3 posts tagged “lord”
This is the song that has been going through my head all day, so I wanted to share. It is an awesome and amazingly upbeat song. Please listen to it. It's VERY good! Psalms 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalms 118 in itself is awesome (well the whole Bible is), but thought I would share some scriptures that have touched me tonight, and given me comfort. Psalms 116: 7 "Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." Today and yesterday I made a list of all my thanks to the Lord. If you are struggling today, I would suggest to make a list of thanks to the Lord. When you do this, it comforts you as you begin to realize the many blessings you have from the Lord. I know it helped me. It comforts during times of trials. James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
My study bible (which is amazingly awesome) says in its notes "The word 'trials' (Greek peirasmoi) refers to persecution and troubles from the world or Satan. (1) The believer must meet these trials with joy (Matt. 5:11-12; Romans 5:3; 1 Peter 1:6), for testing will develop persevering faith, proven character and mature hope (Rom. 5:3-5). Our faith can only reach full maturity when faced with difficulties and opposition (v. 3). (2) James calls these trials a "testing of your faith." Trials are sometimes brought into believers' lives so that God can test the sincerity of their faith. Scripture nowhere teaches that troubles in life are always an indication that God is displeased with us. They can be a sign that He recognizes our firm commitment to him (Job 1-2).
Temptation and trials are different. James 1:13 says "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone: but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives full birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." My study bible says in the notes "No person who sins can evade guilt by throwing the blame on God. God may test us in order to strengthen our faith, but never with the intent of leading us to sin. God's nature demonstrates that He cannot be a source of temptation to sin."
I John 1:8-10 "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives."
James 5:11 "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."
Psalms 116:12 "How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord."
Psalms 118:1-8 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." 4 "Let those who fear the Lord say: "His love endures forever." 5 In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and He answered me by setting me free. 6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 7 The Lord is with me; He is my Helper. 8 I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."
Psalms 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
So if you're having trouble finding things to be thankful for -- let me help you get started: 1) Jesus saved me; 2) my sins are forgiven; 3) I am promised eternal life in Heaven with my Savior and Lord; 4) I have an awesome family (both my biological family and my married into family -- they are all amazing!); 5) I have the BEST kids on the planet; 6) I have a house to live in; 7) I have warm water in which to get clean, rest in, soak in; 8) I have the most amazing husband ever, who is so kind, warm, caring, compassionate, loving, funny, HOT; 9) I have an amazing church, pastor, friends (both old and new); 10) I have food to eat; 11) I have a computer and internet for being able to communicate the message of the gospel, talk to my friends, meet new friends, etc. 12) I have health insurance; 13) I have a bed to sleep in; 14) I have a husband who sleeps very soundly so that I can be on the computer when I can't sleep, or I can read in the middle of the night when I can't sleep; 15) I have pets that are so much fun, loving, great companions; 16) I have some of the most amazing friends on the planet! 17) Icy hot Cream --- ahhhh.
Just doing this right now has helped me tremendously tonight. These thanks are not to brag on me -- but to brag on the Lord. He is the reason I have these things to be thankful for -- He is the reason for my everything. (2 Corinthians 10:17)
Today I had one of the best days I've had in a long time. It was one of those home run, hit it out of the parks, going down in the records kind of days. I was so full of the JOY of the Lord. Filled to overflowing. It was awesome. My pain was manageable enough today that I was able to get out and do stuff. The Lord allowed me to minister to so many people today, visit with some awesome friends, had coffee with another awesome friend who is understanding and kind. Just a lot of GREAT things. God also gave me some more ideas for ministry opportunities that I'm very excited about. Can't wait to do it, if it is His will!
Then I get the slam. This one felt like a kick in the gut, ripped off an old scab, open, bleeding, raw, and then rub salt in it kind of slam. Processing this one has been a bit of a challenge -- I wanted to scream, vent, give into my flesh and blast outwards. Instead, I cried out to the Lord. Put it down on paper. Then made my list of thanks. When you go through trials, how you handle them is what matures you. How you handle conflicts with people is what matures you. Don't avoid them -- face them, gracefully, tactfully, calmly. Accept responsibility for your part. Go to the person as it says in the bible, don't just tell others so that it gets back to the person who has offended you. Return people's phone calls so that things can be made right. Don't ignore emails from people just so you don't have to answer for whatever. Do the biblical thing.
So what happens if you have a person on the other end who won't return your calls, emails, you hear them saying things about you? What then? You forgive -- Jesus said 70 times. Sure, there are two sides to every story, so get the other side out with the person on the other end, not go behind their backs.
Yes, I have made the choice again to forgive, but this is definitely something I need help with from the Lord on -- my prayer through many of these things is "God, don't let me get bitter, let me get better." And "Help ME!" Please pray for me because I feel stuck, and need His help even more than ever. I always need Him, and can't do my life without Him -- but this one is a tough one. Thanks, and much love to all. M PS. I do feel much better now than I did a few hours ago, and this is ALL because of Jesus Christ and His Power, His Amazing Love, His Amazing Forgiveness, Mercy, gentleness, kindness, love and compassion. For that, I am also thankful for. When people disappoint, and I will guarantee you they will, God will never disappoint. He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. During these times, I draw closer to Him than ever. For that I am thankful -- and for that closeness, I am thankful for the trials. So, God bless these people.
