Sometimes we (as in people) have to pause in our pursuit of a “greater” purpose, and realize that God’s purpose for us is in everything. And that is truly great!
It’s finding gratitude in everything, and giving it all to Him!
In the marvelous. & the mundane.
The once-in-a-lifetime. & the everyday.
The appreciating the blessings that come to us. & the “being sent” to bless someone else. With cookies and a carol, perhaps, but even more importantly, maybe, with just a smile. Just His JOY! ☀️
It’s stopping to enjoy the sunshine spilling through a window, and accepting it as a hug from heaven.
It’s seeing “hidden crosses” everywhere, along with the opportunity to deny our humanly hurried-nature, take up our crosses, yoke ourselves to Him, and learn his unforced rhythms of grace.
It’s stopping to appreciate our children as the treasures that they are. Not because of anything they’ll learn or do or be (though I do believe God has great plans for them), but just because of who and whose they are. And then letting it sink in for a moment- that God the Father feels the very same way about us. He’s proud of us for some things we do, but He also just loves us because we are His. 🥰
It’s taking a moment to see our spouses, REALLY see them, outside our own routines. And appreciate who they are as a person, and that out of all the people in the world- they chose to make home base with us. That’s worth thanking God for, for sure! None of that “I’ve found the one my soul tolerates” stuff. Choose to stay in love!
It’s learning to be blessed and a blessing wherever we go. Knowing that each place can be a divine appointment if we see it that way. An opportunity to love and be loved, beloved. An opportunity to teach and an opportunity to learn. An invitation to get outside our own selves, outside our own screens, outside our own routines and four walls and just BE. Alive, and grateful, and gracious and savoring every single moment.
Because maybe our earthly life is short, and we can’t control that, but we can choose to make it SWEET! And that’s so much better than living sour because we are constantly in search of something greater than what’s already right in front of us.
If God sends us to “greater” – however we would define that – we can be a blessing and blessed there too. But I wonder how much more peace we’d all experience if we paused to enjoy each and every moment along the way. Not just going- but growing- as God gets us there. Finding joy in all the “little” stuff, which is really the biggest and the best!
This morning I was reading in the book of Psalms, and this one stood out to me in a new way, being that euchre season (AKA winter ❄️ ) in Indiana is starting up! ♥️♠️♦️♣️
Not that there’s ever necessarily an off-season, but our family tends to play more in the winter.
So first I want to share the verse, and then I’ll share what it brought to mind for me:
〰️〰️〰️ Psalm 18:20-24 MSG-
“God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before Him.
When I got my act together, He gave me a fresh start.
Now I’m alert to God’s ways; I don’t take anything for granted.
Every day I review the ways He works; I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.”
〰️〰️〰️
So y’all, my husband’s family are SERIOUS euchre players.
As in- we started dating when we were 15, and right away I was told I better learn to play if I wanted to be part of the family lol. Because that’s what they do for fun. And I have a lot of fun with it now too!
But anyway- when I watched them play the first few times I felt totally overwhelmed.
And when I heard some of the rules I wondered how I’d ever remember them…
♣️Jacks are worth more than aces, but only if they’re the right color?
♥️Whatever trump is, both jacks of that color are the two highest cards?
♠️If I have a card that would have followed suit, but I throw a trump card out instead, and the other card comes out later, then that’s called reneging and the other team gets TWO points?
♦️If I have a lot of trump cards and I “go alone”, I can potentially earn 4 points instead of just 1 or 2? But then I don’t get to access what’s in my partner’s hand? (Unless we play partner’s best?)
All this is a language I understand now but 20 years ago sitting around that table listening it was all over my head and I didn’t think it’d ever make sense.
And my father-in-law?
Well I didn’t always know how to take him back then, because he always seemed harsh, but he just had me jump right in.
His theory was that you can watch all day but it’s not until you get in the game yourself that you’ll really understand.
And no easy treatment for beginners.
There was no shame in making a mistake and losing a trick in those early games (there’s a little more pressure once you’re seasoned because you should know), but the rules were the rules.
But that helped me learn quickly!
And now, not to toot my own horn, but I’d say I’m pretty good at it.
Especially when I play with my husband as partner, because we know each other’s tendencies well.
But you know what? The same is really true of my faith.
