Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Hiya!!!

Sometimes I am hit afresh with how powerful the word of God is. I was at Max's Karate class today and saw his teacher using his nerf sword to get kids to watch and move fast. They had so much fun jumping and ducking to dodge the foam sword. It made me think of God's word and this verse. I kept thinking of it on the way home with little "Hiyas!" peppered in periodically and I liked it.

(Hebrews 4:12)
"The word of God is living and active,(Hiha!)sharper than any two-edged sword, (Hiya!)Piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, (Hiya!)and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hiya!)."

Awesome huh?! Here are some more...

(Isaiah 55:11)
"So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; (Hiya!)it shall not return to me empty, (Hiya!) but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, (Hiya!)and prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Hiya!)."

(Psalms 33:4-9)
"For the word of the Lord is upright; and his work is done in faithfulness, (Hiya!) He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord (Hiya!). By the work of the Lord the heavens were made, and all thier host by the breath of his mouth, (Hiya!) He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses (Hiya!). Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him (Hiya!)! For he spoke and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth (Hiya!)."

How great is our God! How powerful his words! Rejoice in them, treasure them, feast on them. They are our comfort and defense, our joy and our prick of truth. We need this sword! Pick yours up today and use it...Hiya!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Divine Difficulties

I don't know about the rest of you, but my week has been pretty hectic and challenging. My mother fell and broke her femer. Recuperating has been tricky for her since she has previous injuries (many!) which already diminish her strength and balance. She is so frustrated and discouraged it breaks my heart. I wish I could do more for her. It is hard. Life can be hard.

I was talking to my dad about this at the hospital and he was expressing his frustration that God doesn't seem to protect us. It makes us feel like he is weak, impotent and uncaring at times, but that is not the truth. I am not down on my dad for expressing this thought/feeling. I certainly have struggled with it many times. We all do on a daily basis. Let's get real here, no pretenses or false super-faith. No posers allowed.

I appreciate my dad for being honest and bold enough to speak truthfully about his feelings. But our feelings are not fact. Faith is not based on feelings. The truth is the truth and it never changes. Jesus is the truth and He never changes. There are no good days for God or bad days when he is asleep at the wheel. God never sleeps. He always cares and He is always powerful...more than we could ever imagine. Thank God that He is also always patient, forgiving and slow to anger.

With that stated, why do we endure hardships if we have a good, powerful God who loves us? Well, for one thing "Free Will" comes up again. He loves us enough to give us a choice of free will. Love is a choice, not a feeling. Without a choice we cannot love. We would just be robots. No, God loves us enough to give us a choice so that we can truly love him if we choose to do so. We can follow him and his ways or follow our own. There are always consequences involved. These consequences of our sin affect not just ourselves, but everyone around us. The fall out and damage it leaves behind is like a ripple affect that keeps moving out in ever widening circles.

But my mom's accident, for example, wasn't due to anyone's sin or carelessness. She was being careful and it wasn't anyone's fault. Sometimes things just happen. Why? I don't really know. Only God knows. I don't believe he causes them to happen, just like he doesn't cause sin to happen either. But he does promise to use everything for His good purposes, to bring good out of it and to be with us every step of the way. He will never leave us or forsake us. Even Jesus, the prophets and the great heros of the bible endured hardships and death. Why would we be excluded?

Why would God allow bad things to happen? We may never get an answer to that. Not until heaven at least. But do believe that He will use them. Not one of our tears is wasted or forgotten. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would not be the person I am if life hadn't involved some struggles. If life was always easy what would I learn? How would I grow? When would I ever notice that I need God and Jesus? When would I ever be motivated enough to move out of myself and my little comfort zone, my shallow, small, self-involved little world? Never. Not on my own. I would never be in need or have the opportunities to experience miracles. I would totally miss seeing blessings and provision. My God would be me. SCARY!

No, I have to say that I have never grown in times of plenty (well, maybe physically...putting on a few pounds, but not spiritually). I can only become the person God made me to be by working through the difficulties that come with life. Without divine difficulties we would all be stagnant and stagnant water is not healthy and can be dangerous, even deadly. God knows this. He knows us well, better than we know ourselves.

Besides that, living life all safe (which I admit I live for security with my anxiety prone cycles)would make us comotose. Would that really be living? We have to know pain in order to know pleasure. As much as I hate to say it, pain can be a blessing. It wakes us up, signals danger and motivates us to change and do something...to move.

