Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Summer 2011

"My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content." PSALM 131 ~ For this moment I put my hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. The best intentions, on our own, always fail to meet our promises to God or our hopeful outcome. But with the Lord all things are possible because God said in His living Word "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 11:19 ~ Halleluiah! LORD thank You for the NEW LIFE, for the indwelling Holy Spirit that responds to our earnest prayers, for a heart made of flesh that FEELS a holy compassion for the broken and needy, and a heart that loves You Lord above all else! Our New Years resolutions are fragile, that is, they are easily broken. With childlike faith we call on our Lord Jesus ~ With a genuine desire to be "changed" by God we bow and earnestly pray these New Summer prayers and TRUST that they ascend to the throne of God, that God hears our crys, our requests like music to His ears! We have faith that He will respond to prayers that match His will for us, in His timing, in His holy ways. We acknowledge His ministering angels and trust that they are always in motion. 2011 shall be more like heaven as we PRAY for our Father's mercy, grace and helps. Lord may our MINDS and HEARTS be stayed on Thee! Lord we bow before Thee in reverence and PRAY these requests alone and thank You for Your loving ear ~ Dear heavenly Father, our most gracious King I thank You for the priviledge of asking for More Devotion- Lord Jesus, I rededicate myself afresh to You today. I want You to take my life this coming season and use it for Your glory. "Take my heart and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee." More Pure- I pray You will keep me from sin, from anything that would bring dishonor to Your Name. More Growth- Keep me in tune and willing to be taught by the Holy Spirit. Give me Your discernment. Help me progress, increase my faith Lord, please keep me from becoming complacent and stagnant. Take me out of my comfort zone. More Christ-centered-Fill my mind with holy words, "He must increase; I must decrease." All glory is His, Lord help me not to touch it. More Prayerful- Teach me to make every decision a matter of prayer. I dread the thought of leaning on my own understanding or doing things "my way". I am not mother Teresa Lord and I know that I must not compete for your love, mercy or grace ~ for I have been set apart with specific gifts to implement. Show me clearly Lord in Your Word and by the doors that open wide ~ where I am to go, and how I can effectively and winsomely share Your love, and the good news of the gospel. More Holy-Separate- May I die to the world and even to the approval or blame of loved ones or friends. Lord give me grace enough to step back and encourage others with words that come from You. More Edifying- Keep me from gossip and criticism of others. Rather, help me to speak what is edifying and profitable. Give me apt words to speak to those You bring before me.More Evangelistic- Lead me to needy souls. May I become a friend of sinners, as You are. Give me tears and compassion for the perishing. Let me be the needle in Your great tapestry of love. More Kind and Patient- Lord Jesus, keep me from becoming cold, bitter, or cynical in spite of anything that may happen to me in this life. More Disciplined with money- Guide me in my stewardship of money. Help me to be a good steward of everything you have entrusted to me, including time. More Self-Controlled- Help me to remember moment by moment that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. May this tremendous truth influence all of my behavior. More Expectant- And Lord Jesus I pray that this may be the year of Your return. I long to see Your face and fall at Your feet in worship. During this coming season, may the blessed hope of Your return stay fresh in my heart, disengaging me from anything that would hold me here...Even so Lord Jesus, come quickly! AMEN and HALLELUIAH!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

NOTHING WITHELD

Our Almighty God, our Lord Jesus, inspired Prophets by the Holy Spirit to make Himself known to us long ago. Our Father does NOT withhold the truth from us. "You who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and claim to rely on the God of Israel — the LORD Almighty is His name: I foretold the former things long ago, My mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze. Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’ You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?" ISAIAH 48:3-6 ~ On my knees I take it, take it ~ dropping my resistance, dropping my pride, dropping it low and surrendering all to You oh Lord who sits on the highest sovereign throne! Lord Jesus I admit my sin of stubbornness, my unyielding stiff neck of iron that avoided a communion, a conference of listening and obedience to You. Forgive me Lord Jesus for my idolatry of music, and the Internet to mingle and meet a man of God. Forgive me for the idle time spent online to pacify my desire for a mate, and to be recognized for any accomplishment. Forgive my lack of trust in You, and for my impatience. ~ “From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you. They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them.’ You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth. For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of My praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely. See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another." ISAIAH 48:6-11 ~ AMAZING that in the year 2011 ~ that my eyes and ears have been opened to see and to hear what the Spirit spoke 200 years before Jesus was born, and 26 years after I was spiritually reborn. “Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together." ISAIAH 48:12-13 ~ Listen to God the Father Barbara, whom the Lord has called, God is the first and the last to be praised for He laid the foundations of the earth and by His right hand He spread out the stars of the universe. “Come near me and listen to this: “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.” And now the Sovereign LORD has sent Me, endowed with His Spirit. This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea." ISAIAH 48:16-19 ~ My Lord calls me by name, 'Barbara come near to Me and listen to this! From the first announcement in Genesis - your Father kept NO SECRETS. At the time it happens, at the first of all creation, during the age of time - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was there! NOW that my Lord God sent Jesus to earth as a man, to walk and talk with us, to experience every emotion; including fear, jealousy, rejection, and every temptation ~ so that today Barbara would KNOW HIS compassion and LOVE for her. Like Jesus submitted to death on a cross, so too Barbara dies to herself. Jesus told His disciples that He must go so that God would send the Counselor to comfort and guide us. His promised ETERNAL HOLY SPIRIT lives inside Barbara ~ to teach her what is best for her and to direct Barbara in the WAY to go. God gave her the Old Testament as a witness to disobedience, and to compel her to obey that she may have PEACE like a river in this day ~ 2011 years after Jesus ~ My God is an AWESOME GOD, He reigns on heaven and earth ~ and again I bow to the cross and submit my life, hopes and dreams to Christ as His willing servant. AMEN

