Cultivating Faith

Big Blessings in Little Packages

Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more that food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?” (Luke 12:22-24 NKJV)

“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all thes things shall be added to you.” (Luke 12:29-31 NKJV)

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about our state of mind and choosing to focus on our blessings. This week I want to show you how God shows up and blesses us even in the tiniest of ways. Remember that often times, God uses us – His children to send blessings, but sometimes He will surprise us. The blessings may come from people or places we couldn’t imagine.

Several years ago, I started keeping a vegetable garden. Whether starting it from seeds or purchasing the plants, I have grown a variety of vegetables every season. Some years have met with success and others a mixture of successes and failures. Gardening is such an expression of love and joy to me, because I always learn something new and many people in this area garden and love to share their ideas with me. This year I had decided I would start my garden from purchased plants. I have had a busy ten months and didn’t have the extra time to start from seeds this year. The problem was that we had a lot going on all through April and the month of May. Every time Alan and I would discuss the garden, some other barrier would come up and we just couldn’t figure out when we would get the garden started. I basically decided that I wouldn’t have a garden this year. I would just appreciate that some of the herbs I had grown in containers last year had burst into fabulous growth again this year. But God!!!

Last week I was driving home, and turning into our neighborhood, I saw a box at the edge of the road saying, “free plants”. I didn’t stop right then, because once I got home I had to run out again and I wanted to keep to my time schedule. As I was getting ready to leave the house again, I kept thinking about those plants. So we stopped as we were leaving the neighborhood and I ended up with several tomato plants – more variations, than I have ever tried growing before. We left some plants, because I wanted someone else to be blessed. However, the following day driving by the same house while running errands another box was there stating again, “free plants”. Stopping to look, there were several varieties of peppers. Again, there were more varieties than I have ever tried growing before. Then this week, while working outside putting up our greenhouse, our neighbor offered some broccoli and cucumber plants. I went from having no plants for this season to having an abudance of plants! We quickly went to work getting them transplanted into our garden.

I know many people will read this and think – that was just luck. But I don’t believe in luck, I believe in the goodness of my God. He is so good that He cares about everything that matters to me. It is His love and good character that drives Him to care for each of us. In the Epistle of First John, it states in chapter 3, verse 1, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” God loves to bless those who are in His family. He understands all our needs and not only fulfills those, but often times desires to give us things that give us joy. Keep looking for God’s big blessings even in the tiniest of packages! Amen.

RECOGNIZING THE FATHER

So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. (John 5:19 – 20 NLT)

During a recent conversation, the subject turned to the Bible and discussion of the Old Testament God. The person commented that the “God of the Old Testament is an angry God.” I really understood why they might have that perspective. In fact, I often preferred reading the New Testament over the Old Testament for years, because it was difficult for me to reconcile the God of the Israelites and God manifested through the life and actions of His son Jesus Christ.

In reading the New Testament, we have a clear lens of God as love. Jesus gave us the ultimate expression of love in not only laying down his life for his friends but for everyone (2 Peter 3:9).

In the Old Testament, God continued to demonstrate His faithfulness in keeping His promises to the Israelites as His chosen people, but honoring that they had free will. They often turned away from God. He remained steadfast. His position and faithfulness never shifted but man’s did (Lamentations 3:22-23). God was always working His plan for redemption for all mankind through His only Son. The laws established during the time of Moses was a way to demonstrate that without grace all mankind was lost.

Lord thank you for a love that is steadfast and unwavering. I see your deep love for all your people in both the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. Thank you for revealing your heart and plan, to restore us to an intimate relationship, with you through Jesus Christ. When I read about his ministry it unveils your heart. Keep helping me see You throughout the ages as Holy, Mighty, but also full of grace and mercy. I love you Abba. You are so good. Amen.

Beyond Blessed

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5 NKJV)

Listening to conversations happening around me, lately I have been hearing people spend a great deal of their time complaining about first world problems. They complain about the weather, when they have a roof over their head to keep them dry and warm. They complain about their health, but they have access to medical treatments and doctors – unlike many people in other countries. They complain about feeling alone, but they are only interested in the phone they hold in their hands. I have found myself often complain about traffic, but fail to recognize the vehicle that I have is a convenience and many others do not have access to the same.

