A Life Redone

God’s presence is SO VAST and so enormous. He wants to gives His children the answers they need. All we have to do is ask Him the right questions so we will get the right answers.  God moves us from glory to glory His Word says. God overlooks our ignorance when it’s because we just don’t know but I really believe once we’ve been exposed the truth but we choose not to accept it there’s very little to no grace. I really feel like we stumble because of our ignorance. Ask, seek, knock and expect the answer to come.  Keep asking, seeking and knocking for that answer.  If you’re not getting the right answer start asking a different question so that you’ll get it.  You ask for a fish a good father does not give you a stone. God is a GOOD FATHER.  Ask Him today for what you need and see that He doesn’t open up the storehouses in Heaven for YOU to pour out enough blessing that you cannot contain it all. So it pours out of you onto others. Because it’s not just about us but others. We want to be a living testimony of our living God.

I was just reading my journal this morning and it took me back to April last year when I questioned God concerning His purpose for me. He confirmed over and over and over again what I was supposed to be doing and what I was not be doing anymore. What He was finished with and the new pursuit He had for me. I just had to ask. I’m so glad I wrote it down because I forget and I’m more glad He prompted me to open it back up and took me right there to be reminded that I’m doing what He wants me to do.

Encouragement for you to keep on that straight and narrow path this day, this week, this month and this year. To stay in His Word and keep talking to Him because He will answer. One way God does speak His will is through His Word. If you store up His Word in your heart it will not return void but it will accomplish what He sends it to do.

Check out my book A Life Redone: https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/464097-a-life-redone

Something about the English language when reading and interpreting the Bible is that sometimes we lose the significance of the actual words. The authors of the Bible did their best to write down the Scriptures as the Holy Spirit led them to. Those who interpreted the Bible into their languages did their best to interpret the words into our language and they did a good job but sometimes we just don’t understand the power that’s behind the original word used by the original author because of the translation so we must dig deeper into our Bible studies to get a better picture to teach the Word with accuracy and experience the power of the Scriptures. I know that we’re responsible only for what we know but I think that when we ignore truths because of our pride and we refuse to see things in the Word because of our egos, distractions or just plain laziness there is only so much grace. Especially if we are leaders in the church and teach the Word or people look up to us as examples or to give them a fresh word. One way or another we will be held accountable if not here but hereafter for this. Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness..

I find that when I’m struggling in an area in my life Spiritually, the Lord leads me to find the best answer and it usually takes me into the Bible digging deeper to find these answers. Then I am more than a conqueror through Christ who gives me strength (Is 54:17).

Seems like we as people need to be reminded of things again and again things we’ve learned just because we’re not yet perfected in our understanding. Recently I was reading some verses that focus on Christ and teaching me about not placing confidence in myself but reminding me what my goal should be. I see what I have available to me when I place my confidence in Christ and what He did for me on the cross.

Philippians 3:9-10 says: be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ — the righteousness from God based on faith. It says we must participate in the fellowship of His sufferings and becoming like Him in His death and in doing so we know Him and the power of His resurrection. ‘Righteoutness‘ in the original translation is ‘dikaiosyne’. This word indicates that my righteousness is not of myself or my performance but from Christ. Regarding this righteousness Matthew 5:6 says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. We need to be hungry to be satisfied by the Bread of Life. It’s like an adult getting into the kiddy pool trying to get cooled off. If it’s not deep enough, we will still be hot. It’s hard for a full grown person to get comfortable in a pool up to his ankles. He has to get into a pool that covers more then half of his body to even get deep enough to dip under the water to be refreshed. In the same way if we always remain satisfied with knowledge to only the extent of what already know we are never truly satisfied in our souls. We remain stagnant and weak. We have to go deeper places then we’re comfortable with so we can learn and the Holy Spirit can reveal wonderful truths that encourage our growth and make us helpful tools God can use in others lives; encouraging others to grow, then we can really be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Then we can conquer the enemy of our souls and be real examples to a lost and dying world and draw others into the Kingdom of God; including our unsaved family and friends.

I challenge you today to take a dip into the unknown and challenge yourslelf in your Bible studies; do as Ephesians 6:13-15 says:

Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God, And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.

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As Christians sometimes we have to learn and relearn truths in our lives over and over. There are times that we conquer quests only to turn around later to go over a different mountain to relearn the same thing in a different way. God is so gracious He helps us over mountains of fear by teaching us faith for something new.