Even though my mom took me to church from the time I was an infant, it wasn’t until I really “got in the game” (of life) myself – which was really messy at times – that I began to learn.
And it wasn’t until I received the Holy Spirit that I REALLY began to learn, because until then I was blind and trying to navigate life by myself, which was just about as fruitful as someone playing a game of euchre without ever having listened to the rules or watched anyone else play, or been taught hands-on.
Except life is no innocent game! The stakes are high. The losses are REAL. The wins are wonderful, but can you imagine how few and far between they’d be if we didn’t even understand what we did to win them?
Picture a kid randomly throwing out cards- throwing out responses to life’s “tricks”- and trying to understand if or how they won or lost a particular one, without having anyone explain it to them?
Wouldn’t they be lost?
And if that went on forever in this game of life- because that’s the only game we are all really in- (whether or not we know it)- how could we ever expect them to come out victorious?
They might accidentally win a hand or two, but they wouldn’t win the game. It would be impossible!
Life is life, just like a game at my father-in-law’s table was a game. Whether you were a seasoned player or a beginner. Rules are rules. Just like Truth is Truth.
Trying to change Truth to fit our hand and our desire to win, is about the equivalent of trying to change rules of a euchre game so that we can come out on top. What would anyone else sitting at the table say? Especially if it was an official tournament, and not just a for-fun game around the family table?
What would the official judge say?
“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but you’re never going to win this game playing like that. Rules are rules. Learn them. And play by them. Or you’re going to lose.”
Y’all.
We are ALL sitting at God’s table right now, whether we know it or not.
The earth is his footstool.
He is the judge! He’s loving, yes, but he’s just too. Rules are rules. And he wants us to win, He’s gave us every advantage to be able to do so, but we still need to know how it works and play by HIS rules!
Ephesians 6:12 says “This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is FOR KEEPS, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”
Don’t you see?
We are ALL playing.
And the stakes are HIGH.
And what’s in it…to be won or lost, is our SOUL.
And who we are playing against is the enemy.
And if we don’t take God’s offer of the Holy Spirit as coach-
If we just come to the table of life, like a teenager with an attitude, thinking it doesn’t matter anyway- it’s just a game- not understanding what’s at stake, and so not desiring to understand- we will LOSE. Guaranteed we will lose.
In this game of life, there are many different cards. It’s hard to always define which ones are bad and which ones are good. It’s mostly relevant. A jack of hearts is terrible if trump is spades. But it’s the best card in the deck if hearts are trump!
Playing “in the natural” – we may win some and we may lose some.
And it seems to be consistent that we always do better with a good attitude.
We have noticed that our card nights will often go the way our mouths turn. Frown all night and it seems we’ll end up with even worse cards by the end. I don’t think that’s actually true, but I do know we play then a whole lot better with a clear head, unclouded by bad attitudes!
But God showed me something this morning as I was reading this psalm, and it hit me so deeply that I have been sitting here, chewing on it by writing for over an hour and a half now. Learning from the “game” master!
And here is the gold he just gave me. The “trick” to ALWAYS winning, ALWAYS coming out on top, ALWAYS being victorious: It’s partnering with JESUS!
It’s getting to know Him as a partner, just like I know my husband, and we play best with each other. There’s no one I play better euchre with than Brett Byers.
And why?
Because for 15 years I have sat across that table from him, studying how he responds to each “trick”.
I know his facial reactions.
I know his body language.
I know his demeanors.
All without any cheating, or across-the-table talking.
It goes beyond words.
And even though I don’t know what cards he’s holding in his hand at any given time, if, given the same hand, I know that I would play them almost identically, because my husband is the one who taught me to play over the years!
He’s the one who sat beside me and let me watch him play when I didn’t know how.
He’s the one who sat behind me and guided me through months of my own games.
He’s the one who sat across from me, “Programming” me to respond to his cues as I was learning the game. Did he groan when I threw a card out? Hmmm…What does that mean? And I would ask what I did wrong so that I could learn to become a better player, because there’s not much more I love than pleasing the man that I love. (Even though he loves me just the same when I make a mistake. ❤️)
In life, my husband is also a really great partner, but I never started being victorious until I understood- (which is a progressive thing because I’m still growing and learning to understand) -that JESUS is available to be my partner!
To be EACH of our partners!
We don’t have to fight over Him!
(We aren’t playing against each other either. That’s the other thing we need to understand!)
