Telling Of His Deeds!

“But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds” (Psalm 73:28 NIV).

Sometimes, when we attempt to talk to people who have either professed not knowing or believing in God, we get frustrated in our attempts to change their view. What I’ve realized is that we are never going to change the mindsets of all people and perhaps, not even some of them, but we must be determined to tell everyone about His deeds.

“You can’t tell it like I can tell it, what He’s done for me.”

A line of a song that makes more sense than many songs combined. No one can tell my story like I can.  Many who have been in my life can witness and confirm the changes in my life, but they cannot tell my story and do it justice.

Before I was ever a thought in the minds of my mother and father, Jesus looked down through the years and saw me, loved me, and prayed for me in the garden of Gethsemane.

He knew that I would be molested as a child and repressed my memory of the incident until I could handle it.

He knew that I would struggle through life, trying to understand why I was different–why I would rather read a book than play outside; why I would rather be nice than nasty; why I could not give in to certain temptations that could have ruined my life forever. He knew before anything ever happened how I would react or respond.

And the moment that I thought it was time for me to give up the struggle and give in to the thought that real love was not part of my life’s plan, He showed up and showed out, convincing me that all I ever needed was Him.

He dried my tears and eliminated my fears of not being worthy.

He raised me from the brink of self-destruction and settled me into a new life, as a new creation in Him.

He called me and taught His Word so I would have no need to be ashamed of what I was supposed to do.

He made it possible for me to live my dreams and have love overflowing for all, no matter what they do.

He allowed me to be “an old spirit” as a child and now as an older woman, He gives me “a child’s spirit” forever young at heart, but wise with life’s experiences.

He knew, He loved, He raised and saved me so I would have a testimony–telling others of His goodness, mercy and love. He is always near and I know I can count on Him to lead me in the direction I must go and give me the words to say to others. His love–can only be understood with experience with Him, so when I pray for those who don’t believe; I pray that God will bring into their life an experience that will let them know that He is real and He loves without discretion, all who come to Him!

Thank You, Lord for loving me enough to stand by me in all of my life’s struggles and to bringing me to a place where I understand Your love, receive it and share it everywhere I go.

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The Irrefutable Testimony!

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16 NIV).

There are a number of people who are confused as to whether or not they are descendants of Abraham and entitled to all the benefits of being one of God’s chosen. From the beginning, God chose those He wanted to call His own and bless. This relationship was based on a natural connection to Abraham through bloodline (the basis of most relationships claiming to be family). However, because many of the natural relatives were rebellious and disobedient, the connective relationship with God was broken and Jesus had to come to restore it.

When the relationship was restored through the work on the cross, all who chose to accept Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord became part of the family by adoption through Holy Spirit. Now, if we are adopted into the family of Abraham, and recognized by God as being part of the family, why on earth are we confused?

Instead of listening to those who are confused and allow negativity to reign in their lives, we must know for ourselves whose children we are. Imagine this event being played out in a courtroom. We have been charged with proclaiming we are joint-heirs with Christ (He’s our elder brother) and thereby children of the most High God. All of the witnesses of religious dogma have been called to testify against us, but there is One who testifies with irrefutable evidence-the Word of God. Holy Spirit convinces our spirit that we are the children of God and as such, entitled to all the benefits and promises of God!

Do we dare believe Him? Absolutely, we dare and proclaim from the mountain tops and throughout the valleys that we are children of God. We have a right to proclaim God as our Father, Jesus as our elder brother and Holy Spirit as our guide and counselor in all matters. We have a right to receive all the benefits God promised the Children of Israel from the beginning. We can claim with assurance that God has planned our lives and He planned them with purpose–that we might prosper and have a future with hope. We can proclaim that whatever we put our hands to when we obey God, will succeed. We can rest assured of His promises of victory–being the head and not the tail, being healed by the stripes Jesus bore before being nailed to the cross, having an eternal resting place with Jesus when we choose to be obedient. We have a right to make these claims when we have accepted the adopting agent–our faith in God.

Now with the right to receive all the promises, we all put ourselves in position to receive all the persecution and negativity that was directed at Jesus. We must stay focused on Him and never lose sight of the prize in Christ Jesus–our hope must remain intact until the end when we receive our eternal reward. However, when we choose not to be obedient, we must also expect to receive the consequences that were also promised to those children who disobeyed.

Think about it! Are you proclaiming to be a child of the Most High? I have been accused of proclaiming an inheritance in Jesus–and the evidence provided by Holy Spirit is irrefutable! Hallelujah! I am a child of the Most High, entitled to all His many benefits!