Monday, June 20, 2011

COMMUNION

JESUS shared communion at a wedding and turned water into wine. The communion of saints is the relationship that, according to the belief of Christians, exists between them as people made holy by God's deposit of the Holy Spirit when they accept Jesus as their Savior. Indwelt by the Person of the Holy Spirit, this relationship is understood to be eternal as it puts them in communion with those believers who have gone past death to be "at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). Since the word rendered in English as "saints" can mean not only "holy people" but also "holy things", the term communion of saints also applies to the sharing by members of the Church in the holy things of faith, sacraments especially the holy communion covenant. In a special way the term communion is applied to sharing in the holy sacrament of partaking of the consecrated bread and wine, an action seen as entering into a particularly close relationship with Christ.. "The Lord's Supper" is the term used in 1 Corinthians 11:20. Most denominations use the term the Lord's Supper, especially among Baptist groups, who generally avoid using the term "Communion" in order to keep a singular purpose in the Lord's Supper ~ Remembering Jesus.The term Communion is derived from Latin communio (sharing in common). In Greek the like term is KOINONIA which could apply to the fellowship of life in marriage, to a spiritual relationship with a god such as Zeus, to common fellowship between believers of Christ, to a community or society. In the Bible, the Greek term κοινωνία (koinonia) is an exclusively New Testament term, appearing nowhere in the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. As a noun it is found in 43 verses of the New Testament. "Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." 2 Peter 1:2-4. ~"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:3. The basic meaning of the term communion is an especially close relationship with God, as individuals or as a Church, with God and with other Christians. ~ Holy Father, Your Word likens us to being Your bride. "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." ISAIAH 61:10 "My love for You is more pleasing than wine, therefore we submit to You as our heavenly Husband. "How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice!" SONG OF SOLOMON 4:10 Lord Jesus we come together to honor You and ask the Holy Spirit to do His work in us. We thank You Lord God Almighty that Your banner over us is pure love and we each celebrate the plan You have for us individually! Thank You for Your lavish love and for all that You accomplished on the cross. Thank You for inviting us to Your banquet table, for the bounty before us and for the grace, mercy and Spirit showered on us. AMEN ~ 1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-33 "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup." MATTHEW 6 "“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one.’ AMEN ~ Lord forgive us for ever doubting or resisting You. JOHN 6:28-35 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." AMEN

Friday, June 17, 2011

SIGNIFICANT DREAMS

MAN or WOMAN without a dream shall perish! OH my goodness Lord! In a DREAM God speaks to souls atuned to His voice and visions for us and without that, we PERISH! An ANGEL/Spirit revealed to Joseph, in a dream (Matthew 1:20;2:13-19) An ANGEL/Spirit revealed to Cornelius, in a dream (Acts 10:3,30-32) ~ GOD warns Abimelech in a dream (Genesis 20:3-7) GIDEON had a dream about righteousness (1 Kings 3:5;9:2) ~ JACOB given Joseph's prophetic dream concerning (GEN 37:9-11) ~ JOSEPH, husband of Mary warned in a dream to escape (MATT 2:13-15)and again Joesph was warned to return to Nazareth (MATT 2:19-23) ~ KINE's dream (GEN 41:2-7,26-30) ~ MESHACH assists Daniel in interpreting dream (Daniel 2:17-23) ~ Joseph's dream(GEN 37:9). If a God sent dream is intended to WARN us or to GUIDE us, we will be awakened, we will remember and we will have the CLARITY of GOD about what the dream means for us. Do I dream? Yes. Do I remember all dreams? No. Must I concern myself with my day dreaming? Yes ~ dreams from God can be a flash of insight given with my eyes wide open! Watching God unfurl the twirl of a tiny tidepool, witnessing God give flight to butterflys and birds, and paying attention to the breeze of His peace that unclutters my mind, this day was and is a SIGNIFICANT dream that He unfolds gently as I walk and talk with Him! His Angel, the Holy Spirit is there in my awakened stare, ever rare, He is always aware, even if I sleep. AMEN