Each of us has one common opponent: The devil.
And Jesus wants EACH of us to choose him as our partner!
And you know what?
The deck is stacked! Jesus ALWAYS has the best card in his hand. He always has trump and it’s the HIGHEST of trump! The card that defeats any other!
“What?! Well that’s unfair!” some may think.
But it wasn’t free. No. Not at ALL free! He bought it with a perfect life, and a surrendered-in-love death. On a cross that should have been ours.
It’s the card that God gave humans, back in Eden.
The one that Adam and Eve had lost for us, when they tried to “go alone” instead of taking their partner, God, in on every trick. And Satan got the upper hand on them!
Jesus gave his LIFE to get that card back.
And he asks each one of us- “Will you partner with me?”
And at His table- In this world- He ENCOURAGES “partner’s best.”
In this world- even though by sight it appears we are “going (it) alone”- and whether we have good cards or bad…
We play by His rules, and in EVERY round, He gives us His best. His victory!
Make no mistake- that card WILL come out!
So- whatever round we are on- 2, 3, 4, 5… even if it seems we have a super crappy hand and the enemy is going to win, we don’t have to fear. JESUS HAS THE STOPPER! The enemy isn’t gaining much ground on us.
My husband always says we should be able to “count on our partner for one.”
Jesus says: “You can count on me for EVERY ONE!”
“Play bolder, because you KNOW me.
You don’t know what’s all in my hand, but you DO know I have the authority.
You do know I have the highest card in the deck!
You DO know that God make the rules, and that he allows for partner’s best!
You NEED TO KNOW, that I want you as my partner, but you have to choose me too!
You NEED TO KNOW that I got you. And that in EVERY ROUND I have the enemy’s stopper, but that we aren’t having a “defense-mode” mindset. That’s not my vibe. We are always going for the victory!
The deck is stacked in my favor! So in OUR favor, if you partner with me! I’m GUARANTEED to win.
Do YOU want to win? If so- you need to choose your partner well.
CHOOSE ME. (Says Jesus.) Let me give you my best! And let me guarantee you the eternal win!
Satan and I are both sitting at the table. (Says Jesus). We are on opposing teams. We will always be on opposing teams. Until I take him out entirely.
Whether you realize it or not, you’re always partnering with one of us.
Examine closely to see who that’s been.
(Have you been chasing after the “world’s best”?) If so- you need to switch sides.
(Have you been hostile or prideful or resistant towards my people? Towards the (capital C) Church?- not a building or a religion, but the ones who have made me, Jesus, their boss, and are partnering with me?)— If so, you need to switch sides.
(Have you ASKED me to be your partner, to do life with you? To work together and give me what’s in your hand and let give you my best?)— If not, you need to switch sides.
Because it’s only when you partner with me- and learn from me how to play this life-game, that you’re going to ETERNALLY win!
Losers will lose their souls, lose their lives.
Winners, who have “risked it all” will get it all back and then abundantly more! That’s what’s in store for those on Team Jesus!
My youngest was like obsessed with that movie for awhile. He begged us to watch it every day. So I think we all could act out the scenes now! 😂
But you know what, God can speak to us through anything! Even kids’ movies!
Anyway- the part that keeps coming to my head is this:
“Turn right to go left”
Like- when I want to run from Him in busyness, I need to turn to Him instead in stillness FIRST, And then I find myself in the right place of peace, where my soul was actually wanting to go! And I’ll be right “on track” to then do all the things that I need to get done. (Like my pun there?😜)
This morning I was about to get up and jump right into productivity mode, since the rest of my family is enjoying our first day we’ve had in awhile of being able to really sleep in.
I came on to post my podcast, and a friend’s post caught me eye, and it was about how she was about to jump right into all of her things too, and God called her to be still and enjoy a moment with Him first!
Such a great reminder! The more of those we see, the better for us! The tugs toward “all the things” never go away, and we all need those authentic friends to share how God tugs them gently to Him- because he uses those to tug us back in that moment to Him too, so we can do everything else FROM full, not for it.
“Let me fill you in on a little secret, my daughter”, God said to me as I was marching around my living room in prayer and singing praise music yesterday, battling some fears.
“It wasn’t the marching that took down Jericho’s walls. It was ME. I took down those walls, single-handedly. But what moved me to take them down was seeing my child, Joshua, trusting and obeying me and honoring me to the point of not being afraid of looking foolish in front of anyone, because his eyes of faith were on ME and nobody else!”