It’s great to have good friends who encourage you as you relearn things in different seasons. I am so blessed to have one of those friends who lives nearby me.

My husband and I have been married for almost fifteen years, which to me seems like a long time, but it’s not really been so long. We have tracked through some really tough times together, pulling out stronger then we were before.

Right now I’m learning about faith and how it’s not to be in myself but in God. Faithful. God is that. That is my word for Him this year. Instead of staring at what is, believing that God has and will conquer what I place my faith in Him to do, because He is my strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says it all: But he said to me, “My grace is. sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

God is faithful. He is SO FAITHFUL. Hang onto Him and you will see favor, grace, and mercy touch your circumstances; strength that is beyond your ability. If you go after anything it should be to grow in your pursuit and grasp of God. By His Spirit you can do anything; you can do anything; jump over that wall in front of you. HE IS SO FAITHFUL. Try Him

God’s presence is SO VAST and so enormous. He wants to gives His children the answers they need. All we have to do is ask Him the right questions so we will get the right answers.  God moves us from glory to glory His Word says. God overlooks our ignorance when it’s because we just don’t know but I really believe once we’ve been exposed the truth but we choose not to accept it there’s very little to no grace. I really feel like we stumble because of our ignorance. Ask, seek, knock and expect the answer to come.  Keep asking, seeking and knocking for that answer.  If you’re not getting the right answer start asking a different question so that you’ll get it.  You ask for a fish a good father does not give you a stone. God is a GOOD FATHER.  Ask Him today for what you need and see that He doesn’t open up the storehouses in Heaven for YOU to pour out enough blessing that you cannot contain it all. So it pours out of you onto others. Because it’s not just about us but others. We want to be a living testimony of our living God.

I was just reading my journal this morning and it took me back to April last year when I questioned God concerning His purpose for me. He confirmed over and over and over again what I was supposed to be doing and what I was not be doing anymore. What He was finished with and the new pursuit He had for me. I just had to ask. I’m so glad I wrote it down because I forget and I’m more glad He prompted me to open it back up and took me right there to be reminded that I’m doing what He wants me to do.

Encouragement for you to keep on that straight and narrow path this day, this week, this month and this year. To stay in His Word and keep talking to Him because He will answer. One way God does speak His will is through His Word. If you store up His Word in your heart it will not return void but it will accomplish what He sends it to do.

Check out my book A Life Redone: https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/464097-a-life-redone

Satan is a liar.

I had something happen yesterday that taught me about an important life principle. Fear will make something out of nothing. I had an opportunity to see myself think for a little bit that I might be sick. It actually manifested symptoms of something that ‘may be’ there.

When I started questioning what was happening I was led to began speaking out loud ‘the devil is a liar’. I walked around speaking the truth or the Word of God out of my mouth. Then I heard God give me a word in my spirit as I was quoting verses out loud. He said ‘this will not come near your dwelling. ‘ I looked that up and found it came from Psalm 91.

It made me consider a thorn in my flesh that I’ve dealt with for many years. I have seen the warfare in that that is real and if I fight right I can cast it down. I’m not always consciously aware enough when it rears its ugly head. But this experience has once again taught me to fight lies that come at me in the Spirit using the TRUTH which is God’s Word.

“The Bible says we are to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee.” (James 4:7)

Try fighting your battles a different way especially if you haven’t seen a change in your position with whatever battle you face. Sometimes we fight in the wrong way and hold ourselves captive to something we should be free from. Just like the Israelites walked around the wilderness for 40 years. It was a trip that should’ve take 10 days. If they’d just done things God’s way instead of walking in their own understanding they could’ve reached their destination MUCH sooner.

Don’t fall for the enemy’s tactics. He wants to hold you down in defeat. The enemy is a liar. According to John 10:10 he comes to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus came to give us life and life abundantly.

You better believe that your enemy is real. Getting grace to understand the battle at hand is so important. You want to be useful in this life to point others to Christ and not just focused on yourself otherwise you miss the point of life itself. I pray you get this. I pray I get this.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

It wasn’t until recently that I’ve noticed how much I don’t listen to God when He speaks to me. I am sad to say, at times, I have downed out His voice with my own human reasoning. I have felt somewhat, at times, far from God especially in the last few years, trying my best to figure out the problem. Recently, I realized how much I don’t listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Believing that my choices were best and that I was using wisdom to choose. Yes I do believe that I have been using wisdom and not walking in outright disobedience on purpose. However, at times I have been drowning out the voice of God with my own voice. I think I may have missed out on experencing God’s ‘best’ choice by choosing my ‘best’ choice.