As a nation, we have been so blessed, but we choose to complain instead of rejoice. We have become like spoiled children, undisciplined and ungrateful. Today, I need this reminder of how blessed I am. I will recall, with wonder, the goodness of God in my life. He has provided me with so many blessings: family, friends, a home, a job, and my health. Why do I have any right to complain about the goodness that God has poured into my life?

Maybe you see your blessings too, but the negativity that surrounds you from within the world, has twisted your thoughts and speech. Now is a great time to get on top of it. We do have control of our negative thoughts and emotions. We are told in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” When we spend time in God’s word and with Him in prayer it becomes harder to see anything but His goodness and His love. He is the perfect embodiment of love.

Next week, let’s start our mornings reflecting on how good and loving God has been to us. Before our feet even hit the floor for the day, spend time thanking Him for your blessings. Then our armor is in place (Ephesians 6:10-19), and we will be able to withstand the negativity of those around us. We will be able to throw off the shackles of their disappointments and tap into the joy of the Lord – maintaining our strength and our purpose to bring light into the dark places of this earth. Amen!

Two Become One

“Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:22-24 NKJV)

“Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate,’ And the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'” (Genesis 3:12-13 NKJV)

In the beginning of all creation, God created us in His image. Man and woman He created each of them – family was always part of His plan. The enemy’s plan is to destroy all that God has created and he often centers his attacks at families. When I was very young, my parents divorced. By the time I was five years old, my birth father was no longer a part of my life. There is something that happens to families when the person designed to be the head of a household is absent. We visibily see it all around the world. Some of the greatest damage is done to the children caught in the midst of the destruction broken families leave behind. For girls, it results in them struggling with their identity. The one who is supposed to love and teach them that they are priceless and worthy, has abandoned them. This leads girls and young women to doubt that they are worthy of love. For boys, it impacts their undstanding of leadership. Without that foundation of a male role model, young men often don’t understand what integrity looks like. Oftentimes, this broken family unit results in the next generation repeating the mistakes of the adults they have watched during their lives. It happened in my family. My grandparents were divorced, and then my parents, many of my aunts and uncles, and then my siblings and myself.

Generational curses stop, when we recognize our identity in Christ Jesus and understand God’s plan for our families. The weapon of every husband and wife will be the sword of the Spirit (or the word of God) as we are told in Ephesians 6:17. We must have Christ as our foundation, recognizing that He called us worthy when He gave His life as an atoning sacrifice on the cross. We are called chosen, a royal priesthood and a God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9). We have the best Father looking out for our best interests and we can depend upon Him. When we each understand the love of God, then we are able to love our spouse as we should and the family operates as God designed. I can’t change my past or my divorce, but God takes our ashes – the things the enemy uses to destroy us – and creates something even more beautiful. I have been happily married for almost seven years, to a man who honors God and understands the design God has for families.

We need to become aware of the battle that the enemy has waged against our families. We need to cast down every stronghold that comes against us. We have the weaponry at hand, we just need to pick it up and dust it off. Opening the Bible and reading God’s word is the most important equipment we will ever need for every season in our lives. Armed with His word, we will know how to stand and how to command seas to still or make mountains move. Jesus himself said that we will face trials and difficulties, but that we will not be overcome, because He overcame!

Father, I come to you now and thank you for the precious gift of your word, inspired by your Holy Spirit. I thank you for the way you designed the family. I declare that your people, sons and daughters, will walk in their identity. They will recognize they are worthy, because You call them worthy. It cost you everything to redeem what was lost in the garden, but you gave it willingly. I declare that the family will be strong and the enemy’s plans to attack the family unit is defeated! Jesus you have overcome and you ensured that we have victory in every battle. We will walk in the knowledge that in seeking after you, and loving you, we are equipped to love and serve one another. You are love and we will embody that love in our families and break any strongholds the enemy tries to establish. From generation to generation we will have families function as you, Lord designed – and the two shall become one flesh. Amen.

