Monday, February 10, 2020

Do you believe in miracles?

Miracles, something we all know or have heard about. They maybe something we have never seen, or we may not even believe in. Miracles are needed by more of us than we can really fathom. As a matter of fact, I will be bold to say everyone of us need a miracle in one way or another, at one point in our lives.
I do believe in miracles. I need a miracle in my life. My husband could use a miracle in his body. Some other close relatives can use a miracle or two.
Does a miracle seem "unreachable" to you? Does it seem "unrealistic" to you? Do you know how to obtain that miracle you need? Actually many believe you just hope for one and that's it.
I am writing this blog today in hopes of making those miracles more realistic to you. Let's look at miracles for a moment.
A miracle my have the face of a financial blessing. Whether you receive a raise at work, or perhaps an extra bonus from work. Perhaps the miracle may appear to you in receiving a new job. Maybe someone blesses you financially because the Lord told them to do so. There are many ways you may receive a financial miracle.
Another look of a miracle may appear to you in renewing an old friendship from years past. Maybe you've been reunited with a childhood friend. I have had that happen. I have found a childhood friend.  I have searched for years for her. And through social media, I found her. Yes, the Lord can even use social media.
And this is a widely needed type of miracle needed. Some are embarrassed to ask for it. Some lack the belief to receive such a miracle. I do believe in this type of miracle, and I need this type of miracle-a physical healing. Yes, I need to be physically healed, I have family members who need to be physically healed. And I believe! So I will focus more on this type of miracle.
For myself and many of you out there, we need some type of physical healing. For me, I know that will not come unless I am obedient. I know this for myself, it may not apply to you. But for me I know I must pray and earnestly seek the Lord's will. I pray and spend time in His Word. I want to know the characteristics of our Lord Jesus. To me, what better way than through His Word.
And His Word spurs me on to sit and talk with our Lord. Or even while I am doing the dishes, or birdwatching, enjoying warm sunshine(which is absent this time of year, where I am located), any time of the day or night I can have a conversation with God. Most call that prayer. That is one way we can pray with our Lord Jesus, have a conversation with Him.
By getting to know my Lord Jesus I realize more and more how much He loves me. And by knowing how much He loves me opens my heart to realizing how much miracles are possible. And adding to that, realizing how much I know the Lord desires to give me that miracle. So why haven't I received my physical healing yet?
Some miracles are instant. My husband received an instant healing. He has an Aortic Aneurysm. One day it began leaking at a rapid pace. I called the emergency squad. They were here with in a couple of minutes. By that time my husband was almost lifeless.  He had no blood pressure. His heart was only beating 2-4 times a minute. They put him in a helicopter and flew him to the nearest trauma hospital.
I called for prayer from our church. By the time I got there, an hour's drive, I ran into his room, He was sitting up. The doctor told me they could not explain it. The blood that had leaked from the aneurysm into his abdominal cavity was gone. There was no evidence of an active bleed. His blood pressure and heartbeat returned to normal. They could not explain what happened. It was truly an instant miracle. And we have actual medical documents explaining that.
That brings me back to my miracle. My complete miracle has not happened yet. But many aspects toward a complete miracle have happened. Let me explain.
My life has been spared many times. I stopped breathing, I couldn't walk, my life was spared during child birth, and the Lord protected me and guided the surgeons hands three different times when surgery was performed on my spinal cord. It was after the last surgery that the leukemia was found. If that had not been found, a diagnosis may have been made too late. Because I was able to receive treatment within a reasonable amount of time, the leukemia is kept under control. My type of leukemia will never go into remission, but it can be managed.  For me, this is another aspect towards my complete healing. I continue to believe, I continue to pray, I continue to talk with my Lord Jesus.
And most of all I continue to persevere. We all must persevere. Never give up. The Lord's promises to us will come to fruition. We must believe.
For all of you that need an instant miracle, or a long term miracle, or stages of a miracle, which ever it is you need, believe. Trust in the Lord.
Also I'd like to add, we may think we know what is best for us. We might think we need that complete healing immediately. But what we see and what the Lord sees may be different. It is a hard thing to do at times, but I'd rather trust in what the Lord sees than what I see.  He knows all, and He sees all. How He chooses to heal me is the best way. I must trust that and believe in that.
I pray for you my faithful readers, trust in our Lord Jesus. Believe in the miracles He promises for us. Get to know Him more by reading His Word, and by having a nice conversation with Him. Whatever way works best for you, use it to get closer to Him. He loves us all in more ways than we can fathom.





Monday, January 27, 2020

Joy!

