for such a time as this

Today is the last day of 2014.  When the clock strikes midnight we enter into 2015?  What lies ahead?

We know GOD has preset all times and places for things to happen Acts 17:26b, Acts 1:7 and that HE did it for a reason Acts 17:27.  That reason being  that people would reach out to HIM.   With that in mind, why do you suppose HE chose the particular time for JESUS to be born?

When the fullness of the time had come, GOD sent forth HIS SON.  Galatians 4:4

What could be the reason the timing of JESUS’ birth is referred to as the fullness of time by GOD?

History shows us that centuries before JESUS CHRIST was born, Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world, bringing with him the Greek culture and trade language.  When he died, the Roman Empire picked up where Alexander left off and expanded the territory under the unifying influence of culture and the trade language of the Greeks.  It was under this Roman rule that the crucifixion took place, where the blood of CHRIST was shed for us.   It was under the rule of Rome that conditions were made ready for the spread of the gospel across 3 continents through good roads, territorial boundaries free of “passport” restrictions and a unifying trade language-Koine Greek.  GOD had put all the pieces in place for the perfect time to send HIS SON.

Today, like back then GOD has synchronized everything and has prepared in advance good works for us believers in JESUS to walk in.  Ephesians 2:10 Anyone who sees or hears the news knows, we live in a time of quickly expanding knowledge, but also an unstable and turbulent time with mobs and rioting in US cities, trashing of GOD’s moral values and unrestrained degrading self indulgence.  Yet GOD has chosen you and me to live in this time and place.  HE has done it for a reason.  I know that for a fact, because HE has said that HE does nothing without a cause.  Therefore,  I wonder as we enter into the New Year of 2015 for what specific assignments has HE brought us to where we are, at such a time as this?

I don’t know the details, but I do know without a doubt it is to cause lost people to reach out to HIM and be saved,  for the GOD who cannot lie has declared that HE has set all times and places for that very purpose.

Hugs

Sharon 

Head inthe sand?

Ostriches are amazing flightless birds that have been clocked as running 43 MPH.  They have some quirks, one leading to the idiom bury your head in the sand which means to ignore or hide from obvious signs of danger.  It alludes to an ostrich, which is believed incorrectly to hide it’s head in a hole in the ground when it sees danger.  Actually  when lying down and hiding from predators, the birds lay their heads and necks flat on the ground, making them appear like a mound of earth from a distance, aided by the heat haze in their hot, dry habitat. This defensive behavior of lying low makes them appear from a distance to have their head buried.

As I soaked in the tub last night, I was reading was a history book written by Christians about the times just before and during JESUS CHRIST’s life.  Graphic details they gave triggered thoughts that were not good.  So I gave those thoughts to GOD, shut the book and I am taking it back to the library.  Today I opened an email from a dear, dear friend and it contained slurs about people that although may be true, at least in part, directed my thoughts where they should not go, to think and act by human standards and not GOD’s.  So I deleted the email.

Many will call me closed minded or burying my head in the sand.  Actually, I am just following GOD’s instructions that I found in the Bible.

And GOD honored that by confirming my choices to shut the book and then delete the email as I read HIS words in Matthew 6:22,23 about how the eye is the lamp that gives light to the body.  If what I look at/ think about (take in and mull over) is pure (undefiled) then I will have all the light I need to see clearly and show me the way I should go.  But if what I look at/ think about is defiled by human standards and values, I am in total darkness.  

The word all in those verses for both cases shook me for a moment.  Just a little bit of human standard defilement brings in darkness/ clouds things so much, throwing off my perspective that I don’t know the right way to go.  Must be why GOD urges us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed (metamorphisized-  you know like to change from a caterpillar to a butterfly) by the renewing of our minds so that we may test and approve the good, acceptable and (not or) perfect will of GOD.

That really shows how important what we focus on is.  We need to recognize bad, but focus on good. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882 gave a brilliant example: "And in despair I bowed my head: 'There is no peace on earth', I said. For hate is strong, and mocks the song of 'peace on earth, good will to men.' Yet pealed the bells more loud and deep. 'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.'" –

So where do you, do I go to get our perspective?  Is it the wisdom of this world or the wisdom hidden in CHRIST that we choose to live by? As for me I choose to live by the wisdom found in GOD's word.

Hugs

Sharon

Happy New Year

As the New Year approaches let's look ahead and not back.  David Curtis (Aly Curtis) reminded me Saturday of one of my favorite scriptures. 

 

Philippians 3:12-16 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.(learned)

 

(Thank YOU LORD for loving us and accepting us in JESUS.  Help us forget what is behind (to deliberately continually forget the old ways of doing things, forgive and forget the hurts, pushing away those thoughts of the past & refusing to call up the past) and help us to focus on what lies ahead... enabling us to press on, with arms outstretched, to grab a hold of that for which CHRIST JESUS took hold of us..