The Great Lie

“but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 3:22-24 NASB95)

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. (Romans 10:9-10 NLT)

I believe we have an enemy, and he hates everything God created and everything God represents. That means he hates goodness and righteousness. Satan hates life and health. He hates truth and love. We are told that he was given dominion over the earth through Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-15). It is his plan to keep us separated from the love of God. Satan is a liar, but the great lie is often one we tell ourselves – “I’m okay”, or “I am a good person, I am certainly not as bad as other people in the world”. The enemy loves it when we believe we are self sufficient or compare ourselves to others. This viewpoint keeps us from feeling convicted and then we have no need for repentance or salvation. Repentance simply means recognizing that you need to change.

This world has become very proficient in helping us become self absorbed. I can fall for it as easily as the next person. Give me an advertisement about a hair product that can make my hair shiny, and manageable -I am instantly captivated. Well I used to be- maybe now the thing that entices me is a pretty dress. But worldly things can not fulfill us. They leave us with temporary happiness, because they will never fill the space in us that was designed to hold the spirit of the living God. God gives us new life. Life to our spirit, which then enables us to be filled with eternal things: joy, peace, love, faith, kindness, goodness, patience and gentleness. These attributes that fill us are the very nature of God. We become less consumed with things to fill our own lives and start living a life for others. No one is ever too far away from God that they can’t turn back to Him and no one is too old to choose Him. He loves when we call out to Him whether we are 2 or 92 years of age. We are His creation, His beloved. He sacrificed His only Son so that we all could go from death to eternal life. We just have to stop lying to ourselves – there is no other way. We cannot make it on our own, we are not good enough, but there is grace – the most beautiful gift given from our Heavenly Father.

It isn’t about anyone else, this is only about you and God. This relationship, this fellowship, this life-long journey cannot be walked out through anyone else but you. All who believe in their heart and speak aloud in faith that Jesus Christ is their Savior will have salvation. It is still the best decision I have ever made. It is my heart’s desire that each of you and your family and children to a thousand generations will make the same choice!

Heavenly Father, I thank you for revealing to our hearts a love like no other. You made a way to make us righteous through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ. Thank you for this gift of grace that I did not deserve. Your love is the thing that fulfills me and sustains me. It has been amazing to see some of my own family give their hearts to you and have their lives transformed. I can’t wait to see you do it again and again and again. Amen!

From Mourning to Dancing

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 NASB95

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,” Isaiah 61:1-2 NASB95

Thinking about Mother’s Day as it approaches, it is with mixed emotions. I am so very thankful and blessed to celebrate my Mom. She is generous and kind. She loves her family and has always put their many needs above her own. I am also blessed to have many other women in my life who have shown me great love, provided guidance and held me up when I needed strength greater than my own. These women deserve to be honored on Mother’s Day. However, it is a day that I also, like many others, grieve. On this day, there is a sadness that I usually keep boxed up. Things I don’t speak about often and keep wrapped tightly. I know I am not alone and that many other women feel as bittersweet about this day. The loss of a mother, the loss of child, a miscarriage, the woman who prayed and believed for a child that never came. These things speak of lost time, chances and opportunities to make precious memories. In my spirit I recognize that these things were not God’s design. Loss was never meant to be a part of our lives. God created us (Genesis 1-3) and placed us in a perfect garden. We were placed in charge of everything created, but we wanted more. We wanted equality with God. Our choice ushered in the knowledge of good and bad, joy and sorrow. Since then God has been working to restore us to His original plan. He is working to restore us to eternity with Him.

I believe God is who He says and is more than able to do all He has promised. I choose to look past my “knowledge” and trust in the Creator of all things. In Revelation, chapter 21, verse 4, states: “God Himself will be among them and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain; for the first things have passed away.”

There are times in life when I have to trust in God and not my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). There will always be things in this life that will be a mystery until I am standing face to face with my God and King (Deuteronomy 29:29). But I know that He has provided protection when I needed it, strength when I was weak and a peace when I had none. He has taken times of sorrow and replaced them with joy. The pain of loss will never fully dissipate, but the intensity of it lessens with time. Not because we forget, but because God is faithful to pour out His supernatural grace and peace when it is needed most.

