HE IS FAITHFUL...

“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid.” Deut 31:8

FORSAKE=Leave entirely, desert, abandon, reject, withdraw from

This morning I am preparing my heart to go to the cemetery for some final details.  It will be the first time I’ve seen grandma’s finished site with the engraving completed.  I woke in the middle of the night and felt small anxiety wanting to rise up...I immediately cried out to the Lord and He settled me right now.  Then today this was our assigned reading in our God’s Promises study...

 “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid” Deut 31:8

Mary, I will go before you.  I will be with you.  I will never leave you...not today, not in the middle of the night, not when you are ready to take your last breath...you do not have to be afraid.  What a good and gracious God we have.  

What are YOU going through that is robbing you of peace?  I’m asking the Lord to stir your heart to run to HIM as you read these words...

🌷“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound mind” 2 Timothy 1:7

🌷“God is the source of our strength and the shield that guards us”. Psalm 27:8

🌷“Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” — Lamentations 3:22-24

2019 WEEKLY WRAP-UP

Oh how I long for my Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up’s....

MONDAY: Ransomed and Rescued: (Isaiah 43:1-3)

❤️I am HIS

❤️He will ALWAYS be with me

❤️The waters of life will not sweep over me

❤️The fires of trials will not incinerate me

TUESDAY:  Human Weakness Can Be Exchanged For God’s Strength (Isaiah 40:31)

❤️I must HOPE in the Lord...and then He will:

❤️Renew My Strength

❤️Soar Like Eagles

❤️Run and not grow weary

❤️Walk and not faint

WEDNESDAY: Rebuilding My Mountains & Hills. (Isaiah 54:10)

❤️Mountains and Hills WILL BE shaken

❤️HIS Unfailing love WILL NOT

❤️His Covenant of Peace WILL NOT

❤️HE Rebuilds My Landscape

THURSDAY:  Reverent Love (Proverbs 9:10)

❤️Reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

❤️Reverence is a healthy fear born out of love, respect, and esteem of the one in authority

❤️Freedom comes in reverent submission to those God places over me

FRIDAY: Standing Firm While Staying Holy (James 4:7)

❤️When I HUMBLE myself before God

❤️He will empower me to RESIST my sinful nature

❤️Resisting my flesh by focusing on God’s truth causes the sinful nature to flee and the spiritual man to stand strong!

SATURDAY: Grasping Godly Sorrow (1 John 1:9)

❤️Confession brings Forgivness & Purification

❤️Godly Sorrow bring LIFE

❤️Worldly Sorrow brings DEATH

❤️Choose LIFE!

Faithful & Just❤️

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

❤️Confess-To own, acknowledge our role and/or mistakes.

❤️Purify-To make clean, to redeem, to atone

❤️Godly Sorrow:  Manifests itself by repentance and the experience of divine grace

❤️Worldly Sorrow:  Brings death because, instead of having God-centered sorrow over my wickedness-I am self-centered and focused on the painful consequences of my sin. 

Lord, I am so incredibly thankful that you are FAITHFUL AND JUST! I can trust your steadfast love and that you are devoted to me...not in an enabling manner that overlooks those things that bring harm, but in a reverant love that keeps me safe by gently rebuking and redirecting me back to those things that bring LIFE!  Teach me to hunger after Godly Sorrow and to recognize the ingenuiness of worldly sorrow.

Standing Firm & Staying Holy....

“So HUMBLE yourself before God.  RESIST the devil, and he will FLEE from you.”

The definition of devil in this verse:  May be said to act the “part” of the devil or to side with him.

This is important because not every attack we have is from the devil.  he is not omnipresent and cannot be everywhere at once.  But we have a sin nature that wants us to drift back to the darkness of who we were before we were saved.  It wants to enslave us, to keep us from the best...it focuses on temporary satisfaction that fascinates and then when we engage and turn away from God-it ASSASSINATES. (Thank you for that phrase Debbie Friley)

With that in mind...

Mary, humble yourself before me this morning by remembering who I am.  

🙏Resist the devils ways by standing FIRM in the truth you already know from my Word.  

🙏Stay in my Word and let me by the shield that guards you and the source of you strength.  

When you do this...when you engage with the Holy Spirit within you THIS enables you to stand firm in holiness...the devil and his nature will have no way with you.  

Lord, this morning I lift up every area that will come under attack today.  You already know the temptations I am going to have to not believe the best about others.  You already know the Holy Bootcamps that are going to come my way.  I’m so grateful that nothing is a surprise to you.  Dress me in the full armor of your Word today and show me how to stand firm in truth even when my “feelings” and physical stamina want to do something contrary.