Psalms 119:32 "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free."
I am so excited. As many of you know, Joe and I made a change in our lives and one of them was leaving our home church. We knew the Lord wanted us to leave, but just didn't know where He wanted us to go. Well, we finally jumped ship, stepped out in faith and went to the church we believe that He wanted us at.
He is now beginning to open doors like I have never seen before in my life alone. It has been absolutely amazing. More ministering to the homeless. Hearing of a man who had received one of my water bottles, and he told our new pastor. Our new pastor did not know who it was that gave it to him. The man told the pastor that I told him I would pray for him, and he said "and I knew she would." That so encouraged me.
On Sunday I had one of the worst headaches ever, but I knew the Lord wanted us at church on Sunday. I didn't want to go to the ER, so we prayed, and I got up and moved around continuing to pray in the spirit. The Lord did a change in my mind and my heart about whatever this illness is that is attacking my body. I am no longer going to be a victim to it, but I am going to be victorious in Christ Jesus!
Even though my body still hurts, and at times I just have to rest, and I still don't know what it is, I have a different mind set thanks to the Lord. Even though I felt like crap that morning, I went out and bought more water bottles, granola bars, and fixings to make my family breakfast and dinner AND we got to church. At the end when they prayed for everyone, I felt the Lord move during that time and do more healing in my heart. It was awesome and amazing.
On Monday, the senior pastor invited Joe and I to come to the pastors/elders prayer meeting so they could pray for us, and they wanted us to share. We were so honored. They let me share what was going on in my life, and whatever else I wanted to share. It was awesome to be able to share my testimony again, and the new additions that the Lord has added.
I also set up a facebook site because I had joined a knitting group at my new church, and she had information on her facebook. Well, that opened up a whole new opportunity. All these people that I had gone to school with in high school are all connecting with me. It is absolutely the coolest thing ever!
I don't know what is next, but I know that the Lord is with me every step of the way. His word says He will never leave us nor forsake us, and I am holding tight to that. I continue to pray for healing, but am embracing this journey in my life and excited about who and what He wants to bring next. May Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalms 16:8 “I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
When you've done all that you know to do, and there is nothing else to do, stand. I've spent countless hours in prayer asking the Lord for forgiveness, confessing my sins, etc, because I have read and heard that sin can cause illness in our lives. I try to make a point of confessing often anyways, or immediately after I sin, but I like to spend extra time with the Lord and ask Him to reveal to me those things that He wants me to confess -- to create in me a clean heart.
I've gone through and made inventories of all that I've done or not done, then confessed after that. I am to the point now that all I can do is stand. The Lord gave me these two scriptures this morning, and I believe He has healed my body and continue to confess that belief. I also see a greater purpose for this trial I am in, and that is touching those who may not come to church and getting to witness to them about the Lord's goodness in spite of how I may be feeling at the moment.
Honestly, I'd felt like a failure as a Christian when I went to the doctor many months ago, and asked for help. I'd needed help for well over 2 years, but refused to get the help because I'd felt like if I did that I was a failure as a Christian or that I didn't have enough faith that the Lord would heal me, or that I wasn't praying hard enough, etc. All of that stuff. When I was living by myself it was easy to hide how I was feeling because if I felt crappy, I could just go away for a while until it passed, but when I got married, I could no longer hide it. I needed medication to help balance out my body. There -- I admitted it. I've been taking this anti-depressant now for over 8 months. I'm not 100% yet, but am also dealing with all this pain in my body -- which is something I've dealt with for over 4 years -- but has just gotten worse over the last year.
When I had to get the medication, the Lord reminded me of a time that a woman came to me in CR and told me she was struggling with depression, and how she knew that the Lord had healed her, but she still felt bad. In looking back on that I don't think I was as compassionate as I should have been. Sometimes I wonder if I'm going through all of this sickness for an even greater purpose. I know one good thing that has come from it is that I have grown to have an even greater compassion for those who are sick.
Over the last 4 years, I have had such GREAT victory over so many things -- alcohol, codependence, sex addiction, love addiction, financial recovery, etc., that I think it is possible that I started to get prideful and would wonder why when people were struggling why they wouldn't have immediate victory -- and would think that they need to pray more, or whatever. Being sick this long with no victory in this area has helped me to see that sometimes it doesn't happen immediately, and it doesn't mean that you're doing something wrong.
In 2006, the Lord told me in a dream that He was taking away His protection of me much like He did with Job. I found that journal recently, and in my dream I was screaming "NO." The Lord also told me in 2007 that it would get worse before it got better. I even got confirmation of this from my husband after the Lord told me. I didn't like that, but told the Lord that I trusted Him and His plan and purposes for my life.
Sometimes when you've done all that you know and can do, sometimes you just have to stand.
