NOW!

Psalm 57:1 "Be good to me, God  -  and now...!" (The Message Version)

Thursday greetings,

Sometimes I will call for Jorge, and  if he's watching a baseball game or reading the news on his phone, he will say, "Give me a minute," or "Can it wait?"  But to his eternal credit and after all these years together, he knows that if my voice is at a certain pitch, he must respond ASAP - no questions asked.  Like the day before yesterday when a roach whose antennae were at least three inches long was merrily crawling around my garage floor.  All I shrieked was, "JORGE!" and he sprang up like a leopard, grabbed a paper towel, and chased the roach until he caught it and squished it to death.  My hero!

Sometimes we need a quick response and immediate action. When King David wrote the verse above that is what he was looking for. He was hiding in a cave from someone who was trying to kill him, and he offered up an urgent prayer for rescue.

I love that God allows us to be bold when we pray; I love that God is pleased with our honesty.  David needed a divine intervention NOW - not three days from now.  Sometimes we need an answer now as well.

Let's pray.

Dear Lord, Be good to me right now.  I need help with (FILL IN THE BLANK)Why do I ask? Because the rest of this verse says that my soul finds shelter and safety in You.  And verse three says You send orders from heaven to save me.  Send the orders; I am confidently secure in You and You alone. Thank You! In Jesus' name, AMEN.

COMPLETE

Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Greetings,

One game I occasionally play with my little nephews is, "Guess which hand it's in!" And yes, I have been known to switch the M&M's or other treat I am holding into the hand they choose so they can win.  They always squeal with delight, and I get a kick out of it.

But after reading this verse, where every single word is brimming with blessings, I have to chuckle at how small, insignificant, and temporary are the gifts I hold in my hand compared to what the Lord is holding for us.

Any joy, happiness, bliss, or satisfaction we find in this life is TEMPORARY.  When we are finally living with Him, however, our joy will be COMPLETE  -  complete happiness, bliss, and satisfaction.  The hope of our souls basking in the enjoyment of an eternal God finally fulfilled.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You reveal and show us the path of life.  We ask that You reveal yourself to our children and those we love so they make wise choices and live with the hope we all have of complete satisfaction with You in heaven.  Remind us of this truth when life gets hard.  In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Happily Ever After

Good morning, blessed children of God!

More than once I have shared how much I enjoy reading, and of course, I am a sucker for a happy ending.  Nothing upsets me more than getting to the end of a book and learning that the young couple in love never married, or worse, someone I was rooting for died.  I have been known to never read another book by any author who kills off courageous and brave characters or doesn't give them a happily ever after. 

I can hear some of you thinking, "Yenise, that's part of life; it's not realistic to think that everyone gets a merry and blissful forever!"

You are sort of right.

At the very end of the Holy Bible it says, "...God's home is now among His people! He will live with them, and He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever" (Revelation 21:3-4).

Those of us who love and trust Christ will eventually get our happily ever after!

This is why I love the Bible.  There's a lot of scripture that deals with evil, death, injustice, and sin, but its pages contain the happiest ending of all.

My kind of book!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that the moment is coming when we will live side by side with You. You Yourself will wipe away our tears, and we will never be sad again.  Looking forward to it.  In the meantime, we need Your help on this earth.  Fill us with Your goodness.  Protect us and bless our great nation.  In Jesus' name, AMEN!

First Things First

Greetings, 

There's a lot going on in our country right now, and our nation is bruised, battered, and divided.   Many of us are concerned about our future and our safety.  What is the answer?  Some believe a change in leadership would help...  Others want tougher laws...How about more peaceful protests coupled with an increase in the police force?

All that is fine and dandy, but FIRST THINGS FIRST!

Our priority should be to take God at His Word:

"If my people, who belong to me, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land" (1 Chronicles 7:14).

If you and I, God's precious children, go to Him in prayer and pour out our hearts seeking Him and His forgiveness, guidance, protection, provision -  acknowledging that every good thing comes from Him and that He is the only One Who can help us - then that is the first step in God healing this great nation.

God spells out the order very clearly in this verse.  We must  first be humble.  That should be an easy one for us.  Do any of us believe ourselves to be so  self reliant that we can take care of ourselves without Him?

Once we realize how small we are and how great He is, the next logical step is to pray and seek Him. Why? Because God is a good and generous God Who desires deeply to share with us all that He has to offer.  He longs to be compassionate, gracious, merciful and kind. We receive these blessings when we pray.

None of what we just read matters, however, if we don't turn away from sin.  God does not call us to perfection, but He does call us to make an effort, people. We will all fall down in the mud, but we don't have to live in it.  We can get up right away and get back on track.  The way we keep on track is by turning away from our wrongdoings and turning toward God in prayer.

When we do all this GOD HEARS FROM HEAVEN AND HEALS!

Seems to me like we are getting the better end of the bargain.  We admit we need Him,  we tell Him so, we turn away from evil and sin and turn toward Him, and He responds by healing and helping us and our country.

NO BRAINER!                  

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, Thank You for the promises in this verse.  We come to You today and declare how much we desperately need You - minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day.  Help us stay focused on You.  You are our Father and You keep us safe.  We seek Your face because in Your presence there is joy and peace.  We repent of our sin.  Forgive us for our wrongdoing.  For those grudges we have held, the anger we have used to lash out, and for (FILL IN YOUR OWN BLANK). Thank You that You have heard from heaven and are healing our land right now. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Ask for Directions

Psalm 43:3 "Give me Your lantern and compass, give me a map, so I can find my way to the sacred mountain, to the place of Your presence" (The MESSAGE Version).

Greetings,

Summer is in full swing, and many of us have either taken a vacation or are planning one.  I am in the latter group.  Jorge and I will be celebrating 30 years of marriage soon, and we are embarking on one epic road trip.