Lord, I pray for my sisters in Christ. They are grandmothers, mothers, aunts, daughters, sisters, nieces and cousins. They have an incredible impact on the lives around them. I speak Your strength upon them. I declare that they recognize Your Spirit in them and allow You to work in mighty ways through them. Comfort them when they feel the sting of loss and pour out your peace that embraces them through it all. Help us to see one another in all the aspects of life’s journey and to encourage one another building each up in Your most perfect love. May they recall Your outpouring of grace and mercy over their lives and allow it to build their faith in Your everlasting goodness. May they feel the power of Your love upon them this day and all throughout the year. Fill their Mother’s Day with rejoicing and dancing. For they are above all Your daughters and You love them more than they can even imagine! Amen!

What’s Growing in Your Garden?

I was working in my garden today, after neglecting it way too long this spring. I felt like the Holy Spirit was speaking some wisdom to me that I wanted to share. First, as I was pulling out the weeds that had grown in among my flowers, I felt the spirit of God whisper, this is what can happen when you neglect spending time with me. Things that you don’t want in your life can begin to take root. In the bed up by my mailbox, clover had grown rapidly, but it was difficult to pull out. The roots had embedded deep into the soil and I had to work hard and pulling them out. Most of us who love God are not looking to sin, but it is often like a weed, slowly taking root and destroying the the garden it enters. Secondly, I noticed that often the weeds grew close to or even within the base of a healthy plant, making it even harder to tear out. Weeds are not desirable in a garden, because they steal the nutrients from the soil needed for healthy plants to grow. Sin is like this and steals our joy, our peace, our loving kindness and replaces it with fear, shame, anger and bitterness. This is why we have to be so careful with what we are feeding our spirits. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to, “Guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of your life.” In Hebrews 12:15 we are instructed, “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” I see the hand of God at work in our hearts the same way a gardener creates a garden: tilling, fertilizing, watering, weeding and pruning. It is through His loving hand that we can grow to fullness and bear the fruit which He promised is ours when we stay connected to Him. Our part is to understand that the garden of our spirit requires our care and preseveration. So I ask you again, “What is growing in your garden?” Are you planting the word of God or the cares of this world? One will grow into a faith-filled life of purpose and the other will drain you of all life. Just as a garden requires us to tend it, so our spirit requires us to continually ensure that we are feeding it with the Word of God which promises to help us stay filled so that we may overflow.

Thank you Father, that you allow me to see You through all of creation. You amaze me in the beauty and majesty that is around me in every season. Help me to be aware of what I allow into my heart, mind and spirit. Reveal to me things that will steal from the purpose and calling You placed on my life and allow me to be pruned that I may yield fruit that will bless those You called me to interact with in all areas of life. May I become more like Your son, Jesus Christ, that I may be pleasing in Your sight. I love you, Lord. Amen.

At The Table

You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. (Psalm 23:5 NKJV)

To prepare means – to plan, to purposefully think about something before it happens. So the Lord purposefully decided to hold a banquet in your honor. He decided how the table would be set and which decorations would be used. He decided to pick the foods that would delight you the most. He chose to show that He was honoring you before all the world, even those people who were enemies. During this feast, you will be anointed wiith oil. This anointing symbolizes that you are set apart. In the Old Testament, the king would be anointed with oil to show he was chosen by God to lead the people of Israel. You arre being anointed as kings and queens. As part of the family of the Most High King, you belong to the royal line. For the King of kings is in you!!

I love how often Jesus linked things in the Old Testament to his ministry. During a meal with the disciples He tells them, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3) Jesus purposefully is planning about bringing us home to live with Him for all eternity. Our eternal lives will be filled with peace, joy, and we will get to sit at the table with our God and enjoy worshipping in His presence.

Our God not only desires to show us honor now, but we will be given the honor of celebrating with Him one day in Heaven. But here, right now, He wants our cup – our inner spirit to overflow with the gifts that He imparts through His Holy Spirit. He invites us to come fellowship with Him now so that we will be filled again with His presence, His power and His anointing. Go and sit at the table your Father has prepared for you today and be filled. Amen.

