will not grow weary or faint. We will fly like an eagle in the protection of God’s canopy of acceptance, forgiveness and love.

FRESH START TODAY - ONE NATION UNDER GOD - 1-09-2014

FRESH START TODAY – ONE NATION UNDER GOD (January 9, 2014) Today I read the Scriptures that told of how king Josiah responded to the reading of Law of Moses. The Laws were buried in the Temple of God in Jerusalem and had not been observed for many years. Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. 2 Chronicles 34:14-21, While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord." He gave it to Shaphan. Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: "Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them. They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers." Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant: "Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord's anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book. NIV When a person reads the Words that the Lord writes through His messages, the heart is pierced with guilt, when it is first understood. King Josiah was human like you and I are, even though he inherited the throne. His grandfather was a ruthless king and murdered many of his own descendants, not to mention that he created his own religion. When we get away from the true God and His righteous message, we suffer our own punishment and confusion. Yes, I said confusion! We can get complacent regarding God’s Word and then forget the power that the messages bring to our hearts. We need to experience the humility that king Josiah did that can bring about change to our nation, like it did to the people of Israel. Just recently, in a mixed Bible Study, my husband was telling the story of when we were living in Italy during the 1970’s, and that the country was mostly made up of different factions of Communism. There were different groups that could not agree on the political issues at that time. It was primarily a democratic country. The United States military living there were instructed on how to evacuate if the all the parties were to agree that would change the politics. Much like our country, if the different factions of religious organisms were to agree to live by the true meaning of the Scriptures, our nation would become, again, one Nation Under God. If we, as believers, could humble our hearts to the truth of God’s Grace, Mercy, forgiveness and seek to understood what the message of the cross really means, this would set us free to be bold to be change agents. The first actions is to humble ourselves before a Holy God, pray (talking to God) to help us understand His messages and be obedient to the Words of power and wisdom. If we do not then we will face judgment, as a Nation, much like the people of Israel did after the death of king Josiah. We need to join our hearts in unity to be all God wants us to be, as believers.