Years Later.

  When we are born The Lord has a plan for our lives, and it always includes people.  People are the only ones that have eternal significance.  How many people do we influence, and how significant are we?
  I had a blog written yesterday about different people that I knew my life had impact on.  Somehow I hit the wrong button on my ipad, and lost everything I wrote.  I was a bit perturbed, and angry with myself.  I asked The Lord why, and He replied, "I want you to write it My way."
  When I was ten years old The Lord called me into His ministry as a Evangelist; later on He also gave the gifts of Prophet and Teacher.  I never went to Bible School, but The Lord always gives the revelation to me that is needed for the occasion at hand.  We serve a Faithful God.  He has called everyone to some kind of ministry.  How do our ministries work?
  When I started to write yesterday, I wrote about children that had ridden my bus, and now are riding my cab.  By things they revealed to me now as adults The Lord showed me that He was able to show Himself to others through me for over twenty years.  When Satan comes and tells us we aren't doing what The Lord called us too, we need to remember that he is a liar, and the deceiver.
  As the day progressed I was spending time with The Lord , and He began to show me some things that I want to share with you, that will encourage your walk with The Lord;  it's part of my job.
  When Pat and I pray in the morning, we ask The Lord for help with those who will cross our paths that day.  For His help to share His goodness in a lost world, and I find that sometimes all we have to do is show up.
  Times that I have had an appointment with people for ministry are few, but times that we have had appointments set by God  many.  The main message that we share is love.  The Word says that everything will come to a end, and only love will last for eternity.  It's easy to say "I love you;" but it's something else sometimes to show someone "I Love You!"  When I have been unlovely, showing me love will help me to see my error.  We all want to be better people, but can't be talked into it, but we can be loved into it always.  Love requires much doing, just ask Jesus how much.  He could tell us all of our faults,  yet He chose to die for all of them.  When I meditate on how He paid for my shortcomings, it becomes easier to let Him remove them, a true act of love.  
  When we stand before The Lord at our judgment, we may be surprised when He starts to point out little things that we did in life knowing, or unknowing, acts kindness, or the right thing to do.  We will get the reward, but He will get the Glory, and Worship for His Love for us.
  Just remember this one thing, become willing for God to work through you, and He will.  All He needs are willing vessels.  

On a prayer, in a song...

     So, I was heading out to Clear Lake with Emma and Grace for Em's music contest, and stopped at Casey's to fill with gas and pick up a few donuts.  When I went in to pay, I saw our pastor, and spoke with him for a minute.  I mentioned to him that I was listening to his CD whenever I was driving the car (he is, after all, a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.)  Anyway, when I got into the car, Emma said, "I know you told Pastor Steve you were listening to his CD, but is it ok if I put in (Garth Brooks) Scarecrow? "  I said yes, because one of the songs on that album is what we call "Emma's Song."  Usually we replay that song, over and over, and never make it to the last song on the album.
     Turns out, The Lord wanted to bless me this afternoon through the words of Garth Brooks.  I think it might be called On a Prayer (but I'm not really sure).  But as I was driving up 212 towards Kranzburg, I heard these words:  "There's a moment, we all come to, in our own time and our own space,  where all that we've done, can be undone, if our heart's in the right place."  So there I was with tears streaming down my face, as The Lord reminded me of my own time and my own space, when He took all those things that I had done, things that shamed me, and hurt me and others, and undid those things.  He took the sins I had committed, every one of them, and paid for them!  The very moment my heart sought his, and asked forgiveness--he immediately responded!
     There is a particularly stubborn soul, who has been my husband's friend for years, and for whose salvation I have been praying since 2008.  Ernie, I hope and pray that you will quickly come to your own time and space, and realize that God is waiting for your heart to be right so that he can forgive you, too.
    "On a prayer, in a song, I hear your voice and it keeps me hanging on..."  Thank you, Lord.

Independence Day.

  In the USA we celebrate Independence Day on the 4th of July. As Christians we are given our independence when we accept Christ, but do we walk in our Freedom that The Lord afforded us?
  Something that I have noticed about the human race, that the farther we get from the event that was bought with a price, the less we appreciate the price that was paid.  We have a tendency to take things  for granted.
  One day as I was leaving church, pastor and I were talking about why Christians fail.  Right off  the top of my head I said "We don't know who we are In Christ!"  I haven't thought about that statement for some time.  Who are we In Christ?  How do we live for Christ?
  I want to address the first question.  When we believe that Jesus, came to earth as the Messiah, and died for our sin on the Cross, and that God raised Him from the dead, we are saved.  The position of becoming a Child of God is simple, about one percent of Scripture revels this to us, and ninety-nine     percent is written to the church how to live for God.  I find in myself the desire, but the ability is another matter, and I don't believe that I am the only Christian in this position.
  As a believer I find that when we accept Christ as the Messiah, we aren't independent, but we should become dependent. It isn't as simple as the thought; we still like to be in control of our circumstances.  The problem is that we lean on our own understanding.  We as humans have a problem called the sin nature.  The sin nature is like the image that appears in movies, the devil on one shoulder, and a angel on the other.  It is hard to do what comes to mind after we pray and ask for God's help, because so often it seems too simple.  We should learn after the ten-thousandth time Gods ways are simple, and all He requires is that we lean not on our own understanding.
  There is an old saying, "Keep it simple, stupid!" Too often we stay stupid, when His ways are simple.  God is not complex, but when we acquired the ability to know good, and evil we became complex.  It never was the plan of God.  Satan knows how easy it is to confuse us, and takes advantage of what we think is intelligent, and traps us.  Only God knows what is good for us, all we have to do is trust, and obey. It's simple but we make it complex.