Troubled Heart???

(John 14:27b) Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Wow, have you seen how the economy has spiraled out of control? How about the banking system, or the housing market? There is a whole plethora of things that are going south. How about the upcoming election. He said, she said, what a mess. And the mess in some of the churches today. Crazy. We can get so spun around it's dizzying. Can someone please tell me which way is north? So I can get the true bearings?

President Roosevelt once in his inaugural speech,"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." It seems in these days and times there is a whole lot of fear going around. At times we can feel like Peter. We are out of the boat. We are supposed to have our eyes on Jesus, but alas the things of this life rise up to steal our attention. The wind and the waves and the depths begin to call to us. We turn to look at these things that we feel are important. These situations are fleeting at best. Thinking "we" can fix this, only to become frustrated. This can only destroy our joy and peace.

You see the word gives us our bearings for truth. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. We can look unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. Yes, I can hear some of you. You do need to get up and begin walking out what you know is the truth. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Jesus has called us to three things. 1. Believe His word. 2. Trust He will do what he says He will do. 3. By faith we walk it out.

Jesus said I will be with you forever even till the end of the world. Believe it, Trust it and by Faith walk it out. We need not look at these temporal things because soon enough they will be gone and it will be only you and Jesus. Rejoice, we have overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.

I looked at my compass and seen the needle point to what I thought was true north, but................................ this is magnectic north not true north.

Jesus is our compass and He will point us to true north.
He shall lead us to our true home. These times are a time to rejoice because we shall see the power, glory and love of God in our lives. Glory to the lamb of God!
                                                                                                                Joe Greenwell

A New Day

Above is a picture of a beautiful sunrise welcoming the beginning of another new day. Today is my birthday. The Lord has given me another year of life which I am very grateful for. I was sitting outside this morning having my quiet time in devotions and prayer. The sun was shining and the sky was so blue. I said to myself, "I have been given a new day and another year." And then I began thanking the Lord for new days, new beginnings and fresh starts.

When we sin and mess up, God doesn't say to us, "now that you have messed things up you must go back to the very beginning and start again." No, He just says, stop right there and repent and continue moving forward from that point. Don't fall for the lie that you have come so far for nothing and that it was all in vain. This is a lie from the enemy.

I am so thankful that God's mercies are new every morning. When we repent, God hears us and comes running to meet us right where we are at. Have you been caught up with the issues of life? Have you fallen down in the dirt and maybe laid there awhile. Just get up my friend. God will meet you there and will never reject you.

Listen to the words of Paul and what he said about himself, "I am the worst of all sinners, but this is why God has had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst of sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life. (1Tim. 1:15-16 paraphrased).

Most of us will beat ourselves up and fret about issues that are nothing in comparison with some of Paul's sinful issues. Paul is telling us that God's saving mercy and Jesus patience is greater than any sin in our lives. Paul even acknowledges that he still falls short, which you can read about in (Rom. 7:21-25 and Rom. 8:1-2).

When you believe that you have fallen short my friend don't start moving backwards. Stop, right there. Acknowledge your sin, repent and move forward. It is gone the very moment that you confess. So don't keep thinking about it and churning it over and over in your mind. Whatever your situation might be, you have been given permission to be free and move forward. If Paul who was the worst of all sinners can acknowledge his imperfections and shortcomings, and forget those things that are behind, than so can you. Take comfort in Paul's words. "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven (Phil. 3:12-14 N.L.T.)
It is time to move forward my friend and embrace a new day, a new beginning, a fresh start and stop dwelling on the sins of yesterday, and set yourself free. Because of the cross of Jesus, He doesn't remember your sins any more thus neither should you.

Hope always shines through

Despite everything that might be going on in the world or even your own personal life don't give up hope. You may be looking at your situation and it seems to be as big as a mountain standing before you. But I am hear to say that hope always shines through the most darkest of storms. Don't forget what Jesus promised you, He said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." The Word of God also says, "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." This is a promised truth that the Lord has given to you. Hold onto it with all of your might and don't let it go. Cling to Him.

There will be times of trouble in our lives but all in all He has made us more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus and we must know that if God is for us who can be against us? And we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
There will be battles if there are going to be victories. So take heart my brothers and sisters and know that there will be seasons when He will cause you to lie down in green pastures and He will lead you beside still waters and restore your soul. God can give you His supernatural comfort and encouragement and His grace in these times of trouble. Through it all lean upon Him and trust Him for it.

At these crucial times in our lives it is so very important that we listen to the voice of Truth and not the voice of lies. Listen to the voice of Truth straight from the Word of God;

"You may be troubled on every side, yet not distressed, you may be perplexed, yet not in despair; you may be persecuted, but not forsaken; you may be cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." (2 Cor. 4:8-11).