I think that when we’re plugged into the Spirit of God that we can see and experience that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55). He gives wisdom to us by speaking thoughts to us that we could never come up with on our own. We have an inner in-voice that will give us His secrets if we let Him; leading us to not just the ‘better way’ but to the ‘best way’. I think God wants us to ask Him everything.

I’ll give you an example, when I first came back to the Lord 21 years ago I had a mentor that told me her and her husband prayed everytime before they’d go grocery shopping for God to help them get exactly what they needed and have the right amount of money to pay for that. I was surprised when she told me that but she said we should and could pray about everything. She was right.

I wish I could mention every example of God telling us the right thing to do because there have been times where we lived in such need that every decision we made hinged on God’s grace and power working on our behalf. His promptings led us to make wise decisions but there’s just too many to list. His grace working has shown through us how sufficient His Power is made perfect in our weaknesses.

Philippians 2 says we are to pray about everything. God wants us to ask Him so He can answer us. This might be a silly example but when I was getting ready for vacation I wanted to get my nails done but I wasn’t sure where to go. In my spirit I heard the Lord speak ‘bella’. So I did a search for a nail salon called Bella nearby me and found one. So I made an apt at this salon that I’ve never been to before.

I just imagine God is up there sitting on His Big White Throne doing like the Word says, ‘bending His ear down to hear our prayers everytime we pray’ (Ps 116:2). He’s eager to lead us and He wants to tell us the right answer and all we have to do is invite Him to do so. He’s waiting on us. The ball’s in your court. What will you do with it today?

” Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil.  It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:7-8)

There’s a hymn that came to my mind while writing this post:

I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
“Take thy cross and follow, follow Me.”

Where He leads me I will follow,
Where He leads me I will follow,
Where He leads me I will follow,
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

God is so very real. He desires to lead His people to the best pasture land He has for us. In order for us to get to that place we have to walk the narrow path He has laid out for us. This can be a rocky, uphill battle for us to walk. One in which we can’t see the next step. We have to walk by faith as God wants to confirm things for us to do through His Word or by opening and closing doors for us instead of us moving and making decisions based on our feelings. Instead of leaning upon our understanding, we’re to trust the Lord with all our hearts as Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6. I’m reading a book on the mind right now and it speaks of pitfalls we can fall into and how we are to be aware of the enemy’s tactics. If we’re constantly leading ourselves by own understanding we’ve lost the battle. As Christians we’re to walk in the Spirit not in the flesh. If we’re making decisions based on what we think with our minds, our own reasoning, or our feelings instead of the Spirit more often than not this will make us miss the will of God. This is not the will of God for us. Sometimes we know too much. God wants us to trust His leading. Rely upon Him. Not be double-minded. Follow the doors instead of making plans and opening our own doors. God knows the end from the beginning. We as people are just passing through here. We aren’t always supposed to be living just comfortably by how we see things. Sometimes the will of God takes us out of our comfort zones. And we’re supposed to be OK with that because this place is not our home. Yes God wants us to prosper in our lives to show a lost and dying world we serve a real God. Sometimes that journey will lead us down paths that are not comfortable walking down.

I can give you an example in my own life. In 2013 I started subbing in the Juvenile Facility as a district employee for the school system. I can remember getting the first call for a job in that school. I was unsure I wanted to work in that place because I was frightened by thinking this was jail for teens and I wasn’t sure how it would be. I don’t remember if I took that first call or if I waited and received another call for a job in that facility. But when I started working there it felt right. I was placed in 2 classes for the day. One class was a Science class where the boys where in a building for lock-down mode and the other classes in the regular building for an English class to sub as an assistant. I liked that school so much in fact I got hired by the district to work there full time. I worked there for like 2 and half years before the district made changes and moved everyone around. I remember I had to learn how to communicate with the kids in that facility. I spent a lot of time praying about it and allowing God to teach me a way that would connect with them. Once I did I had so many opportunities to share the love of Christ with them. To even pray with them. I absolutely loved it.  I knew I was called there but I didn’t truly know until God started speaking my book A Life Redone to me while I was there. In that facility during work He spoke to me as I witnessed kids doing things I remembered I had done when I was their age and it was also then that He spoke to me in the middle of the night when I had a notebook next to my bed to write on when He’d wake me up. It was being faithful with the little I had been given at work so He gave me more at night.