Act of Worship

Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” (John 12:3-4 NLT)

Nard was an essential oil created from a Himalayan plant, Nardostachys jatamansi, which is from the Honeysuckle plant family. It has been utilized for medicinal purposes as well as in oils and perfumes for thousands of years. It would have been imported into the region surrounding Judea and Israel making it expensive. Because of her love for Jesus, and to honor him as the Messiah, she poured this perfume on his feet and then wiped his feet with her hair. What an amazing act of worship. Jewish women did not often uncover their hair in public. She did not consider the opinion of others but took it upon herself to act as a humble servant. She clearly desired to show her Lord that she loved him and wanted to honor him. It would have and did shock some of the other members that were gathered at that residence for this celebratory meal.

Do we stop and consider all that the Lord has done for us? Are we willing to abandon our sense of dignity and pride all to give him the glory and honor that he deserves? In the book of Second Samuel, David dances and leaps before the Lord as he celebrates bringing the Ark of the Lord to the City of David. When his own wife Michal chastises him for looking foolish, David declares, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, tor appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore, I will play music before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified that this and will be humble in my own sight.” (Chapter 6, vs. 21-22)

When we spend time in worship whether privately or publicly, our eyes should always be fixed firmly on our God who has done good things for us. He is the one who has given everything to us and provides for all our needs. He is worthy of every act of praise. We should abandon any sense of pride and remember the outpouring of Jesus’ love poured out in blood upon the cross at Calvary. He is worthy of all our praise. Are we willing to look undignified for the Lord?

Change Has Purpose

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. At time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. (Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 3 NLT)

Year after year, we have spring, summer, fall and winter. There is a cycle of birth, growth and eventually death. We see it all around us, but when changes happen in our lives we can suddenly feel out of control. This illusion we create within our minds is because we do not grasp that God is not hindered by time. He existed before time began. He is and always was. He was not created. He is eternal. Our construct of time is limited because we have a natural body and our understanding happens in the reality of what we can see.

I recognize that I am not the same person I was just five years ago. My body has changed. I have to focus some of my time on maintaining my health. I did not have to do these things when I was younger. Those things were just a natural by-product of life at that time. What came easily for me then may no longer be as easy now, but I find ways to adapt to my current situation.

Many people believe their value is based upon what they can physically do. They focus solely on their abilities and when those abilities begin to change, they are lost. They no longer have an idea of their value or worth. It can be the same for people who have created their identity and lives based upon their careers. When they retire, they can lose their sense of purpose and worth. In Isaiah 43, verse 1, God speaks to Jacob and to all of Israel. The people of Israel often identified themselves by their circumstances. They often felt lost and abandoned. They failed to see that their own stubbornness and hardness of the heart created a barrier between themselves and the Lord. Hear what God has to say to Israel, “O Israel, the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you, I have called you by name; you are mind.’”

When we recognize that our true value is in being a child of the Most High God, change will not cause us to lose our way. We recognize that God’s design allows for change and usually growth as a by-product. Without these two things, we become unproductive, fruitless and are not useful in the kingdom of God. We need to stop looking at the physical, the seen things and look at the supernatural. The things in the realm of God are so vastly different from what this world values. This world will pass away. We will live in a newly created heaven and earth. We will have new bodies, because this one is designed to perish. Right now, we need to embrace the changes that occur and recognize that God planned it this way so that we may continue to adapt, to grow, and to bloom in whatever season God plants us in. Everything has a season. Seasons have purpose. Don’t allow the changes in life to hinder you, but trust in God. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “’For I know the plan I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” God did not say that His plans for our future stop after we reach a certain age. No matter what our age, we all have a purpose in the kingdom of God. We are all called to serve Him in some capacity. Until He calls us home, we need to recognize that we are essential to His Church. Let us all fix our eyes on the God who calls us by name. He has ordained every day of our lives before we were born. Ask Him to reveal the next steps in His plan for your life. God loves it when we come to Him and ask for wisdom, trusting in His ways and not our own definitions of purpose.