Wow!  LORD, that amazes me that YOU took hold of me for specific reasons (assignments) ... enable me LORD & focus me step by step… I don’t know precisely what YOU have for me to do… I don’t see the big picture yet, but YOU can lead me whether I understand or not (Proverbs 3:5-7) FATHER GOD work into me to will and to do that which is pleasing to YOU. (Philippians 2:13) Holy Spirit, stir me up and energize me to press on to grab a hold on that which Christ JESUS took hold of me for.  According to YOUR word, fulfill YOUR purpose for my life I ask in the name of JESUS.

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

which way?

 

What do you think of when I say the word sign?  For me a specific billboard between Pueblo and Colorado Springs comes to mind.  But signs can be big or small... even street numbers and which of us have not looked diligently at house or business  numbers to find a place we have never been to before?  Signs are any kind of visual graphic created to display information to a particular audience but typically a sign's purpose is to show the way to a particular thing and confirm it is.

 

As we are about to enter a New Year, we may wonder what direction we should go.  Now what I am going to say is only for those who want to fulfill GOD's purpose for them and are willing to do things HIS way. For only those willing to do what GOD wants are guaranteed access to HIS direction John 7:17 and such promises as:

   Proverbs 3:5-7 ..trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge HIM and HE will direct your paths.  Be not wise in your own eyes...

   James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of GOD who give to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks he must believe...(believe what?  Believe GOD is and that HE will reward any who diligently seek HIM Hebrews 11:6... in other words... you must believe that GOD can and will direct you and remember HE is powerful and can and will keep the devil from deceiving us if we are seeking HIS counsel.)

 

You might think I am close minded but GOD said that not me and others (those not willing to do things GOD's way) are like Alice in Wonderland when she asked the Cheshire cat "Will you please tell me which way I ought to go from here?" the cat answered, "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." Alice replied, " I don't much mind where..."  "Then it doesn't matter which way you go."  said the cat.

 

But GOD does care where we get to and GOD is big into signs because HE wants us to know the way we are to go.  HE gives signs to confirm what HE has already told us (placed in our hearts to do).

   In Genesis you read that GOD made the sun, the moon and the stars for a few reasons.  One of those reasons were to be signs...  Just think about it... sailors long before modern day instruments, navigated (found their direction) strictly by looking at the stars.  And the wise men found JESUS by following the star. Although we are not given the details, someone had to place in their hearts that strange idea to follow that remarkable star for normal stars follow an orbit... they don't lead to and stand over a specific stable. Matthew 2:9

 

   When the angel spoke to the shepherds concerning the Savior who was born that very night, he gave them a confirming sign... and this shall be a sign, you will find a baby wrapped and lying in a manager... Luke 2:9

 

GOD says in Deuteronomy 30:11-14 that HE doesn't hide the way we should go from us, nor is it too far away, nor do we need to ask others to go find it for us for HE has placed it in us. (those nudges, that knowing I should do this or that) 

 

GOD says the same thing in the New Testament in Philippians 2:13  Amp. (It is not your own strength) it is GOD Who is all the while effectually at work in you--energizing and creating in you the desire and power both to will (want) and to work (enable) you to do HIS good pleasure. (to find the way we should go)

 

If you are wondering if you should go this way or that, or wonder if you have taken a wrong turn it is OK to ask GOD to confirm the way you should go.  GOD promises that HE will point out the right way by whispering it in our ears if we are to turn to the left hand or to the right.  Isaiah 30:21 Look what HE told a king:  if you will not believe, you will not stand... so ask the LORD your GOD for a sign... Isaiah 7:9,10

 

Remember, our LORD JESUS gave his disciple Thomas the sign he asked for John 20:26,28 and also gave all HIS disciples many other signs.  John:20:30  Why?  GOD knows us and knows we need the encouragement of confirmation to keep us on tract so that we will go in the way we should go.

 

Aren't you glad we have a Savior who has been there and is now leading us in the way we should go? Hebrews 2:10  so let's fix our eyes on HIM Hebrews 12:1-3 and following HIS directions.

 

Hugs,

Sharon

timing

Timing is a key element in life.  It was amazing to see how important timing was as I read the Biblical book of Esther.  It made me more aware of how interwoven my life is with others like in a jig-saw puzzle. Through out the book it was crystal clear how GOD works behind the scenes setting the stage for the next act and synchronizing each step of the way.  HIS getting everything into place is why we have delays, things must wait the appointed time. 

An often repeated Bible promise began a prophetic word sent to me.  ( I Thessalonians 5: 20,21 tells us not to despise prophesy but to test it and see if it jells with what the Bible says)  Know that I am with you and I will ever leave you or forsake you.  Hebrews 13:5 You will fulfill all the number of your days and your assignment.  Do not shoot the messenger, as Rhema (GOD's word for your situation) will be important to guide you through the challenges ahead. 

That short word is a reminder that GOD has things I am to do and that I will be facing challenges along the way and it gives assurance that HE is with me and will see to it that I will fulfill my assignments.  That word is general enough to include you and yet specific enough to encourage me.