Share The Conviction!

“We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion” (Hebrews 3:14,15 NIV)

Who has come to share in Christ? The writer then was referencing those who were sharing the Good News as they traveled the land. What are we doing now to share the Good News? There are a number of people who may not be able to travel the land, but they are certainly leaving their footprints on the Internet—sharing the Good News—for all who wish to receive it. Even those who do not believe have access to the Good News—what they choose to do with it is up to them. What a marvelous use of technology!

What an awesome responsibility! We have this great expanse to use the Internet wisely and to the glory of God, not self! We, who know God, must exercise care when sharing the love of God and understanding of God’s Word. We must make sure we know The Word and can rightly divide The Word so we do not divide the Body with erroneous information. Having a relationship with God puts us in a good position to hear from Him and He can explain anything we do not understand and help us to explain it to others.

We must also hold fast the convictions we had when we first came to the Lord—knowing we are forgiven, receiving His unconditional love, and sharing our testimony with all who will listen. We must never lose our zeal for the things that brought us to a place where we know we walk in God’s favor so we can help others reach that same place. We must encourage those who do not know Jesus to come to the fountain of love and receive eternal life. We must admonish all to make a decision—today—while they have an opportunity to do so—to accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Today! If you do not know the Risen Savior—won’t you take the time to learn of Him while you have a chance and to make Him the Lord of your life? There are no magic formulas, no magic words, to ask Him into your heart. God knows your heart and He responds to sincerity. Isn’t it time—for you to receive God’s best for your life? Aren’t you tired of trying to figure things out for yourself?  The Gospel of John reveals Jesus in such a personal way that I have always found it difficult to understand how anyone reading it could turn away from Him. The love that covers a multitude of sins richly abides in this segment of The Word.

I do not know who might be reading this, but I will say this much. God loves you and wants only the very best for you. Will you repent of all wrong doing and make room in your heart for His love? He forgives all our sins when we ask for forgiveness. Once He forgives us, He remembers our sins no more—but that does not mean we should go back to practicing sin. We are saved by grace—God’s unearned favor and that same grace will keep us from dishonoring our love for Him.

God bless your decision to make room for Him in your heart so He can guide your life.  God bless those who are already living according to His Word and are sharing The Word with others.

He Sees and Hears!

“The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry” (Psalm 34:15).

Have you ever felt like someone was watching every move you made? You’re not alone in that feeling.  In fact, we are all being watched–the righteous and the wicked alike--by the One who sees and hears all things. However, when the Lord sees the righteous in trouble, He hears their cries unto Him and responds.

Who are the righteous? Every person who has a relationship with God and is doing what is right in His sight is the righteous. We know that His eyes are in every place, seeing the good and the evil. When we care about maintaining our relationship with Him, we do not do the things we know would displease Him. For when we delight in the Lord (take pleasure in pleasing Him), He gives us the desires of our hearts (when they align with His Word).

We can rest assured in the knowledge that though we will go through trials and tribulations, we will come through them victorious because Jesus forewarned us, through John’s Gospel. Sometimes, it just doesn’t seem fair that those who live a righteous life suffer the same things as those who don’t know God. But if we never had to suffer, never felt persecuted, never been subjected to ridicule and scorn, we would not have a testimony to share with others about how good God is. If we never knew how He can deliver us from evil, how would we be able to share it? If we never knew about His healing virtue, how could we tell someone else?

God–in His infinite wisdom–allows us to “go through” things so He can develop us and then use us to “get through” to others when we can magnify Him in all things. Glory to God! Use us Lord to Your glory! We will come through all the trials, triumphantly–gladly singing His praises and having a testimony about how awesome He is.

If we never had a trial, would we call upon the Lord? If our lives were perfect in every way, would we be able to say, God is good, all the time? If we never had a reason to talk to Him about self or others, would we do it? Think about it! God wants us totally dependent upon Him, as His children, so He can provide everything we need–proving Himself to be a great Father! Oh yes, He is God and He is God all by Himself and I am so thankful and grateful for His love that I would not have my life any other way–depending on Him for everything!

Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank You for the trials and tribulations that You allow to come upon us to make us strong so we can tell others of Your goodness. We thank You for loving us enough to come down to our level and for saving us from ourselves. We thank You for providing for us–everything we need and our hearts’ desires. Help us to stay focused on You and to be willing to share–our testimonies so others will come to know You for themselves. Amen!