Monthly Archives: March 2012

Double For Your Trouble

There isn’t anything that we go through, that hasn’t first been permitted by God. That may be a little hard to accept sometimes, but it’s true, and in the end we’ll see that it was only allowed for our good… But there’s more. When it’s all over, the Lord will bless you in such a way that you receive “Double for your trouble”, and sometimes even more. :)

Remember when the LORD told Abraham, way back in the beginning before Sarah was even pregnant, that he would be the father of a huge nation and this nation would be slaves in a foreign land, and that they would be there for over 400 years, but He would deliver them with a mighty Hand and they would come out with great substance?( Meaning they would come out with great riches.) Well 400 years of slavery is a long time for people to spend working for no pay, and the bible says that the morning after the first Passover, the Egyptians just started giving the Hebrews anything they wanted and they “spoiled” the Egyptians. Psalm 105:37 says, “He brought them forth also (out of Egypt), with silver and gold.”  And we all know the story of Job who, after he had so tremendously suffered, received twice as much of all that he had before.

Think about it. Hasn’t God brought you out of trouble and then blessed you? It could be that He blessed you monetarily, or restored your health, or blessed your family, or even blessed you with wisdom, in preparation for the blessings yet to come. In Isaiah 61:7, the LORD says, ” For your shame you shall have double...” and if God says it, that settles it! So if you’re going through a rough time right now, be encouraged…

You’re gonna be blessed DOUBLE FOR YOUR TROUBLE!!!!

Partners In Time

Of course God is eternal, and not limited by the aspects of time as we are. Yet from the time of our smallest beginnings, throughout our lives, and until the end,  He has promised to be with us for all time, even when time is no more.  In fact, I believe that God was with us, long before we decided to be with Him. He said so in Matthew 28:20 when departing from his beloved disciples, “Lo, I am with you always…”

He didn’t say, “I will be with you always”, but “I am with you always” We know that when Moses asked God what name the people should call Him, the LORD said “I AM THAT I AM”‘ and  If we look a little closer at what Jesus said, we understand that his departing words can be understood as, “…, I AM with you always” also meaning, “God is with you always” We know that this is true, because Matthew 2:23 says that; ” …a virgin would conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Hallelujah!

So if we take a look at our timeline, according to scripture, we can trace God’s promise to always be with us:

First, “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you;….” (Jeremiah 1:5). Then, Psalm 139:15; “None of my bones were hidden from you when I was formed in my mother’s womb…” and then Proverbs says that throughout our lives He is,   “…a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. “, and finally, (Isaiah 46:4), the LORD  Himself says that,  ”…even to your old age I am He; and even to gray hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry and deliver you.”  Beautiful…

What a blessing to have been made joint heirs with Christ, and to have the comfort of His promise,… “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5-6

A Time of Reckoning

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

To reckon, is to establish by counting or calculation, and today, as I struggle with  pain and limitations as I recover from surgery, I am reminded that, in calculating the number of difficulties and painful events that have occurred in my life, I am encouraged and inspired to think of what God has in store for those who love Him, those who are called according to his purpose.

Paul, in reckoning all of his pain and suffering, just lays it out there for us in II Corinthians 11:24-27;

“… five times received I forty stripes save one. I was beaten three times with rods, stoned once, three times I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, (that’s me today, lol ), in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”

I don’t suppose that many of us can say that we’ve suffered to this extent, and I’m in no way trying to belittle anyone else’s experience, yet Paul kept moving forward and I’m so glad that he did because during these tremendous hardships, He wrote most of the epistles of the New Testament. Most of them from prison.

In light of all of this, and considering the hardships that we may be facing, we too can reckon that none of it compares to the glory that shall be revealed in us, as we, like Paul, keep moving forward and looking up…

No Worries Mate!

As they say in Australia, “No worries Mate!” and here’s the Bible version…

“Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Have a Blessed Day!

Faith

Like a Lion

Bold. Proverbs 28:1 says,  ”… the righteous are bold as a lion.”  and in Hebrews 4:16 we’re told to come boldly before God’s throne in prayer. This is what Caleb did.