So, in our times of struggle, let's not struggle with God. Reach out to him and cling to him. He is there and waiting. Let him walk through the desert with you, carry you if needed. Don't doubt his goodness and love for a minute. If you feel yourself waning, read his word, his promises and speak the truth. Drown out the lies of the enemy. Drown out your fears and replace them with His Truth. Nothing can stand up to His Truth, not our fears, not lies, not doubts, not anything. Our God is good and he loves us. That is always true!!!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Be Prepared

READ AND JUST PASS IT ON.


Juval Aviv was the Israeli Agent upon whom the movie ' Munich ' was
based. He was Golda Meir's bodyguard -- she appointed him to track down
and bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who took the Israeli
athletes hostage and killed them during the Munich Olympic Games.

In a lecture in New York City a few weeks ago, he shared information
that EVERY American needs to know -- but that our government has not
yet shared with us.

He predicted the London subway bombing on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox
News stating publicly that it would happen within a week. At the time,
O'Reilly laughed and mocked him saying that in a week he wanted him
back on the show. But, unfortunately, within a week the terrorist
attack had occurred.

Juval Aviv gave intelligence (via what he had gathered in Israel and
the Middle East ) to the Bush Administration about 9/11 a month before
it occurred. His report specifically said they would use planes as
bombs and target high profile buildings and monuments. Congress has
since hired him as a security consultant.

Now for his future predictions. He predicts the next terrorist attack
on the U.S. Will occur within the next few months.

Forget hijacking airplanes, because he says terrorists will NEVER try
and hijack a plane again as they know the people onboard will never go
down quietly again. Aviv believes our airport security is a joke --
that we have been reactionary rather than proactive in developing
strategies that are truly effective.

For example:

1) Our airport technology is outdated. We look for metal, and the new
explosives are made of plastic..

2) He talked about how some idiot tried to light his shoe on fire.
Because of that, now everyone has to take off their shoes. A group of
idiots tried to bring aboard liquid explosives. Now we can't bring
liquids on board. He says he's waiting for some suicidal maniac to
pour liquid explosive on his underwear; at which point, security will
have us all traveling naked! Every strategy we have is reactionary.

3) We only focus on security when people are heading to the gates.

Aviv says that if a terrorist attack targets airports in the future,
they will target busy times on the front end of the airport when/where
people are checking in. It would be easy for someone to take two
suitcases of explosives, walk up to a busy check-in line, ask a person
next to them to watch their bags for a minute while they run to the
restroom or get a Dr
ink, and then detonate the bags BEFORE security even gets involved.

In Israel , security checks bags BEFORE people can even ENTER the airport.

Aviv says the next terrorist attack here in America is imminent and
will involve suicide bombers and non-suicide bombers in places where
large groups of people congregate. (I. E., Disneyland, Las Vegas
casinos, big cities (New York, San Francisco, Chicago, etc..) and that
it will also include shopping malls, subways in rush hour, train
stations, etc., as well as rural America this time (Wyoming, Montana,
etc.).

The attack will be characterized by simultaneous detonations around the
country (terrorists like big impact), involving at least 5-8 cities,
including rural areas.

Aviv says terrorists won't need to use suicide bombers in many of the
larger cities, because at places like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas ,
they can simply valet park a car loaded with explosives and walk away.

Aviv says all of the above is well known in intelligence circles, but
that our U. S. Government does not want to 'alarm American citizens'
with the facts. The world is quickly going to become 'a different
place', and issues like 'global warming' and political correctness will
become totally irrelevant.

On an encouraging note, he says that Americans don't have to be
concerned about being nuked. Aviv says the terrorists who want to
destroy America will not use sophisticated weapons. They like
to use suicide as a front-line approach.. It's cheap, it's easy, it's
effective; and they have an infinite abundance of young militants more
than willing to 'meet their destiny'.

He also says the next level of terrorists, over which America should
be most concerned, will not be coming from abroad. But will be,
instead, 'homegrown' -- having attended and been educated in our own
schools and universities right here in the U.. S. He says to look for
'students' who frequently travel back and forth to the Middle East .
These young terrorists will be most dangerous because they will know
our language and will fully understand the habits of Americans; but
that we Americans won't know/understand a thing about them.