Me: Wow. That’s pretty cool, God. I want to honor you like that.
God: Wanna know something else?”
Me: OF COURSE!! ALWAYS!
God: “It wasn’t David or his stones that took out that giant either. That was all me too. But what moved me to do it- to take that giant out for him- for them, was his heart! His heart that sang to me, that worshipped me, that faced the lion and the bear and killed them and gave ME all the glory, really knew inside that it was me who was protecting him even if I used his hands to do it. That’s a faith that MOVES ME TO MOVE!”
Me again: WOW! God you are so amazing! I want to have a faith like that.
God: “I’ve already been working on that. 😉 That doesn’t have to come from you either. The reason I say all that’s required is a mustard seed (the smallest seed) of faith, is that the only faith you have to muster up is the faith to tell me you can’t do anything on your own, but you’re willing to do whatever I ask you to. I already know you are powerless without me, and you don’t have to feel bad about that. I never designed you to be self-empowered. I designed you to carry whatever power, whatever spiritual weapon ⚔️ I place in your hands at any given moment, and just follow my instructions on how to use it. SAY WHAT I SAY, DO WHAT I SAY TO DO, AND YOU WILL SEE WHAT I SAID. 👊🏻 I’ve got this. Those walls keeping you out of the places I’m sending you, and those giants trying to stand in your way- they’re coming down!”
Friends- faith isn’t easy. But you can do hard things, with God. And he will make them look effortless to others. But you will know. You will know that all the effort in your entire being couldn’t have ever pulled off the things that he does for you. Mountains move when he tells them to. And he moves mountains for us, as we do what he tells us to do.
Lap by lap. Song by song. Stone by stone. Step by step.
Facebook memories brought up this post I wrote 5 years ago. And I wanted to share today, because it matters just as much as the day I wrote it. I am SO passionate about my personal relationship with Jesus. And SO passionate about the importance of gathering in-person. If He says something is important, there’s a reason for that, and a Truth we can experience for ourselves.
My daughter in the car this morning: “I want to see a scarecrow, Mommy.”
Me: “Ok, maybe we can go to the library and find a book about scarecrows.”
Her: “We’ve been reading books in school about it. But it’s not the same. I want to SEE a REAL scarecrow! I want to know if it’s really scary or if it’s only scary to the crows!”
So my to-do list now includes somehow finding a scarecrow for my daughter to see. 😉 I love her heart that earnestly seeks after something real! She understands even at this young age that there’s a difference between reading about something, or watching something on a screen and actually experiencing it.
I attend Bible college on Saturday evenings. They have an online option for out of state students as well as for weeks our schedule really conflicts. And that availability of technology is wonderful, but there’s a HUGE difference in what I get out of the class the weeks that I can be there in person versus the weeks that I’m watching a video. The teaching is the same. I’m hearing the same words. But when I’m there, I’m interacting. I’m immersed. I’m connected to the people in the room with me. We feed off each other’s energy. There is a palpable enthusiasm in the room!
For many years Jesus was just a story character to me. A wonderful character. One I still put hope in to take me into paradise at the end of my life. But it wasn’t until about a year ago that he became REAL to me. My FRIEND. A partner to do life with. A counselor when I needed advice.
There’s a HUGE difference between ritualistically going to church on Sundays, reading the Bible and devotions occasionally, and murmuring rote prayer requests, versus forming a RELATIONSHIP with God. I didn’t get it before, though. How is this even possible? I mean, this isn’t like a long-distance relationship. I can’t even FaceTime him from afar. He doesn’t call me on the phone so I can hear his voice. I don’t get letters in the mail from heaven. No emails either. So how can I have a REAL relationship with him?
I don’t know when exactly it transformed into that to be honest. I think it has come out of desperate prayers and pleas for him to take over for me. From trust in deep waters that I have gone through. Through seeing him care for me in my times of need through family and friends and church members and people I didn’t even know. Through watching him open doors for me that I had been banging on for years to no avail. And ones I hadn’t thought to knock on too. Through the knowledge he pours into my heart when I earnestly ask him for wisdom and seek his will in prayer and bible reading. Through seeking to make my heart more like his so I can know him more.