Friday, June 10, 2011

Send His Love

Jesus is here now, He and the Father are One, and we are One with Him. His physical presence is the Holy Spirit which is inside each soul who believes He forgave all past, present and future sins. TRUTH: Jesus loves all who accept Him as Lord of all. His love, humility, selflessness, peace, wisdom is available to all. "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Consult the divine Holy Spirit within, Who is Jesus incarnate within each devoted believer of His eternal being, kingdom, and Lordship over and above all who have ever walked this earth. Bring Him your guilt, your worry, your doubts, your fears, your anger and He will wash you with His peace. Listen for His still small voice. "Be still and know that I am God" Read His love letter to you, the book of truth, the bible. When you have the bible open, you have opened your heart and mind to hear His eternal, still small voice.
The Holy Spirit cannot be seen, but He is heard by those who listen. He guides those who ask "Which way do I walk?" He will teach and console those who seek Him. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 ~ Jesus called us back to Him, His eternal love heals our broken thinking. His Holy Spirit is a Person sent to be in us, that we would surrender all to Him and obey His will that we extend the fruit of His spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control." Galatians 5:22 - The living, transforming Word of God is for His children to savor. Let us come and lay down our burdens and trust that He will never leave or forsake us. ~ Psalm 23 "The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
FOREVER." AMEN

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Contantly Filled

The initial filling of the Holy Spirit occurs the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour.
1 Corin 12:13 - "Some of us are Jews, and other are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves and others are free. But God's Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the Body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit." God's Spirit, baptized each of us, He drenched us, He filled us, He indwelt the slaves, the Jews, the Gentiles with His Holy Spirit --- and NOW in 2011, those that received Jesus Christ drink from that same Holy Spirit. The living water that satisfies all thirst. We are filled by the same ever present, always with us, indwelt presence of the Holy Spirit, the fountain of Truth, the sure Way, the beacon of Light that is the same as Jesus. Jesus assures His disciples in John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you ANOTHER (Greek meaning another; exactly the same as Jesus) Counselor to be with you forever ---the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be IN you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him." Jesus continues to comfort those disciples that He walked beside, who He had shown miracles and tells them in John 14:25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, 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. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." He knew His disciples were troubled and afraid of losing the presence, the teaching of their visible Lord Jesus. He was teaching them that when He physically departs, that another, exactly like Him, the Counselor will teach them and remind them of the truth. Jesus says in John 15:9-18 "As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Now remain IN My love. IF you obey my commands, you will remain IN my love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father, I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit --- fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. This is My command: Love each other." ASK the HOLY SPIRIT to fill you, to change you, to teach you, to heal you, to lead you. Ephesians 1:13 "And you also were included in Christ when you HEARD the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having BELIEVED, you were marked in Him with a SEAL, the promised Holy Spirit." Being filled with the Holy Spirit is continuous ONLY as we pray to be forgiven. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit is a holy person, He must depart from you to grieve the loss of fellowship with you. Being holy He cannot co-exist within us where the blemish of sin spreads to infect our minds, our bodies, our souls. To be constantly FILLED with the Holy Spirit, we must constantly PRAY to be forgiven the oops of a lie, our dreaded gossip, our lustful thoughts, our sloth, our gluttony. Jesus directs us in Luke 11:9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? If you then, though you are evil, know how to GIVE GOOD GIFTS to children, how much MORE will your Father in heaven GIVE the HOLY SPIRIT to those who ASK HIM!" OBSERVE in the WORD: It is okay to ASK. Our heavenly Father gives us an everlasting GOOD GIFT of the Holy Spirit. God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit work together to encourage us, to comfort us, to guide us, to teach us, to lead us, to bless us. During a meal with His disciples Jesus instructed in the book of Acts chapters 1 through 8 "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…..(8) but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses….(15) In those days Peter stood up among the believers a group numbering about a hundred and twenty….(1:7) "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."….THE TRUTH is GOOD - because Jesus left the disciples and the Father sent the Holy Spirit --- NOW the number of believers in 2011 has grown way past 120 million! After Abram's father Terah died, God PROMISED to bless ABRAM and make him great. At the age of 75, God called Abram to leave his home in UR with his barren wife Sarai and trust God to lead him to the land God would show him. "The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." Genesis 12:7 ~ "Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." ~ "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:4-6 ~ "Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, 'Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety? - Then God said, "YES, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish My convenant with him as an EVERLASTING covenant for his descendants after him." Genesis 17:17-20 ~ Though Abraham demonstrated his faith through his obedience, it was his BELIEF in the Lord, not his actions that made Abraham right with God. When God asked Abraham to sacrifice the son he waited 100 years for, Abraham did not hesitate. For God knows our hearts and Abrahams heart was pure, transparent and honest, he LAUGHED at the thought of being a 100 year old dad! Through Abraham's family tree, Jesus Christ was born to save humanity. Through Christ, by CHOICE ~ people can have a personal relationship with God and be blessed beyond measure ~ Because God promised, because God said so! When we BELIEVED in our heart that Jesus is Lord, immediately the Holy Spirit fills us with His power, wisdom and strength to do that which would be impossible without Him. Our great commission is to touch every nation and fulfill God's will, that none should perish! AMEN