 

In the past Jorge and I would have probably just hit the road with an over inflated sense of adventure and a, "Let's just see where the road takes us!" mentality.  But we have learned our lesson. It's no fun looking around for a hotel in the middle of the night, in freezing cold temperatures, with low fuel, and two small hungry children.   

So we are making plans and conducting some very fancy research.  We have noted our points of interest, started a to-do list, and because we might invite Hershey Pie, have even  googled "Road Trips with Pets."  We are proud of ourselves for being organized, and are taking smart steps to get us where we want to go.  

The greatest point of interest we should all visit regularly is God's sacred mountain, which is the place of His presence, and there is only one smart step to take: Ask for directions.

In His presence there is peace, joy, faith, hope, protection, provision, laughter, contentment, and rest.  When we ask for God's lantern, compass, and map, He will gladly provide them so we can "find our way" to where He is.  He sends light, truth, and faithful care to lead and guide us in the right direction.

Let's ask!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Send us Your light! Provide a map straight to where You are.  Help us avoid danger in our lives, and thank You that the map You provide leads us to good things.  We pray that that You would especially instill a moral compass in our children so they always make wise choices.  In Jesus' name, AMEN! 

The Keys to the Kingdom

Greetings,

Matthew 16:19 “You have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”

One of my favorite TV shows is the 1960's sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.  It’s such a funny show, and it seems like almost every episode someone winds up in jail, Andy is the town sheriff after all.  One time a character named Otis was locked up for the night and was waiting to be released.  Unknown to him, however, was that all along the keys were right outside his cell hanging on a peg.  That’s one of the running jokes of the show: The keys are always hanging on that peg within easy reach of anyone who is locked up.

So many of us are like Otis: The keys are right there, but either we don’t realize it or just plain don’t use them.  We stayed locked up in fear, loneliness, stress, hopelessness, sickness, and need because we don’t use the keys.

Which keys?  The keys to the kingdom.  And what are those keys? PRAYER.  We always come back to prayer.

Prayer is the means by which heavens doors open up and bless us here on earth.  Prayers eliminate barriers. Prayers give us complete and free access to everything God has to offer.  Please refer to Psalm 103 for a tiny glimpse of everything that is ours. 

Prayer is the means by which God decided to make a bridge between heaven and earth.  Christ gave us His life to build that bridge and like Otis, all we have to do is reach through the bars and grab those keys.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for so freely giving us the keys to the kingdom.  Some days, we forget to use the keys, or we forget they are right there.  But thank You that they are the easiest things to access; all it takes is a little talk with Jesus.  We say “YES!” to Jesus and the health, protection, peace, love, and hope that He offers right here where we are on earth.  And we say “No!” to anxiety, disease, worry, fear, loneliness, and hatred.  Heaven agrees with us, and we receive it! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

A Whopping 50 Years!

Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell throughout all my days in the presence of the Lord."

Greetings,

This past Saturday my in-laws, Isa and Chini, celebrated a whopping 50 years of marriage!  Their closest family and friends gathered to commemorate this amazing anniversary, and Mariachis showed up and played nostalgic tunes from the past.

One song in particular's lyric translated to this: My how the years have passed, but my love for you is still growing.

Of course, as soon as they started dancing to that song, my eyes welled up.  As I discreetly wiped away my tears - after all, I did not spend all afternoon getting ready just to let my sentimentality mess it up - I found myself thanking God for His goodness in allowing my husband to have his parents for so many years.  I praised Him because my children have had the blessing of grandparents who are happy together.  I worshiped Him for providing me with a living-proof example that marriages can go the distance, and I expressed gratitude for my in-laws whose love I have witnessed growing stronger as time goes by.

God is good, and I pray He will open our eyes to see His goodness, which follows us every single day.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for being GOOD.  You give us good gifts, and You bless us with Your goodness.  As we pray we open our hearts to receive from You every single thing we need to live a blessed life. In Jesus' name, AMEN~ 

No Hiking Equipment Needed!

Greetings,

Yesterday was my birthday, and I Thank God for my country, my family and friends, and for blessing me with another year of life!

As a gift to myself I did a little biblical exploration and found a scripture that really encouraged me. I will tell you in advance that it involves loud shouting, which is exactly my kind of verse!

Zechariah 4:7 "What are you, O great mountain of obstacles? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain - insignificant. And he will bring out the capstone with loud shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"

Zerubbabel had the task of rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem, which was of monumental significance to the Jewish people, but there was many who opposed the rebuilding and constantly disrupted the project.

However, dear friends, the moment came when God said enough is enough.  The obstacle was removed, the difficulty vanished, and the opposition stopped.  Nothing, not one thing, is too difficult for our Lord.

This is why the power of those who oppose you and /or the struggle you find yourself in right now, becomes insignificant when God shows up.  That high and seemingly insurmountable mountain becomes a plain - flat and even ground. No hiking equipment needed.

And notice how when the Temple was nearing completion, Zerubbabel would have the honor of putting the final stone of the construction in place.  But he won't do it silently. When he finally has that glorious moment of victory, when that mountain is finally level, when all that he has been waiting for is realized, when the prayer is answered, he will shout, "Grace, grace to it!"

I did a little digging into the exact meaning of this, and it is an invitation for the continued goodness of God in our life.  God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and when we shout GRACE! GRACE! it's asking Him to always preserve the blessings He secured for us.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We shout GRACE! GRACE! today. Grace to keep our marriages together. Grace to keep our children obedient. Grace to keep our bodies healthy. Grace to keep our finances secure. Grace to keep our country safe. Thank You that You make molehills out of mountains. In Jesus' name, AMEN!