I am well aware that to some I have become a religious nut. But religion has nothing to do with it. It’s the RELATIONSHIP that has drawn me in! Our relationships are what matter most to us in this life. We would sacrifice all else to save them. And once you experience a relationship with Jesus, it’s just the same.
Just like my girl, I’m no longer satisfied with a book. I want something REAL! I want to share something real with the world!
Reminders God has to send my way often, that I wanted to pass along to you:
With Him, we can:
Stop fighting emptiness & Start focusing on Him, to receive fullness
Stop fighting fear & Start focusing on Him, to receive boldness & faith
Stop fighting a sense of inadequacy & Start focusing on Him, to receive a proper perspective of the His-part-to-our-part ratio. Receive the reminder that HE is the difference between not enough, and more than enough!
Stop fighting the lies about ourselves our situations the “helpless” state of this world that dis-courage & Start focusing on the Truth- Him- who encourages! Who takes the impossible and makes it possible! Who breaks through all the things, to bring break-through, when we stop trying to fix it all ourselves and simply ask Him to!
Sometimes we just have to stop. So he can get started, in us. ☀️
This is my Bible. In recent years, along with the Spirit, it has been my best friend. My roadmap. My comfort place. But for most of my life, it sat on a shelf, with its crazy awesome wisdom hidden amongst other books, wasted.
As our country and world are being shaken by COVID & conflict & communistic control tactics, it has occurred to me that one day soon we may not have the privilege of owning a bible. I sure hope I’m wrong! And please know before reading this post that I am not trying to get into conspiracy theory. I’m not believing that all is doomed and everyone is out to get us. But the way the atmosphere of our nation is going, it’s not too far fetched to imagine that Christians could be persecuted here like they are in other places.
The values of this country are getting further and further from the Christian beliefs that our founding fathers started it on. It’s becoming not only unpopular, but labeled “hateful” for us to voice our beliefs.
Immorality has become the norm in our society , and we are discouraged from speaking out against it.
Meanwhile, nobody wants us to speak out about our own innocent, yet powerful beliefs.
Everything in me wants to cry out for our country to repent. Because God is patient but he is also just. When the world became so corrupt in Noah’s time, he destroyed it. When Sodom & Gomorrah became disgustingly evil places, he destroyed them. When the Israelites turned away from God, he allowed their enemies to overtake them. Have we learned nothing from history? Do we really want to repeat this lesson? I sure don’t!
The enemy is so present today that I am amazed our bibles haven’t already been confiscated, but then it occurred to me. What better place to hide them than in plain sight? We take for granted that they’ll always be there, so we can make time to read it tomorrow, or next week, next month, next year. And we never do. Just like the 20 pounds we vow to lose, it never happens.
But what would happen if they were taken away? Suddenly the Bible would become like Gold. We’d read all we could and store it in our hearts so it couldn’t be stolen. We’d hide a copy in the safest hiding place we have. We’d spread that word like wildfire, so it couldn’t be contained!
Remember when hostess decided to stop making Twinkies? People snatched boxes off the shelf like they were $5 iPads on Black Friday! The last one sold on eBay for THOUSANDS of dollars! And some of the people that bought them probably hadn’t eaten a Twinkie in years. The month before they probably walked past them in a grocery store a dozen times without a second thought. It wasn’t until they realized they could no longer have one that they began to crave it.
We CANNOT wait until bibles are gone to crave the word inside them. We can’t hurriedly digest 66 books right before they confiscate them and expect to fuel a lifetime of living in a crazy world with the tiny bit of knowledge we may retain. We have to start NOW!
In Bible college a few years ago, I remember our professor sharing with us that in many countries people are put to death for having a bible in their possession. Homes and families and lives are destroyed. That tells me how very blessed we are to get to read it every single day if we choose, and it also tells me how much of a threat it must be to Satan and the evil oppressors of this world if they don’t want it in people’s hands! What is in there that they would kill for? That they’d use up resources to hunt down and destroy? Hope!
It was in hope that our forefathers risked their lives to come to a new land. HOPE for religious freedom. HOPE for a life without persecution. HOPE for a better future for their children. They knew the cost, and yet hope was powerful enough to keep them moving.
The Bible gives hope to the bereaved, the depressed, the persecuted!
It gives hope to sinners like me, that God loves us anyway and has a better future in store for us! And that He’s made himself available NOW to teach us his ways of grace, if we’ll allow Him.
