It's time to cancel your daily rehearsal!

Recently I posted a verse on facebook that says:

"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night." Revelation 12:10 This verse made me think of how Satan is tireless to accuse us. To bring our sins up to God. He does the same thing to us. He whispers in our ear ugly reminders of our past sins. "You'll never be good enough." Or, "How could God love you after everything that you have done?" Sound familiar? This causes us to have rehearsals... You don't have to be a singer... a instrumentalist. or an actor to hold regular rehearsals. You can also hold regular rehearsals as a Christian who doesn't forgive and forget... yourself! If you have come to Christ and repented, confessed your sins to God, why are you holding this regular rehearsal? Will this change anything? Will mulling this over again and again change the past or it's circumstances? More importantly, are you God?  Who are you to not forgive yourself when God has forgiven you? God has said in I John 1:9, " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Not just some unrighteousness depending on if it's not too bad, but ALL unrighteousness! Planning on rehearsing today? I believe I would cancel that!

Be Still

Still carrying over my thoughts from yesterday about being still before God.
I love Steven Curtis Chapman's song, " Be Still and Know"
Here is the song of Steven singing it along with the lyrics.
Listen... Be Still and Worship.

 

Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is holy
Be still, O restless soul of mine
Bow before the Prince of peace
Let the noise and clamor cease
Be still

Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is faithful
Consider all that he has done
Stand in awe and be amazed
And know that He will never change
Be still

Be still and know that he is God
Be still and know he is our Father
Come rest your head upon his breast
Listen to the rhythm of his unfailing heart of love
Beating for His little ones
Calling each of us to come
Be still

Shhhh, Be Still, and Be Very, Very Quiet

I have not made any New Years resolutions this year other than to read God's Word and try to do what it says! But...

I am being drawn to two words I believe by God's Spirit.
They are "Quiet" and "Still"

I believe that the Lord is trying to tell me that I need to be quiet and still before Him.

We all live in a harried,hectic world. I especially found myself very busy during the holiday's. The Lord got my attention when my feet were knocked out from under me with sickness. I was having fever and chills and I had to be still. I also had to be quiet because frankly I couldn't talk!

During this down time is when I began thinking and listening to the Spirit's still small voice. I had been to busy to listen before.

So, during this time of the New year, a time of reflection, I want to focus on really doing these two things...
Being still before the Lord.
Being quiet before the Lord.

I am not finding this to be an easy thing for me. I don't have a very long attention span. In fact, the Lord is really going to have to help me with this! I have found several verses to help me focus my attention.

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10  "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength..." Isaiah 30:15 "The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever." Isaiah 32:17 "But let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." I Peter 3:4 I believe that this last verse will be the result of the sitting still and being quiet. "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3 The verse in I Peter says that a quiet spirit is precious in God's sight. I want to be precious in God's sight and please the Lord. So, I will be trying to sit still... and Shhhhh... be very, very quiet.

The Bells are Still Ringing... they toll for thee

We are right in the middle of the Christmas season. Twenty little children are not supposed to be killed, especially right here at Christmas time...

Two days ago, I discovered the back story to the Christmas carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". I wanted to share with you what I learned because I believe this may help us during this tragic time. You see the writer of the poem " Christmas Bells" experienced great tragedy as well. The poem was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Fanny Longfellow was fatally burned in an accident in the library of Craigie House on July 10th.  After trimming some of seven year old Edith's beautiful curls, Fanny decided to preserve the clippings in sealing wax. Melting a bar of sealing wax with a candle, a few drops fell unnoticed upon her dress. The longed for sea breeze blew in through the window, igniting the light material of Fanny's dress-- immediately wrapping her in flames. In her attempt to protect Edith and Allegra, she ran to Henry's study in the next room, where Henry frantically attempted to extinguish the flames with a throw rug. Failing to stop the fire with the rug, he tried to smother the flames by throwing his arms around Frances-- severely burning his face, arms, and hands. Fanny Longfellow died the next morning. Too ill from his burns and grief, Henry did not attend her funeral.

