ALL Again?

Well, here's that word "all" again. Colossians 3:23 & 24. "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." Doing everything whole heartily is the same as putting your whole heart into something. How do we do that without becoming completely exhausted. Paul writes in the last verse of Chapter 12 of I Corinthians, "And now I will show you the most excellent way". That statement leads us into the "Love" chapter of Corinthians. Everything we do as God's children is measured by Love. Love toward Him; love toward one another; love toward our families; love toward the world. The world's attitude many times is to do a half hearted job and receive an instant reward with no regard for the benefit of others. As we daily surrender our lives to Jesus, becoming living sacrifices, he is able to Love through us and give us the desire and ability to "do the good works" he spoke of and "glorify our Father who is in Heaven." Instead of exhausting us, it becomes a pleasure and part of our nature as we take on His nature as we are daily being filled with the Spirit through Relationship and the Word. What is unnatural for the world is natural for us because of Jesus.

"Father, this new day I again give you ALL my heart. Be glorified through me so others will be drawn to you and your goodness, graciousness and kindness. Let your Love flow through every thing I do and say. I want the world to know your Love, sent through your Son, Jesus, my Savior. Let them see you through me. Let me be an example of True Love. Your Grace is sufficient for me to accomplish this. I love you."

Resurrection

May the Resurrection Power of our Lord be with you today. Happy Easter! He is Risen! Amen.

Treasure

Wow! We have a BIG Lord! To think that there are times that we feel a lack of security or we worry about life and how we will live. Colossians, in verses 16 and 17 of chapter 1, tells us, "For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him ALL THINGS hold together." There is that word "ALL" again. He sees the big picture ALL the time. We see with limited vision. That is where faith comes in. Hebrews 11:1: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." Looking through the eyes of faith, we are able to see. Forward vision is faith seeing the future through the eyes of God and knowing that he has our best interest (His will for us) in his capable hands and that "ALL things work together for the good...". He will not leave "one stone unturned" as the saying goes. If we allow, he will tear down every stronghold that keeps us from receiving the full measure of himself into our lives. The full Treasure... 2 Corinthians 4:7, which we have in these jars of clay. We have the Glory of God, Christ, in these earthen vessels. Again. Wow! Open our eyes Lord to see your Greatness in and for us! We were born to be your dwelling place, oh, God. We surrender all to you. We put our trust in you, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. All knowledge is in you. All understanding is in you. Let us "contain" you within these vessels as we are able through your ability and let us pour forth of your Glory and your Truth and your Encouragement to those whom you put in our path to do so. We are humbled at your Magnificence and in awe that you would privilege us to hold the Treasure that You are within our very being. We are forever grateful. Amen!

Therefore...

"Therefore encourage eachother with these words." I Thessalonians 4:18 The prefix "en" means to cause a person to be "in". In other words, when we encourage one another, we cause one another to be "in" a state of courage. There are so many, many experiences we have to face in our everyday lives. Some of us are extroverts and some are introverts. Each face those experiences in a different way. What causes anxiety in one may not cause it in another. Thank God we are not all the same. And thank God that he is familiar with all of our ways. Our personalities were designed by him within our mother's wombs. There are different things that affect our personalities and sometimes they seem altered. He promises to "perfect that which concerns us". Psalm 138:8 As we walk with him and allow that perfecting, he is able to restore us to a place of his original design. In other words, he sets us free to be who we were meant to be in Him. He uses each of our brothers and sisters to aid in that work. "As iron sharpens iron so one man/woman sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17. We can actually partner with the Lord in the work he is doing not only in our own lives but in the lives of others. As we are "en" couraged through the Word, we can "en" courage others in the truth that, "We can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us" Philippians 4:13. I love the story of Joshua. Joshua was to keep God's Word in his heart and on his lips and to be strong and courageous as opposed to being terrified and discouraged. The reason for the courage: God would be with him always. The victory was his. Be "in" courage today no matter what you are facing from the smallest to the greatest endeavor. God is with you! Blessings!

The Sound

Over a year before I started blogging, I would send My Backyard Fence out as an email to a specific group of people... now I am enjoying touching more lives with what I hear the Spirit saying. Here is a post from January of this year... hope you enjoy.