It gives hope to anyone who thinks about the fleeting nature of life-that there is something beyond our years here on Earth!
It gives hope that a loving father is watching over us and will help us through one day at a time!
I would dare to say that hope (along with love) is the most powerful, unseen “substance” in existence.
When we feel hopeless, we cannot bring ourselves to do anything.
Yet with hope, we are bouncing out of bed, excited for the future and to start a brand new day!
And that is a threat to those who would prefer we continue to do nothing. A threat that one day they may attempt to take out.
So we can’t wait. NOW is the time. Consider this “low inventory” notice of the Twinkies! Grab YOURS off the shelf. Hide it in your heart where it can’t be taken away! Right now it is free. If we wait too long, it’ll cost infinitely more.
I must pass this sign I placed beside the entry of my home no less than fifty times a day, if not more.
But today as I passed it, God spoke to my heart:
What do you believe is following you, Daylene?
What does the way you are l•i•v•i•n•g, speaking, thinking, indicate that you deep-down believe about what’s following you?
My love? My favor? Opportunities?
Or the enemy’s hate? Challenges? Bad “luck”? Obstacles?
Which are you focusing on more, Daylene?
Because the truth is, that BOTH exist, in this world, for my people.
The enemy does hate you.
He will send challenges your way.
He will place obstacles in your path to discourage you.
I’ve warned you of this, in my Word, because I don’t sugarcoat things. I love you enough to be honest.
There is no such thing as luck, either bad or good.
There are blessings and curses,
And there are also both sunshine and storms, that rest and fall upon the good and the bad alike.
But I am ALWAYS here, for my people- for the ones who have chosen me, chosen Jesus.
That doesn’t exempt you from this world’s challenges, {even though the enemy wants you to believe that, so you’ll think poorly of me.}
I’ve made it clear in my Word that this world can be brutal.
I’ve also made it clear in my Word that I have made my Spirit available to you- wherever you are- so that you can be comforted.
So that you can be strengthened, restored, recharged, given peace, be relit with passion 🔥 in the “secret place”, until I bring you to your forever home, with me, in heaven!
I’ve already shown you this new way, but now I want you to keep practicing.
Just as I turned water into wine, I want you to practice turning every obstacle that makes you want to whine, into an opportunity to worship instead.
Car troubles?
Use them to thank me for conveniences you once took for granted. And then PRE-thank me, in faith, for how I’m going to provide for your needs for the repairs or a different vehicle.
Overtime cut off? Money you expected didn’t come through? Does it look like you’ll struggle to put food on the table this month?
Use this to recall my past goodness and provision, for all the times it looked just as impossible, or even MORE impossible, and yet you watched me part the waters! And PRE-thank me for doing it again, while remembering- I may choose to work it out way differently than you’d expect.
Did you know even hunger, on occasion, serves a purpose?
And you’re blessed enough to live in a country and a position where you’ve never truly been starving.
But you know that ALL your unsatisfied “hungers” -for things -and for trips (“getaways”) -and for whatever it is- -invitations from friends, even, have all taught you SO many valuable things about me, and the satisfaction that I provide which is so much more filling than all of these?
I don’t want you to buy into the prosperity gospel, believing that I’m a genie, here to only bring you comfort and the world’s brand of peace.
But I also don’t want you to resign yourself to lack, to a poverty mindset. I want you to believe in my ability to bless you and to bless others through you!
There are different seasons for everything!
In seasons of wealth, I want you to give lavishly.
In seasons of lack, I want you to dig deep and see that I have given you SO MUCH MORE than money!
Sometimes it’s not until your money dries up, but your desire to bless and give remains as strong as ever, that you truly discover the greater gifts I’ve placed in you.
Both the specialized ones- the talents and skills, And the “general” ones that everyone has- time a smile a mouth to speak kind words into someone’s life…
I want you to learn to see and be thankful for and be eager to share- ALL the gifts I’ve given you!
Stop focusing on and grinding for what you don’t have and what you can’t give, and dwell in gratitude for what you have been given! Give enthusiastically out of what you do have! {I promise it’s more than you think!} {And I promise it’s more valuable to me and to others than you even know!} And when you have more or you receive a different kind of blessing- give eagerly from that too!
