Thursday, July 30, 2009

All You Need is Love

If you are of a certain age, you most likely remember the Beetles song all you need is love, but earthly love does not quite cut it. So much of the love depicted in literature, books, on movies and in TV is A) not real and B) very unhealthy.

God loves us with a pure and healthy love. I think through His love, our love for our spouses, children and people in general becomes more healthy. Perfect - no, healthy - yes.

The Word tells us this:

And I (Paul) pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

We are to be rooted in love...grounded in love, love is to be a part of our everyday life. We are also to love ourself, Jesus said so:

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

We are not to be filled with self loathing and self hatred. Jesus set us free bondage and self loathing is definitely bondage. If you are filled with self hatred/loathing/reproach, ask the Lord when you began to believe this lie. He will reveal it to you. Put it at His feet and don't pick it back up - I know we are prone to pick things back up and carry them around with us.

Remember: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Our Heavenly Father loves you so much...

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Sit with Him for a while and bask in the love He lavishes on you.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Mood

Do any of you ever wake up and feel an impending bad mood? And then...your husband is happy, smiling, and talkative on top of the impending mood...

I felt that way this morning and still feel in a small way the desire to fall into the bad mood. I decided I would skip Wally World and shop at Target before work, Wally World might give me the excuse to jump into the mood with both feet. A couple of things can change my mood in an instant:

Praise Music - How Great is Our God, Shout to the Lord, Majesty, Amazing Love to name a few.

A few of my favorite Scriptures:

Ps 19: 1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.

I am going to play more praise music and drink a Diet Coke now as I write reports. Have a blessed day...and remember you are loved by God the Father Almighty so much, He gave His only Son Jesus Christ to save you.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Weary & Abandoned

I don't know who this post is for, but you feel weary beyond words and wonder if God has abandoned you. He has not abandoned you. He knows you are weary and feel as if you are being crushed.

His word tell us:

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope,
because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

You think I never hear the Lord anymore, when will He show up? He is there. He will never leave you or forsake you. Sit quietly, tell Him what is bothering you. Pour it all out. Ask Him to give you clarity and confirmation about your situation.

He loves you, He loves you, He loves you. If you need prayer, please ask trusted friends to pray for you or prayer ministers at your church. Ask your blogging sisters to pray...call or e-mail 1 of the large ministries who take prayer requests...ask me, I will pray for you.

Love, Annette

Donnie McClurkin - Days of Elijah (Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Hymns)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

No Good Thing

My Siesta Memory verse is: Ps 16:2 - I said to the Lord,"You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

As I was searching verses on Monday, this one really spoke to me in conjunction with something I posted about a month ago - Call Me Marty..."Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Am I choosing what is better and will not be taken away from me? What do I consider above God? Is He 1st place or 2nd or 3rd place? Most likely on many days He is number 1, then maybe 3 at some point, up to 2 later on and back to number 1 before bed time.

I want Him to always be Number One because I know that I know that I know apart from Him, I have no good thing.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Friday, July 10, 2009

Water for the Thirsty

Is anyone a little weary? Maybe because it's 103 outside, maybe because work is not going well, maybe you have a wedding to plan, maybe you are job hunting, maybe your husband left, maybe you just had major surgery, and we won't think about what teens may or may not be doing right!!!

There is 1 answer for us, no matter why we are weary...the solution is the same, His name is Jesus Christ, the Risen Son of God the Father. He came to save sinners, to redeem us, to reconcile us to God. He came to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits.

Soak up these precious words, they are fresh and alive, spoken for everyone who has ever lived and who will ever live:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Presiding Bishop

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says it's "heresy" to believe that an individual can be saved through a sinner's prayer of repentance.


In her opening address to the church's General Conference in California, Jefferts Schori called that "the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God."


The presiding bishop said that view is "caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus."


According to Schori, it is heresy to believe that an individual's prayer can achieve a saving relationship with God. "That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy."

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Deification of People

This is not a commentary on Michael Jackson, his talent, music, or life. This is a comment on how the media has over reported the story since the man died. Serious riots in China were not reported in the US for a couple of days nor was the coup in Honduras.

Michael Jackson was an extraordinary talent, but he was a person - a human being like you and me. I have avoided TV since he died as much as possible, but have seen enough to know many people emptied their bank accounts to stand in front of the Staples Center today during the service.

It is very easy to cross over the line from being a fan to setting someone up as an idol.

Please keep his children in your prayers, I fear the vultures are circling to grab what they can from his estate.

Keep these words close to your heart:

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

John Philip Sousa "Stars and Stripes Forever"

Celebrate America's Freedom...it came with a price...

Friday, July 3, 2009

In Christ - We Have Freedom

We are so much in Christ and have so much in Him. I want to touch on the freedom we have in Christ. When we are transformed by the power of Christ we are free to love, to forgive, do the things that were not possible before, do the things we never wanted to do before. We are also set free from the law, sin, and the sting of death. Sure, we still die, but we go on to our real home, our eternal destiny - heaven.

The Bible tells us:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

Jesus sets us free from sin...through Him we are reconciled to our Father and our sins are forgiven. Through Jesus we find healing of our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Psalm 119:45 I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. (When we seek the Lord and his will, sin is no longer attractive. We walk in freedom. The chains begin to fall or in some cases gone in an instance.)

We continue to grow in Christ, we continue to be transformed, we become more and more free.

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

But we can also go back into bondage, sometimes it looks good, the Hebrews wanted to return to Egypt...it looked better in hindsight than the future, we must be on our guard not to return to slavery.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

We are to approach God freely - In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

We are to live as a free person - Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

So enjoy the liberty we have in Christ and live in holy freedom.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

In Christ - We Have Peace

Peace is mentioned often in the Bible, I learned years ago, if God thought it was important enough to repeat, I better act on it. One of my favorite verses mentioning peace is the greatest birth announcement ever:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, He wants to give us peace in the midst of all the situations we endure. As tired as I was when dad was ill, I had peace. My dad had peace. My mother had peace. Even when I drove away from the hospital the night he died, I had peace. I was sad, I still tear up, I still want to call him and say turn the tv to channel so and so, I miss sharing meals and time with him, but I have peace.

Though we suffer - we have peace: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance

I want joy and peace, I believe this verse with all my heart:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I think the following passage is one of the most quoted but underlived (is that a word?) passage in the Bible:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Let us live in peace no matter what our parents, children, or spouses are doing. Let us be filled with the peace of the Lord no matter what the government is doing or not doing. Let us seek the Prince of Peace...let us live as New Covenant Girls.

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.