Well Done....

And in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 states, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. So I run therefore, not with uncertainly; I fight, not as one that beats the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

 As I progress through the week, each day I challenge the kids to look beyond themselves to do their best, and never give up through their times of intense physical training whether with their sports of basketball, tennis, or soccer; in their academics in pursuing excellence;  or in service to the community with Girl Scouts or in the church.  I look forward to our morning devotion times, and sharing with them God's enduring love for us through His indescribable creation!

However more important than talking about truths on responsibility, and courage in the Lord, I purpose in my heart to walk out the example that I speak of.  Because, all too often, we are bombarded with so much in our mixed up world- when right and wrong has become relative to many, or wrong is now being called right.

In the world to come there is only one Judge and He (Almighty God). He will not change the course of truth -regardless of how many, or how few actually run it. His rewards will be based on our having stayed the true course.

So I encourage you… It’s easy to follow the crowd. But it takes courage and conviction to follow wholeheartedly after God. Sometimes it can get lonely running your race, wondering where the crowd is going, and even whether you, yourself are on the right road. But you my friend keep running with the Lord. And when the race is over and you have finished your course, may He (the Lord) say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”

I pray you abound in the Lord, and that He fill your day with His purposes and priority!

Following Him!

Marking Time.....

A lot of times when we may feel that we are marking time in our life....when those times come, God speaks to me that He is not taking me backwards, He says, "I am taking you deeper."  Allow God IN- during the difficult times in our life -so that the glory and power of God can be revealed in and through YOU!

Hebrews 12:1-7 (NIV)
"12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.....7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children." 

 And in so doing, know that God will complete the work He has begun in you! Be encouraged on today!

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice.

If you were to take an obedience check-up, How would it fare as a response to the Lord? (NLT)
The Word states in  Matthew 11:16 “What can I say about the people who live today? What are they like? The people today are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group of children calls to the other group,

17 ‘We played flute music for you,
    but you did not dance;
we sang a funeral song,
    but you were not sad.’

18 Why do I say people are like that? Because John came, not eating like other people or drinking wine, and people say, ‘He has a demon inside him.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and people say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much. He’s a friend of tax collectors and other sinners.’ But wisdom is shown to be right by what it does.”

Jesus Warning to People Who Refuse to Believe (MSSG)
20 Next Jesus let fly on the cities where he had worked the hardest but whose people had responded the least, shrugging their shoulders and going their own way.

21-24 “Woe to Chorazin! Woe to Bethsaida! If Tyre and Sidon had seen half of the powerful miracles you have seen, they would have been on their knees in a minute. At Judgment Day they’ll get off easy compared to you. And Capernaum! With all your peacock strutting, you are going to end up in the abyss. If the people of Sodom had had your chances, the city would still be around. At Judgment Day they’ll get off easy compared to you.”

25-26 Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”

27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

My Words...

You can tell a lot about people by the way they talk to and treat others, the jokes they make and the language they use. Based on those behaviors, what might someone be able to say about you?

Matthew 12:33-37 states, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ............ For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Rooted in Truth!

Ever since we moved into our home 16 years ago in the mountainous terrain of Georgia, I can’t help but reflect on the lessons the Lord teaches me/us through our annual home improvement process (painting, landscaping, gardening, room décor, etc.). 
 

And when I tell you we live within the hilly terrain of Georgia, I mean literally. Our subdivision and every other subdivision’s around are carved out of a mountain or hill. Our area of metro Atlanta can at times to be one large mountain after another, between Kennesaw Mountain and Red Top Mountain- and believe me they are beautiful. 

When we first moved into our home in the 90’s, our backyard consisted of mainly a rock surface with huge trees with roots (large and small) everywhere.  These trees and their roots presented a problem when it came to planting new grass or flowers. 

Several weeks into being in the home, while pulling weeds and planting plants, I noticed how one of the prettiest trees in the back yard began to turn white. I called my husband who actually is better at gardening than me, who announced that this particular tree’s roots were not deep enough to draw the nutrients needed because of our rocky terrain of our ground in our backyard. Consequently, because of the lack depths of its roots needed to live, it probably would die. 

So there it was!  What a sight. The prettiest and biggest tree in our yard was dying because the rocky foundation underneath the soil in our yard would not allow the trees roots to grow deep enough to get the nutrients it needed to live! 