Let go of religion and obligation, and embrace relationship and the new kind of offering I desire- not a legalistic fee, but a joyful, “take-my-life-and-everything-I-have-because-you-have-already-given-me-Yours!”
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From Matthew 12:6-8 MSG- “There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant- ‘I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’- you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this….”
Hosea 6:6 NLT- “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV- “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
〰️〰️〰️ What He is showing to me in my spirit, though, is that we don’t have to wait for him to bless us abundantly in the ways that we prefer or think to be necessary.
Sometimes he wants us to SEE with eyes of faith, how he has already blessed us, and BELIEVE that we already have all we need, to do all he has called us to do in this particular moment.
Sometimes he wants us to dig deep and discover the greater gifts he has given us- even if it takes missing out on some of the lesser blessings that FEEL important, to motivate us to do so.
And the greatest of these? That’s available to everyone? Without work or without cost? Him. We can ALWAYS share that message! And we always should, no matter what else we have to share! This is the Good News! The gospel!
John 3:16-18 The Message “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.
And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed;
by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.
He came to help, to put the world right again.
Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted;
anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.
And why?
Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”
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God can take all of our other failures, all our other shortcomings, and use them. He can help us get through all the challenges of this world that test our souls.
But the ONE true test, believing in Jesus, determines whether or not we will receive the gift everyone is deep-down looking and wishing for: life, eternal. Hope beyond the few years we have in this world.
Answer that one question correctly, “Yes, I believe in you, Jesus, and I will follow you!” and He will help us get through the rest, and get past all the obstacles, turning them into opportunities, with flying colors!
My tomato plants were done, but I just couldn’t bear the idea of leaving all the green ones still on the vine. What a waste. So I brought them in, and decided to see what would happen if I gave them some time inside our warm house.
A few weeks had gone by. Was it pointless, I wondered? Time for the trash? I tried to eat a few, still green, but they were not delicious.
I decided to wait just a little longer before throwing them out.
This morning I came down and found them like this! Three big red ones! And several red littles!
There were some rotten ones, too, that ended up going from green to goo and never hitting that ripe spot in the middle. And those had to be thrown away. But it wasn’t without a chance, at least. I took the time to pick them from the vine and bring them in. Give them their best shot!
And God said to me- It’s like people, you know.
They’re far too valuable for me not to harvest. The ripe ones, they’re oh so pleasing to me, picked red and delicious from the vine, sweetened by the sun and the rain, and ready to serve.
But the ones that stay “hard” a little longer? The ones that are green, and appear as if they’ll never ripen… Do you think I just throw them out, flippantly, wastefully, carelessly? I wouldn’t think of it. I know what a treasure they are!
I bring them ALL in, give them all some space and time to ripen, to be saved, to be ready to serve.
And some will! Sometimes even when you think their “season has past”, I {God} know all they need is some warmth and some time and a whole lot of prayer.
And some, sadly, won’t. Some will get the same warmth and time and prayer, and they won’t receive it. Instead of ripening, they’ll rot. But at least this way it won’t have been anyone else’s fault, because an effort was made to give them their best chance.
〰️〰️ God used my tomatoes to show me that he wants us to go BEYOND just harvesting what appears to ready- by sight…
and BELIEVING, by faith, that some will still be made ready, even when we think it’s out of season.
{Do I believe the end times are near? Yes I do.} And as this season on Earth comes to an end, as winter draws nearer and nearer…
He is trying to tell me, Tell us, Something.
Sometimes we can no longer just wait and see what ripens, and figure “Eh, the rest will be what they will be.”
In times like these we are called to bring them ALL in, as many as we can gather…
Knowing some may be close to ripening, and others- it may take God a little longer to work on their hearts, and others yet- will not receive Him, they’ll choose to stay hard, until they turn to mush, but they were still worth the effort to try!
We never know which will be which! God’s ways are so much higher than ours!
Bring them in, warm them up, pray over them, persistently. Give them some of your time. Work with God, to give people their best chance! 🍅
He wants real relationship with you, which is possible through the Holy Spirit.
That’s what church is about too. It’s not obligation, it’s an invitation- to not do life alone.
To be a part of something eternal, and bigger than you.
Spirit-Led Life is not pressure like the world gives, with moments of peace…
It’s a peace the world can’t give, Even in the midst of all life’s pressures.
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Jesus says:
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
From Full 