Have you ever been so excited you could hardly contain yourself? That is what is happening to me at the moment of this writing. The reason? I just read a fascinating article about a new and mysterious “sound” coming from space. The scientists can’t figure it out. As I read the article, I was overcome by the Spirit and was actually weeping tears of joy! Our Lord is coming! What came to me was the word the Lord has been speaking regarding a “new song”. I have been having intermittent mini-visions I will call them for lack of a better definition, of that "song". I wrote before of how we are that song and of the fact that we, as individual notes, are written on the “staff”, who is the Lord himself. I have been seeing that staff as it ribbons its way through our cities; our rural areas; our towns; our cities; our countries; our world. It is awesome beyond explanation. It is a love song without measure. It is graceful love. God is the master conductor; the master composer; the master musician; the master vocalist. I can’t even begin, with my limited vocabulary, to express what I am feeling inside. I want to spread the excitement and enthusiasm as a huge blanket across the hearts of all my brothers and sisters in Christ. Of all people, we hold the promise of eternity; the hope of glory. I want to position myself on that “staff” exactly where God wants me and even as I express that hope, he reminds me that he has and is positioning us exactly where he wants us. “The steps of a good man/woman are directed by the Lord.” He promises to position us. The last verse in Hebrews chapter 9 tells us that “He will come a second time, not to offer himself for sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Not only that but at some point, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord!”

Are You Looking?

Thank God for the entrance of Springtime! Signs of it are everywhere. I was reminded of a time a few years ago when my husband and I were taking a drive in the country. My mind was preoccupied with wandering thoughts. Then, as if to awaken from a comfortable afternoon nap, I hear the words, "are you looking?" Whipping my head around in an attempt to see just what I was to be looking at, my focus fell upon one of those beautiful pink, blossoming trees that I love so much. I have been known to thrill at the sight of them as they signal Spring is here. My husband did not want me to miss the moment. As I mused over this remembrance, the Lord began to speak to me by His Spirit those words, "are you looking?" Our lives can be consumed by so many things. We can feel the stretching of ourselves in various directions. Perhaps as a mom or a dad, a teenager, a student, a boss, an employee, an athlete, a teacher, a politician, a police officer, a contractor, etc., etc. Life in this world has it's demands and it's distractions. To be successful, we have to focus to do a good job at that which we are called. In the midst of the picture of life, we need to answer the question, "are you looking?". As we "look" we shall "see". Psalm 123:1&2: "I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven... so our eyes look to the Lord our God till he shows us his mercy." The Lord delights to show himself in our midst. We can "look" in the same way a photographer looks through the lens of his or her camera and sees the big picture and then brings the focus clear on the central object he or she is desiring to capture. Then that photographer "sees". The Lord is always present, waiting for us to give him place as the central theme in the picture of our individual lives. Ah! What beauty is ours to behold as we "capture" the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus in all of our circumstances.

No Worries!

How many of you have seen a little child worry? The "norm" for little children is not to worry. I received one of those email prayers this morning from a friend and one part stood out the most. It was the part about not whining or wimpering over things we have no control over. That is a hard one at times. Philippians 4:6&7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I think the "norm" for little children is because they "trust", without any conscious effort, their parents or guardians. They are free to eat, drink, play... be themselves because they have gotten used to having all their needs met (another God promise). A favorite scripture of mine is in Isaiah 23:6 "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you." When children walk in that place of trust, they are free to be and to become. Now I know in this world we don't always see this. There are many sad situations because of the sin factor. However, I am talking here of the "norm" or the ideal which I believe we can have in God's Kingdom which is not of this world. God is the perfect Father. As we trust in Him completely when situations are in or out of our control, we can walk in that freedom he intends for us. It is a daily thing. God's Kindgom is a Heart thing, an inner Kingdom. As we live the Kingdom life on the inside no matter what the circumstances, it affects our entire being. Peace.... body, soul and spirit. I want to receive the wonders of His Kingdom daily... "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it," the Words of Jesus, Luke 18:17. Have a Peace-filled day!