You can read about Caleb in Joshua chapter 14 verses 7-14 , and interestingly enough, the name Caleb means “bold”. Here’s his story…

Caleb was 85 years old when the Israelites reached the promised land. He was one of only two men who had survived the 40 year wanderings in the desert. After being freed from slavery in Egypt, he and Joshua were chosen by Moses to spy out the land that God had promised them. There were 12 men in all, one for each tribe. When they returned from their travels, 10 of the spies were terrified, and reported that it would be impossible to defeat these cities because they considered themselves and  their own people to be too small in comparison.  But Joshua and Caleb believed that God had led them to this good land and had faith that He would give them the victory.

The people believed the 10 spies. God was angry with them and because of their unbelief, they would have to spend the next 40 years walking around the desert until they all died off, leaving only their children and grandchildren to be the ones who would inherit the promised land. But God honored the faith of Caleb and Joshua.

Joshua became the leader of his people after the death of Moses, leading them into the promised land, dividing the Jordan River, and marching onto victory in the battle of Jericho. Caleb now 85 years old had remained strong in faith, and courageous in battle. In the face of battle over the land that Moses had promised would be his inheritance, Caleb boldly responded, saying:

“… the LORD hath kept me alive, as He said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake His word to Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now lo, I am now eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: As my strength was then, even so is my strength now… Now therefore give me this mountain,… the LORD will be with me, then I will be able to drive (the inhabitants) out, as the LORD said…Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb.”

He got what he wanted. Caleb was bold in his faith as a young man, and even as an old man, who knew that there was nothing too big to ask God for, and his boldness was evidence of that faith.

By faith, we are the righteousness of God in Christ, and “the righteous are as bold as a lion.”

St. Patrick’s Day

By the looks of things you might get the impression that St. Patrick’s Day is all about being Irish and drinking green beer, and even though this is how St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated  in the U.S and the U.K., St. Patrick’s day represents something with a much deeper meaning.  I’ve been wearing green on March 17th since I  was a little girl, but I’ve only just recently learned the true meaning of St. Patrick’s Day.

I’m not Irish, and I’m not catholic, but I am moved by the true story of St. Patrick, because it  is one of great perseverance and faith, and it is an inspiring example of how rewarding it can be to make a difference in the lives of others.

In short, St. Patrick, whose real name was Maewyn Succat, was not Irish, but English. He was born to a wealthy Christian family,  and as an early teen, he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland to become a slave. His name was changed to Patrick. As a slave in Ireland, he witnessed the pagan practices of the Irish, but remained true to his Christian faith, and it is said that he prayed up to a 100 times a day.

One day Maewyn escaped and took the long journey back to his home in England. After many years,  he developed a deep desire to return to Ireland as a missionary. He taught the people about God and advised them not trust in pagan superstitions. He used the three leafed clover, the shamrock, to explain the Trinity,” Three in One”, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland, and after 30 years of evangelism, he died on March 17,  461 AD. After his death he became known as St. Patrick and March 17th has been named a holiday in honor of him.

So it’s not about luck, and it’s not about green beer.  St. Patrick’s Day is about the faith and sacrifice of a man who shared his faith, and the love of God, with a nation… and for that we remember him today.

First Love

 

I met the man who was to become my husband when I was nineteen years old. At first no one took me seriously, because I had never been serious about anyone before. My closest friends teased me and joked that  this new relationship would probably only last for about two weeks and then it would be over, because that’s how it had been for me up until then. But this time was different.

My friends soon became aware of the difference in me as I lit up whenever I talked about him, and talked about him constantly. I began spending less and less time with them, and wanted to spend more and more time with him. When we left campus,for our hometowns in different cities during holiday breaks , I would miss him terribly and  couldn’t wait to be with him again. While at home on break, I would curl up in bed with my  mother, like two girls at a slumber party, and tell her all about him, talking all night long…

In Revelation 2:4-5,  Jesus says to the church at Ephesus, “... you have left your first love…repent and do the first works…”  I think about the first works or actions of a person experiencing a first love, and I ask myself, “Am I still doing the first works?” Do I still light up whenever I talk about my Savior? Do I still  speak of Him constantly? Am I spending more time with Him than I do with less important activities? If I haven’t read my bible in a while, do I miss it? Could I stay up all night, talking and sharing about His love and His faithfulness? Asking these questions stirs the heart, renews enthusiasm, and awakens a fresh start.

“May the Lord reignite the spark that fueled our first works, and may we continue to rekindle our first love for Him, Who first loved us.”

Amen