During these troublesome seasons in our life this is our opportunity to come to know Christ more intimately by being still and knowing that He is God and listening to His voice of Truth. Allow His Truth and Love to take precedence in your heart and make it's abode there.

Truth and Love have even a greater name which is above all names and that name is Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man can come to the Father except through Him.

Our Good Shepherd knows us better than anyone else. He calls you by name, He knows your person/heart, He knows you intimately. When our Good Shepherd speaks may we listen and hear and know that we are His and nothing will separate us from His Love, and we can continue to always place our hopes in Him for our lives.

His peaceful freedom!

Life can be hard and very cruel at times. But we can take heart and know that God does care about our trust and peace remaining in Him in the midst of the storm.

With God's peace in our lives comes ultimate freedom. Peace of mind, a sound mind, and contentment; this is the BIG one people. Without His peace in our lives we would be totally miserable and in constant turmoil. (Is. 26:3 KJV) Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

The word perfect in this scripture means complete. No matter what has happened or what is happening or what might happen you can have complete peace. Why? Because you have placed your trust in the Lord. Now this is true FREEDOM. The battle that might be raging in your thoughts or in your life right now needs to be told to BE STILL.

Ask yourself; am I trusting God with this or not? Obtaining peace is simply trusting God. Are we going to trust God or lean upon our own understanding of things? This is our decision, we have been given a free will by God to make the choice to trust Him or not. This takes a renewing of our mind which will then bring about a transformation.

Here is what the Word of God says; (Rom. 12:2 Amp.) Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

Let go and abandon yourself to God so that you can experience His peaceful freedom in your life. The world around you might look bleak, but you can have peace and be free despite it when you make the decision to trust the Lord in and for your life.

Lessons in worship from a dog

(Jn. 4: 23-24) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

The word Worship in these verses is Proskuneo which in the Greek means to kiss, like a dog licking his Master's hand. To fawn or crouch, prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore).

My dogs have taught me so much when it comes to worship and my relationship with God (my Master).

Our dog Frissee is a true companion to me. Whatever room I am she has to be in there with me. Everyone else can be in other rooms in the house but if I choose to go to the bedroom and lie down Frissee will come in there with me. If I choose to go outside in the blistering heat of Arizona she is right there, In the shade of course, but I am always kept in her sight.

I was thinking about this today and I realized that this is how we should be with our Heavenly Father. We should desire to always stay near to Him, and always keep God in our spiritual sight. We can do this by communing with Him in prayer or even studying and or reading His Word. Sometimes I will turn on some music and just praise and worship the Lord in song. The Word of God says that He will inhabit the praises of His people and knowing that His presence is near to me brings me great comfort. This is how my dog Frissee is, knowing that I am near is comforting to her.

Frissee will walk over to me sometimes for no apparent reason and lay her big ol' snout on my leg and give me a wet kiss on my hand or knee. When I reach out to pet her as to return her affection she will look up at me with those big precious brown eyes of hers as if she just can't contain herself. She will stand there forever if I let her just adoring me as I caress her, and she soaks it all in. Sometimes she will get so filled with excitement as if she is going to burst and will begin spinning in circles and chasing her tail, at this point she is literally rejoicing, which in Biblical terms the word rejoice can mean to spin in circles.

This is what the scriptures is speaking of when it comes to worshiping our Heavenly Father. When I think of praising and worshiping God I am reminded of a puppy that rolls over on its back and makes himself vulnerable to the hand of his master, trusting and knowing that when he does he is going to get a good tummy rubbing and maybe even a little tickle from his master. Aw! to feel the touch of his master's hand, life just doesn't get any better than that. As far as that little puppy is concerned this is life in its fullness. This is an example of what the Bible says: "that God will inhabit the praise of His people." The Lord desires to commune with us. He desires to spend time with you. When we praise and worship God it is our invitation for Him to come and meet with us. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw night to you (Jas. 4:8).

Our praise and worship is like the puppy when he approaches his master and desires the comforting and playful touch of his master's hand. Just as the puppy trusts and adores his master so we trust and adore our God (Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour) and then begins an exchange of love between us and our Lord. Jesus desire is for us to be intimate with Him and His Father just as they are with one another, and to be ONE with them.

May we open ourselves up to praise and worship our Master and kiss Him with the praise of our lips and let His cleansing touch wash over us. Feel the touch of your Master's hand and be a witness of praise and joy for His Son Christ Jesus!

Rejoice in His Grace!