The first Christmas after Fanny's death, Longfellow wrote, "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." A year after the incident, he wrote, "I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace." Longfellow's journal entry for December 25th 1862 reads: "'A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me." Almost a year later, Longfellow received word that his oldest son Charles, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded with a bullet passing under his shoulder blades and taking off one of the spinal processes. He did not die from his wounds. Finally, on Christmas Day of 1864, he wrote the words of the poem, "Christmas Bells."
Longfellow's Christmas bells loudly proclaimed, "God is not dead." Even more, the bells announced, "Nor doth He sleep." God's Truth, Power, and Justice are affirmed, when Longfellow wrote: "The wrong shall fail, the right prevail." The message that the Living God is a God of Peace is proclaimed in the close of the carol: "Of peace on Earth, good will to men."
During this time of grief in our country, we can learn a lesson from people like Longfellow who wrestled with questions.  He possibly even wrestled with God and God gave him the assurance that He was not dead!
I love the lines:
And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men."

What the killer did was an act of hate. Hate is a strong emotion. The gun shots rang out and cut through the peaceful, idyllic community. But we know that God IS peace, and God will give us His peace. Yes, hate is strong, but God and His love is stronger! Never stop believing that!

The Bible says, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men." Luke 2:14

Shhhh, can you hear it? I believe I can hear a bell ringing. Though faintly, it is still ringing for everyone. Listen; the message is still for today. Quiet your hearts and listen. The message is...Jesus. He will have the final say over death and the grave. He is saying: I am the peace you are so desperately longing for. Take the gift that I am offering today. It is not wrapped up in a shiny beautiful package. It is wrapped in swaddling clothes. It was beaten and bruised on a tree, not a glittery, shining tree with lights, but a rugged one. Take this gift of myself... I am the peace that you long for.

Yes, I can hear a bell....this bell tolls... it tolls for thee.

Lyrics to " I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), 1867)

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Reflections of a Nation

     Have you ever passed by a mirror, looked at your reflection, and were startled by what you saw? That was me, last night.  The election was a mirror that was held up to our country last night. What the reflection shows is that we are a bi-polar nation.
 
The nation is divided like never before. The reflection also shows that we want the American dream, but we are spoiled and we want to get it the easy way. We have been fooled into believing that if we achieve the American dream it must mean that God is blessing us.  There are many that truly believe their salvation is found in bigger government, more programs, irresponsible spending. We also see in this reflection that our traditional Christian values have been dismissed and marginalized. Our salvation is and will be found in no other than Christ, The King. He is the medication for our bi-polar condition! I pray that four years from now we don't wake up and look at our reflection, and we don't recognize who we are.

" He only is my rock and salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken." Psalm 62:2. Although I was startled by this reflection, I will not be greatly shaken by it because I know that Jesus alone, is my rock and He alone is my salvation. I pray that we will remember this in the coming four years. Yes, we caught a glimpse of a nation that was slouching. I  just hope it is not as Robert Bork said in the title of his book, "Slouching Towards Gomorrah."...

Can you pass me a napkin?

     A friend of mine called me the other day to share with me a passage of Scripture that she was excited about. This friend does this often and I love it when she does. She opened her Bible and read this Scripture to me over the phone:

Colossians 1: 9-14

" 9For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. 13For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." I told her to hold on and let me write this down so that I could go back and read it again for myself and soak it all in. Then I told her to let me go get a napkin to wipe my mouth because I feel like I just had a good, large, delicious meal! (This is just how we talk to each other).  So, I went back later and re-read this wonderful passage. God kind of messed with me a little.  When I went back and read the passage again, the word "filled" jumped out at me in verse 9. I guess He does want us to be "filled" just as if we had a big, satisfying meal! But come away after the filling with the knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom and understanding.  You may not understand me feeling this way when reading Scripture, but the Psalmist felt the same way. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103  If you are reading this blog, I hope that you will take the time and truly digest this passage. I bet you will need a napkin too... Cause it's soooo good!

Embrace the Shadows

God...

A shadow of a casket has invaded my life...

Has pushed me down and knocked the wind out of me

Please God help me to find my feet again

My child...

I want you to learn to embrace the shadows

When they raised my son, my only Son on a cross

It created a shadow...

All who come close and allow themselves to be embraced by this shadow

Those who embrace my son on the cross will find...

Love...

Forgiveness and grace

This shadow also was cast over Me

For it was the only time I have ever been separated from my beloved Son

I know you are hurting...

I  know how you feel...

Being separated from your loved one.

I want you to embrace another shadow...

The shadow of my wings

If you will come close to this shadow

You will find shelter, rest and...

Safety.

You are safe to ask your questions

For it is here you will find healing and... 

Comfort.

For I Am the Comforter

Stay here with me and find what you need to...

Carry on.

Until you can find your feet again.

Breathe in and out my grace...

Let me apply my healing balm of love.

These two shadows...

The Cross...

My Wings...

My child...
Embrace these shadows.