Joy, just pure joy. Just plain joy. Just all around joy. Just joy.
However you say it, or however you think it, joy is what it is-joy.
What do I mean by that? Joy is something that is deep down in our hearts. Joy is something that is nurtured in us by Jesus. Joy isn't necessarily something we say, or do. Or isn't someway that we act.
Joy is in our hearts. That deep down joy that changes our hearts, changes our thinking, gives us hope, that joy is deep down in our hearts.
The fruit of that joy comes in many different ways. The way we act can depict the joy within us. The words we speak will clearly tell of our joy. The way we pray, the way we think, or the expressions on our faces will show others the joy we have within us.
When that joy is absent from us we tend to walk around with long faces. We do not speak words that are edifying to others or even ourselves. We may even drag others down emotionally, therefore they will not enjoy spending time with us.
How do we get this joy I speak of? The best way I know how is through our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit.  That is where we get true joy.  True and everlasting joy. There is nothing in this world that can compare with the joy of the Lord. There is no other way to have this joy deep down in our hearts.
The best part of this is Jesus wants us to have this joy. He wants to give it to us so our hearts are full of His joy. Jesus doesn't want us walking around with a gloomy face on. He doesn't want us sulking in our own self pity. He doesn't want us to feel so sad that we cannot see the blessings that surround us.
When we read the word of God, it fills our hearts with joy. The word energizes us and fills us with happiness, hope, visions, direction, faith, and joy. When we pray to the Lord with hope, He fills us with joy. When we worship the Lord with our all, He fills us with joy. But not only that, it pleases the Lord and gives Him joy.  Yes, He has joy over us. How awesome is that! Think about it, Jesus Christ has joy over us. Each and every single one of us is that important to Him.
There are countless scriptures that speak of the joy of the Lord. Joy gives us strength. Even the trees will shout for joy.
Nehemiah 8:10  ASV- Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

1Chronicles 16:33 Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth.

Psalm 47:5 God ascends among shouts of joy, the Lord, among the sound of trumpets.

Psalm 92:4 For You have made me rejoice, Lord, by what You have done; I will shout for joy because of the works of Your hands.
These are just a few examples. There are tons of verses in God's Word telling us of joy. No matter what your circumstance is, we can have joy because of our Lord Jesus.
I am not saying we will never be sad, or never crying out for help, or never needing encouragement. The truth is we are still flesh, and our flesh is weak. That weakness makes us vulnerable. So at times we will need extra strength and encouragement from the body of Christ. We will need that little extra lift to get ourselves up and moving forward. But even in those times we can find joy. The very fact that we are breathing, able to read His Word, able to pray, and the list goes on, these things are reasons why we can have joy, why we should have joy.
Even during our trials, during our disappointments, during our sickness, we can have the joy of the Lord. That joy will bring us strength when we most need it.
To my faithful readers all across this globe, I pray you can reach deep down within your heart and grasp ahold of that great joy the Lord has for you. No matter what you are facing, or what is dragging you down low, the joy of the Lord is much larger and much stronger than any of that. And it is yours.
I pray you are encouraged as you read these words, but more importantly, as you read God's Word.
The joy of the Lord is my strength, and your strength.


Friday, January 10, 2020

Forgiveness!

For most of us we are well into our routines of the new year. The holidays are over, the children are back to school, and work schedules have returned to normal.
This is the time when we tend to reflect about our relationship with the Lord Jesus.  You may be starting a new Bible study. Or maybe a whole new routine of prayer and devotion time.  Maybe you have decided to jump into a new ministry area, like worship, intercessory prayer, sharing the Word with others.  I think we often are hard on ourselves because we didn’t live up to our own expectations for ourselves.  We have a choice, feel like we have failed and give up, or pick ourselves up and move forward, praying for extra strength from our Lord to do better this year.
It is a commitment.  If the Lord has placed something on your heart then you have to decide to be committed and give it your all.  Sure, we all have bad days. Then just move forward the next day.
Our Lord God is a loving, gracious, and forgiving Lord.  He is not going to leave us out there by ourselves without any help.
For one, we have His Holy Spirit.  Jesus gave us His Spirit to always be with us, to help us, guide us, teach us, encourage us, and protect us.  We gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding from Him.
Jesus does not hold our failures over our heads.  Instead, He forgives us and helps us move forward.  I have had several verses this year remind of the love and grace the Lord covers us with. We must set our eyes on Him, and focus on what He has placed on our hearts.
Our faces should reflect the glory of Jesus in our life. If we walk around looking defeated, how is that showing the love and forgiveness Jesus has for us?
Be encouraged my friends. Our Lord Jesus has a master plan for your life. Sure we will have some bumps in the road at times.  Usually our own fault.  But Jesus never leaves our side. He is always with us to help us to move forward.

 “Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

“We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

“And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:32‬ ‭HCSB‬‬