Let's remember as we enter a new year full of potential, that GOD has individual plans for you and for me and for each and every believer.  Jeremiah 29:11 Those plans are interwoven so it is important we go with the nudges (do what we know we should to) Nothing just happens.  GOD prepares and synchronizes the way ahead. Ephesians 2:10 The LORD ALMIGHTY has called you to specific work and given you specific assignments and areas of authority just as HE has for me. 2 Corinthians 10:12- 14.  Sometimes HE chooses to expand our territory, puts us on furlough or transfers us but knowing that it is GOD alone who determines the exact times and places Acts 17:26,26 and that even the hard things that happen are always done for a good reason... Ezekiel 14:23 and that every seeming delay is necessary with  nothing happenstance coming our way helps me endure the hard things.  I hope it helps you as well.  And the best part is the Creator of the Universes guarantees the result!

hugs

Sharon

tree and its fruit

When we moved to Pueblo, there was a tree in our new back yard. We had no clue what kind it was for it was little more than a few sticks on one side and half the tree was a blackened stump.  We were not even sure if it was alive. But Mac cut back the long sticks.  He cut them way, way back and I cried and cried for I thought he had killed any chance for my tree to live.  But come spring we had leaves and branches sprouted.  It has been a few years, and now we know what kind of tree it is for it bears peaches.  As from the beginning of time, it now is a fruit tree producing fruit after its own kind. Now my tree doesn’t try to make peaches, it is the natural outflow of being a peach tree that peaches grow.  But you know what?  It doesn’t bear apples or cherries.  Why? Because it in neither an apple or a cherry tree.  It bears peaches because it is a peach tree.  Duh!

This morning as I began reading in the New Testament of the awesome Hebrew/ Greek/ English Interlinear Bible my daughter Shirley gave me for Christmas, I came across the same concept of producing fruit after its own kind.

Matthew 3:8 Therefore, bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.

In other words: if you are really repenting of your sins, things will change in your life.  Just like my peach tree, it is not so much your trying, but as a natural outflow of a changed heart’s view on life changes will happen in what you do.

James speaks of the same thing:  James 2:20 Faith without works is dead..  Real faith bears fruit, just like my peach tree.  It doesn’t groan in an effort to make peaches, but when my peach tree is healthy and the frost has not nipped the buds, peaches just grow.  So as you grow in faith, you will bear more and more fruit.  That is, if your faith is healthy by eating the Word of GOD and drinking in GOD’s presence in prayer.

But just like with my peach tree, there is a growth process. My peach tree did not bear luscious peaches that 1^st year. The unproductive branches had to be cut off.  In the same way GOD prunes believers of things unproductive in our lives.  Sometimes it is painful but it will produce the fruit of righteousness in those exercised by it.  Hebrews 12:11  So don’t despise the discipline (pruning) of the LORD… for whom the LORD loves HE disciplines (prunes)… for if you endure discipline (pruning) GOD is treating you like sons… Hebrews 12:5-7 and it will produce the fruit of righteousness in those exercised by it!

JESUS spoke of this outflow of a changed heart when his disciples wanted to call fire down on a town who rejected JESUS.  HE said, “You don’t (yet) know what kind of spirit you are.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy but to save.”  Luke 9:55,56 lit. 

But they learned, didn’t they?  And so can we.

Hugs

Sharon

its all in the name

When I named my 2^nd daughter Kari, I had no idea how popular that name was that year.  It seems names go in trends.  One of the hottest baby name trends for 2015 has to do name endings.   Parents putting trendy endings like "bella" for girls or "ett" for boys before whatever comes at the start of a name. The super-popular Isabella is joined by Arabella, Mirabella, and Rosabella, while the fashionable Emmett welcomes brothers Beckett, Everett, and Bennett. Other stylish endings include "er" as in Harper and Miller and "s" for seemingly any boys’ name, from Atticus to Silas to Zacharias.

It is fun to see what names mean and often parents take the meaning of a name into consideration when they name their babies.  Such was the case with GOD when HE chose a name for HIS SON.  At 2 different times an angel related GOD’s message of what to name HIS SON.  1^st he told Mary Luke 1:31 and later Joseph Matthew 1:21 which left no doubt in their minds what to name the baby.

Then as Mary lay in the hay in the stable after her baby was born, I think she must have looked over at him lying in the manager and with wonder thought of her baby’s name, JESUS.  It meant something very special.  The angel had said: “You shall call HIS name JESUS for HE will save HIS people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

Acts 2:21 Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD (JESUS) shall be saved.

Acts 4:10,12then know this, you and all the people of Israel: it is by the name of JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth, who you crucified but whom GOD raised from the dead, that this man stand before  you healed.  ..Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Acts 22:16and now what are you waiting for?  Arise and be baptized and also wash away your sins by calling on HIS name.

I Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you, but you were washed (of your sins), but you were sanctified (set apart for GOD), but you were justified (made just as if you had never sinned) in the name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST by the SPIRIT of our GOD.

Have you called on the name of JESUS to wash away your sins and save you?  If not, what are you waiting for? 

Hugs

Sharon