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! 

God Has Longings~

Good morning J

Today we switch gears and go back to a topic I promised we would discuss: Being bold before God.

Hebrews 4:16

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

That verse reminds me of a cartoon drawing I once saw. It was entirely in black and white and a clearly terrified man is before the huge, imposing throne of God shaking in his shoes and freaking out. God is sitting there—this enormous faceless presence pointing a finger the size of the Washington Monument. Not very welcoming at all, and totally contrary to the verse above.

I don’t know too many folks who would go boldly into an unwelcoming place. They may go because they are courageous, but then that implies there is something to be afraid about, or at the very least that caution is in order.

No courage needed to pray. No caution necessary. And please, no hesitation. Plus, no meekness, no hanging down your head down low, and no stuttering!

Can we all agree that in order for our walk with Christ to be vibrant we must take a leap of faith and believe His Word? And in order to believe It and Him, we have to know what It says. Every thing—and I do mean every thing—in my life is filtered through the Word. It’s comforting and effective. As such, no matter how hard others may try to paint a picture of a mean, indifferent God Who is detached and uncaring, I know different. And even in the moments when I might doubt, the Word reminds me that I am to be bold when approaching God because He welcomes me with open arms.

When my finite brain tries to picture an infinite God I think about my nephew, Danny. He is three years old and a tornado. Whenever he sees me, he runs to me, calling me Auntie, and hugs me and slobbers all over me, and I love it. Not that many folks get excited to see me anymore. Yet our gracious God feels this way about every single one of us.

Isaiah 30:18 “The Lord longs to be gracious to you…”

This means He wants to show us kindness, compassion and mercy. Do you need one or all three? The only precursor to receiving this is that we have to GO TO the throne. It all begins with prayer. And our posture should be one of boldness, which means “without hesitation.” When we don’t hesitate, when we are excited to pray, to approach God, it’s because we finally start to understand that He is thrilled to see us. He is gracious—not mean, vengeful, or dangerous. HE IS GRACIOUS. Full of grace, full of love, full of compassion, full of wisdom—full of whatever we need for our lives right now.

How might accepting this truth change the way we approach our Lord?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We boldly come to you right now knowing that You long to be kind and compassionate to us right now. We need it, so fill us up right now. In Jesus’ name, Amen~

You've Touched My Heart~

Good morning :)

 

Yesterday a few of you wrote back to express how you wished you would have known that a man who protects a woman's reputation is a good thing!

 

Even though it sounds like common sense, the truth is that sometimes our girls do not know what exactly to look for in a man, and sometimes our boys have all the best intentions but they were never properly taught or modeled the right behavior.

 

That's where we come in.

 

For those of us who have kids, we can teach them, and for those of us who are looking to date and marry, we can be on the lookout for these beautiful qualities.

 

I myself was very blessed after reading the story of Mary and Joseph because I realized that God chose an excellent man to be Christ's earthly father. We all want the same thing for our children and for ourselves.

 

But there is one book in the Bible that has always been the source of most of the relationship advice I have given my kids--the book of Ruth.

 

Ruth 2:8-13

She said, “Oh sir, such grace, such kindness—I don’t deserve it. You’ve touched my heart, treated me like one of your own. And I don’t even belong here!”

 

The backstory is that Ruth is a widowed foreigner traveling with her mother-in-law back to Israel. She and her mother-in-law are practically destitute. And then she meets a man named Boaz.

 

Principal number one: The words a young man speaks must be filled with grace and his actions must be kind. He must touch a girl's heart--NOT ANYTHING ELSE! Other versons of the Bible say that you have comforted me, reassured me, put me at ease, and encouraged me.

 

It is the epitome of romance.

 

If the young man you are dating is not filling your heart with grace and kindness, RUN FAR FAR AWAY!!! If he is trying to connect somewhere else besides your heart--you know what to do.

 

I once counseled a precious young lady who couldn't quite figure out what was bothering her about her boyfriend. It turns out that he had a subtle way of undermining her self-esteem by making comments like, "You are so beautiful, but you would look prettier with bangs." "I love you just the way you are, but that blouse makes you look a little pudgy." He once went so far as to suggest a nose job. Lord, have mercy! He would always give a compliment before a criticism. It was so damaging to her, and continuing to be with him would have been a mistake. Eventually she was able to see that he wasn't kind or gracious,and he certainly didn't touch her heart. There was nothing comforting, reassuring, or encouraging about his words. He did not put her at ease--he put her ill at ease. Bottom line: He hurt her heart, and she broke it off.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Thank You for including me like Joseph and Boaz in the Bible. It provides an excellent model of what men act like and what women should look for. Help us and our kids be strong in this area because who we choose to be in a relationship with is the most important decision we will ever make. Thank You that our number one relationship is with Christ and the He guides us. In Jesus' name, AMEN~