Before I had started working in the juvenile facility that school year I had gone to a women’s conference the summer before with ladies from my church. I went with an expectation to hear from the Lord. He spoke directly from the speaker right into my life and told to write that book I had been thinking about writing for a few years. I remember thinking I had no idea how I would do that. I guess I may have prayed about it but I don’t remember giving too much thought because it seemed an impossible task for me to do. It was that next school year that He placed to me work in an English class with an English teacher to complete that task.

I had another opportunity recently to experience God confirming right from His Word what it was that I should do. He confirmed this 3 separate times in different ways and all I had to do was ask Him to do that. I think God takes us from ‘glory to glory’ teaching us things or reteaching us things as we allow Him to. If we we are confused that is not of God. We could say that confusion makes us a double-minded person. James 1:8 says that a double-minded person is unstable in all they do.

Ask God to lead you in your decsions and then be still and follow His leading. The Bible says we are ‘to be still and know that He is God’ not be still and know that I am God; to push through my own understanding and strength to complete what I think is right is not His will (Psalm 46:10). I am to follow His path that He leads me on and lean upon Him so that in my weakness He is strong (2 Cor 12:9). Then He gets the glory, not me.

…we will be like Him for we will see Him as He really is (1 John 3:2). Strong’s says this Greek word ‘Phaneroo’ is ‘when He appears’ meaning to be made manifest or appear or shew literally and figuratively. In the Thayer’s Greek Lexicon this means to make known what has been hidden, by words or deed or any other way. This same Greek word was used in Mark 4:22 which says,  For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should be revealed. In this life it is true that once we see Christ truly, He manifests Himself however it may be, to become real to us, and we see who He is that we become more and more like Him. ‘We shall be like Him’ in the Greek hómoios meaning similar in appearance or character. So we become so full of love like Him that we burst at the seems to spill Him on anyone who will listen and we will yearn to show His love to others. We see people as Christ sees them. Ephesians 4:1 says, …live a life worthy of the calling you have received… We see every person we come into contact with significance and therefore we are prepared to give an answer for the hope we have in Christ (1 Pet 3:15). We break out of the spirit of religion which says its my works that make me look like Christ. Instead we abide in Him and He in us and we bear much fruit showing ourselves to His (John 15:5). We deny ourselves daily so as to walk in the Spirit (Luke 9:23). Get our minds off of ourselves and worldly things, and onto more important things – Spiritual things.

Each person who believes in Christ has there own personal relationship with Him. We cannot put people into groups to characterize who they are or what they believe about Christ because it’s an inner personal thing. And God will judge us someday for our inner thoughts. 1 Corinthians 4:5 states: Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Seek Him in the Word. Seek Him in prayer. Seek Him with all your heart.

The Bible says:

For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death (Pro 8:35-36)

Brothers and sisters:

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God (Phil 1:11).

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. (Luke 5:12-13)

What really caught my attention about this verse is that this man was that he was a man covered with Leprosy. He was not a man who was Leprosy. This man was not holding onto a disease to define who he was. In faith this man petitioned Jesus for healing and because of that he experienced the dynamic power of God cleansing him.

Mephibosheth in 2 Sam 9 was invited by King David to eat at his table everyday he didn’t excuse the invite because of his disability. He didn’t say to the king “sorry I can’t walk there so I ain’t coming”. He allowed the king to make plans for him to be there. In order for him to come to feast at the Kings table Mephibosheth had to leave the spot where he had always been. He had been invited by the King to dine with him. He got to experience the best because he was open to change.

Something the Lord told me this year was not to even speak “the word” naming the infirmity I have battled for many years. I am to thank God for my healing. I am to come out of that lo-debar environment. Quit talking about it. This would usher me in my healing. BECAUSE according to Proverbs what I don’t talk about I can’t give life to. The last few years I have had to open myself up to really walking into new understanding of the Lord. I have tried to work on really changing how I even look at the infirmity I’ve dealt with or even how I speak about it. Because it’s not mine. I’m not claiming it as mine. I don’t want it. Jesus doesn’t want it for me either.

So I will look like a fool to some but I’m claiming the truth over my body and my mind. The truth really is: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed (1 Pet 2:24).

I have the runners mentality. Keeping my eyes focused on what’s ahead, not what’s behind me nor what on the side of me. And I will run the race with endurance. So I can finish well, not before my time but at the appointed time so I’m not ashamed when I look at Jesus. So He can say, Well done good and faithful servant.