Now let me describe something to you.  Trees and plants are very resilient things. So if you are able to change the environment, or replant it during a earlier stage of life or in a healthier soil, it might live.

So simply watering the tree in a place that was not healthy for it although the sun was hitting all of it’s branches and leaves- was not good enough!

Likewise, an unhealthy foundation is very deceptive- though things may grow in its environment, we can’t assume it is healthy from appearance alone.  Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
 

The hardness of Sin may go unnoticed by the richness of it's topsoil, however if it is not dealt with early on, by the time you turn your head the repercussion of death will have found its way up your tree and into your heart. 

Sin begins to spread and spread, and spread all throughout your senses and can even cause you to lose all sensibility. At first glance, it's almost as if the tree’s size can be misleading. Though great in beauty, though one of God’s beautiful creations- if not tended to in the correct manner- will only be beautiful on the outside, but decayed and dying on the inside. It will become just a shell of a tree!  And the deception of it is deadly.

   James 1:^{12 (AMP)} Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him. ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one. ¹⁴But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). ¹⁵Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.

 ¹⁶Do not be misled, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].

Though temptation is something that will always be around us, God is looking for those who will not easily or readily yield to it!  Remember the next time you come across a foreign thing in your life, before you plant your roots make sure it’s the True Vine and not a place of shallow dwelling that will eventually starve you of your blessing!

John 15:5-(AMP)
I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

Trust God!

"Bring Me your weaknesses, and receive My Peace....I am sovereign over everything. Do not wear yourself out with analyzing and planning. Instead, let thankfulness and trust be your guides...(keeping) you close to Me." -Jesus Calling

There is a power in walking in the gentle, God-given confident demeanor He provides in the midst of pain, challenging situations and stressful circumstances. Our walk with Jesus- when full of faith- is the greatest adventure.

I've discovered that it protects us from seeing too far ahead into the future, and keeps us from looking too far back into the past. Thus, we are kept from unnecessary fear and needless shame. Fear that comes when we anticipate an uncertain future and shame that comes when we rehearse a unpleasant past. So, rest assured you do not have to "wear ourselves out with analyzing and planning." Like a pilot who trusts his instruments while flying through the clouds of life, we can trust God's instructions while we are flying through our cloudy times.

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” As the very true saying is:

No God, no peace!
Know God, know peace!

No Fear!

Deut. 33:27 states, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."

One day as one of my sons, Leon, was about 5, he was climbing up to his bunkbed, and he got his arm caught and began to call out for help. When he climbed the ladder in the past he usually went up the correct way easily to the next level.  However, on this particular day, he decided to try to climb and come down the wrong way where there was no ladder!  As I ran to him, I caught him right as he fell  into my arms.

It was apparent that my son had no fear of falling, because even as he began to fall- the look on his face was one of unchanging peace. Thankfully, however, I quickly caught him. I think we can learn a lesson from this situation.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have that kind of total trust and faith in our Heavenly Father? Instead of being apprehensive and fearful, or dwelling too much on the past, we could just exercise courage and trust about taking the next step into something incredible, maybe something higher than we've ever known before.  Remember, we have a God with whom nothing is impossible!

However, many times it is all too common that we seldom achieve total fulfillment in our lives simply because every time we try to go forward, the devil will use fear to stop us. Is he using fear to stop you? Satan uses fear to keep you from enjoying life. Fear brings torment, according to 1 John 4:18, and you surely can't enjoy life and be tormented at the same time.

I challenge you to take an inventory in the fear department. What are you afraid of? Are there any areas in your life that are being stifled because of fear? Satan is always going to bring fear against us at various times. It's one of his greatest threats—though he is unable to back up his threats, though it is not a minor threat, it is still a major one!

Be careful, therefore not to move in the flesh or out of God's timing.  But when God is moving, you can't be afraid to move with Him. You can choose to be led by your head or follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. However, God simply asks us to obey, while the results of what our obedience produces are up to Him.

I dare you to choose to climb new heights today, and don't worry about falling, for truly His Everlasting arms are opened wide ready to catch you should you slip! With so much that God has for us, do not allow the fear of failure in Him to hold you back! Instead choose to fall forward as you step out into the deeper things of Him. #fallingforwardandlovingit!