Defining & Digging into Reverence

“The FEAR OF THE LORD (reverence) is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”

-Proverbs 9:10

This morning my entire heart is focused on finding and defining reverence, which is the definition of Fear of the Lord.  My dad was the superstar of modeling this in the human form.  I am sitting here remembering fondly.

DEFINING: Reverence is a healthy fear born out of love, respect, and esteem of the one in authority.  It’s trusting that they love you completely and want what is best for you even if you don’t agree or understand.

HUMAN EXAMPLE:  My dad modeled this so well for me.  I KNEW to say yes sir, and no sir, I knew when there were chores they better be done, I knew that I could not be one minute past curfew. If I did...watch out!  But I also knew that I could trust my dad to take care of me and that no matter how mad he was at me, you better not mess with his kids😊

I still remember an incident from when I was just 16 years old.  A male manager at the fast food restaurant I worked at had been saying and doing things that were become increasingly more and more  inappropriate.  (Nothing horrible...just escalating) I sought out my parents for counsel.  The very next day dad took me to work and in front of the entire staff and my bosses boss put that man in his place.  This morning it makes me laugh...at 16 I was embarrassed and angry, but if I were to admit it, relieved.  Even though my behavior looked outraged, inwardly, that was a defining moment in my life of what it looks like to have someone who protects. (I’m so sorry to my friends who I know did not have this)   

Reverence for me was learning the freedom that comes in submission to my authority.  (Even though I came kicking and screaming most times)

What does Holy Reverence look like?

❄️Do I believe that no matter what happens to me or to those I love that I can trust that God knows better than me.  

❄️Can I submit to His plan for my life even though I may not understand it?  

❄️Do I acknowledge that humans fail us and cause us pain and hurt, but that God is absolutely JUST and that He will deliver justice better than any human authority ever could?

Finding Gladness and Joy In Grief

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, YET my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you”—Isaiah 54:10

On October 26th my mountains were shaken and the hills were removed.  My grandmother had stopped responding and now I sat at her bedside looking into this face that had been my constant companion, source of wisdom, and fountain of encouragment  all the days of my life.  As long as I live I will never forget her four final breaths. It was truly the most surreal experience of my life.  I felt like I was watching a movie..it didn’t seem real.  I was completely numb as the tears fell and I said goodbye.

But as I sat there in shaken numbness...I heard a voice calling out to me...Mary, though the mountains and hills might feel shaken and removed don’t cling to your feelings...cling to ME!  MY UNFAILING LOVE FOR YOU will catch you and hold you and I will cover you with my peace. 

I am just starting to come out of numbness and God is giving me JOY...unspeakable JOY and gladness in my grief.  It’s crazy that in the midst of tears there is laughter and joy and hope and it is all mingled together.  I see mountains and hills being re-established, as He is faithful to walk with me out of the valley.  It’s so beautiful.  I’m grateful that my hope was not in my grandma and in her life.  My hope is in the Lord and the life to come...I WILL see her again, but more importantly when I do, I will see HIM!

God’s Word is POWERFUL!  Please do not feel sad for me in the coming days and weeks as I process out loud with you how the Lord is speaking to me.  It is PRECIOUS and FULL OF TENDERNESS.  It is HEALING and full of HOPE and His Word is ministering to my heart.  I long for mornings with Him and His Word...

Exchanging Human Weakness For God’s Strength

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like Eagles; They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

Father, as I sit here this morning working through my journal, I find myself feeling discouraged by some bad food and personal discipline choices I’ve made the last two weeks.  Choices that bring temporary pleasure and long term consequences.  You’ve made great strides in teaching me and growing me in the area of self-discipline this year, but now we work on endurance.  There is still a root that believes that pulling in and pigging out is a way to rest and renew.  It’s not!  It’s a lie!

Mary, when you put your hope IN ME...”I” will ride across the heavens and renew your strength in ways your finite mind cannot even begin to comprehend.  When you trust IN ME to give you all you need...THAT is where you will find true rest and renewal.  It’s where I WILL give you Godly endurance, strength, and grace that carries you through every circumstance that comes your way.  When you INVITE ME in to completely and totally take over THAT is when you will find a supernatural strength to not only meet exercise and food goals, but to carry you into opportunities to love and serve others fully and completely.  It is here WITH ME that you find true peace and overwhelming endurance.  Get ready to  RUN and not grow weary, to walk and not grow faint! Your human weakness will be exchanged for my supernatural strength!