Rejoice in His Grace for it has been freely given to you: We are free to live in God's Grace (His unmerited favor). (Eph. 2:8-9 N.L.T.) God saved us by His special unmerited favor when we believed. And we can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Have you heard the term; that there is nothing we can do to make God love us any more or any less? Knowing this, why do so many constantly try to prove themselves worthy of God's love. A lot of people have been conditioned for so many years to believe that if they are ever going to have anything they are going to have to earn it. After all nothing is free, right? It's hard for most to comprehend Grace because they are trying to understand it in the natural. It will never be naturally understood though. As long as we are trying to put it on an intellectual level we will never grasp it. It is only by faith that we can acquire this beautiful revelation of Grace and what it truly means. Grasping it can be the difference between life and death spiritually and sometimes even physically speaking.

For example let's take a look at the person that sees everything in a legalistic kind of way. They pull out their legal list and check mark all the religious conditions that their doctrine has expected them to follow. Here are some examples, for the woman, she must never cut her hair. For the man, he must always cut his hair but have no facial hair. For some, you must say this prayer for that sin three times a day before your sin will be forgiven. If you don't attend church every time the doors are open then you really don't love Jesus. You must be busy working for the church at all times to be considered a worthy child of God. And the list can go on and on. By the time they get through their legal list day after day they can be so mentally and physically exhausted that they can literally become weakened in their bodies and discouraged in their spirit because they still feel they are just not doing enough to earn their love and acceptance from God. Some truly believe that this is a sign of their holiness and or right living, and to be truly saved you must look like this and abide by all these rules. They will even try to convince and lay this burden upon others. Some will tell you, that if you want to be a true witness of your salvation than you must fulfill all these precepts that we have. You must dress like this, don't wear that. Don't clap in the church, you can't say amen.
Have you received the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? Having begun in the Spirit why are you now trying to become perfect by the flesh? Many are living in this pit of painful obligation and works. They feel as though they are required to do this or not to do that as to be pleasing to God. All the while the bands are being snapped on and they are being held captive in a prison of deception. We must not allow this to be our identity in Christ Jesus, because this only nullifies the cross of Jesus and exalts the religious laws of man. Freely God has given you this gift of salvation by Grace through the cross of His Son Jesus Christ. It is His gift that He is offering you. No strings attached. May we not grieve our Heavenly Father by telling Him thanks but no thanks I'll do it on my own. Or may we not say to our Father, "here let me pay You for your gift to me, because I must pay for such a gift before I can receive it, because after all I am not worthy of it." If we were worthy then we wouldn't need His gift of Grace, right? This is why we must freely receive God's gift of Grace for us, because in doing so we are acknowledging that despite our unworthiness we can humbly receive and be ever so grateful for Jesus and His death on the cross for us. This is humility in all of it's beauty.

Receive God's gift of Grace and know freedom and rejoicing in your life in Christ Jesus!

Water off a duck's back

We had a Pastor who use to say that he had a back like a duck because he had learned not to carry or allow offenses to soak into him, they would just roll right off of his back.

Jesus said in Lk. 4:18-19 That the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

The word brokenhearted in the Greek means to have crushed/shattered feelings. I think most of us have experienced this kind of pain. Having your heart crushed is a horrible pain. It's like a heaviness that lingers in the pit of your stomach. You have been pierced through and feel utterly devastated. The worst pain I think I have ever felt is the pain of betrayal. My heart has literally felt crushed by this heartache. But praise be to God that He didn't leave me with holes of betrayal in my heart. And He doesn't want to leave you with a shattered heart either. Jesus has said that He has come to heal the brokenhearted. Jesus came to mend our hearts and bring healing into our lives. He desires to make us brand new. The first step in becoming brand new is to first give our forgiveness to those who have caused us pain. We must forgive others of their offenses before the holes in our heart can be filled with Jesus' healing balm.

God has allowed me to experience some tough emotional pain in the last few years and I believe this is because He has been teaching me the lessons of giving forgiveness and Grace to others so as I can have His forgiveness and experience His healing in my life and be set free. He is teaching me to keep my eyes upon Him. These experiences have been some hard ones for me but I will have to admit that it is getting easier for me to let things just roll off of my back and not allow offenses and unforgiveness soak into me. I have been taught some valuable lessons by the Holy Spirit to not only be forgiving and gracious toward others but also to use Godly wisdom and discernment.

I truly believe that the only holes that will forever be permanent are the ones that Jesus (our Lord and Savior) took so that we wouldn't have to. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. May we allow His healing to take place in our heart by first offering our forgiveness to others

so that we can say,

"It's just water off a duck's back!"