Aviv says that, as a people, Americans are unaware and uneducated about
the terrorist threats we will, inevitably, face. America still has only
have a handful of Arabic and Farsi speaking people in our intelligence
networks, and Aviv says it is critical that we change that fact SOON.

So, what can America do to protect itself? From an intelligence
perspective, Aviv says the U.S. needs to stop relying on satellites and
technology for intelligence.. We need to, instead, follow Israel 's,
Ireland 's and England 's hands-on examples of human intelligence, both
from an infiltration perspective as well as to trust 'aware' citizens
to help. We need to engage and educate ourselves as citizens; however,
our U. S. government continues to treat us, its citizens, 'like
babies'. Our government thinks we 'can't handle the truth' and are
concerned that we'll panic if we understand the realities of terrorism.
Aviv says this is a deadly mistake.

Aviv recently created/executed a security test for our Congress, by
placing an empty briefcase in five well-traveled spots in five major
cities. The results? Not one person called 911 or sought a policeman to
check it out. In fact, in Chicago , someone tried to steal the briefcase!

In comparison, Aviv says that citizens of Israel are so well 'trained'
that an unattended bag or package would be reported in seconds by
citizen(s) who know to publicly shout, 'Unattended Bag!' The area would
be quickly & calmly cleared by the citizens themselves. But,
unfortunately, America hasn't been yet 'hurt enough' by terrorism for
their government to fully understand the need to educate its citizens
or for the government to understand that it's their citizens who are,
inevitably, the best first-line of defense against terrorism.

Aviv also was concerned about the high number of children here in
America who were in preschool and kindergarten after 9/11, who were
'lost' without parents being able to pick them up, and about our
schools that had no plan in place to best care for the students until
parents could get there. (In New York City , this was days, in some
cases!)

He stresses the importance of having a plan, that's agreed upon within
your family, to respond to in the event of a terrorist emergency. He
urges parents to contact their children's schools and demand that the
schools, too, develop plans of actions, as they do in Israel .

Does your family know what to do if you can't contact one another by
phone? Where would you gather in an emergency? He says we should all
have a plan that is easy enough for even our youngest children to
remember and follow.

Aviv says that the U. S. government has in force a plan that, in the
event of another terrorist attack, will immediately cut-off EVERYONE's
ability to use cell phones, blackberries, etc., as this is the
preferred communication source used by terrorists and is often the way
that their bombs are detonated.

How will you communicate with your loved ones in the event you cannot
speak? You need to have a plan.


If you believe what you have just read, then you must feel compelled to
send to every concerned parent or guardian, grandparents, uncles,
aunts, whatever and whomever. Nothing will happen if you choose not to
do so, but in the event it does happen, this particular email will
haunt you..."I should have sent this to..... ", but I didn't believe it
and just deleted it as so much trash from old Bill Jones!!!

_________________________________________________________________________________
Ok,you can think I'm crazy if you want to. (Not that you didn't think that already). Anyway, I saw this e-mail and it hit a nerve in me. I have heard of several people getting stocked up on items in case the bird flue, swine flue or something happened. Then I have a close friend I trust inheritantly who has been feeling compelled to do the same, but for another reason. She has sensed God has been warning and preparing her for a national catastrophe. She didn't know what and was embarrased to tell people she knew. she finally overcame her fear and reluctance after almost a year of this directing. She is a woman of God who prayerfully seeks God's guidance. This is definitely not a silly notion or idea she got in her head. This dramatic information is not in her nature or history. She is as solid as a rock.

Recently she has heard from a few sources she trusts that they have had visions of fires in all the major cities in America and provision sources cut off. This was a confirmation to her. Then, I recieved this e-mail. So, whether you think I am crazy or not, I am relaying the message. Better safe than sorry. Better prepared than not. It can't hurt.

At first I felt scared and freaked out by this. But I have to remind myself that there is only so much I can do. The rest is in God's hands and if needed he will provide. I don't mean to sound all Doomsday-ish, but God did warn Noah didn't he? Anyway, only God knows his plans. It is not for me to worry about, nor for you to worry about, just to listen and be prepared for whatever if anything happens. Our God is in control. He is bigger than anything!

I find myself singing to myself the song, "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty there's nothing my God cannot do". Remember his goodness and "have no anxiety about anything for He cares for you" (Philippians 4:6). "My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). So have no fear beloved. Just keep your eyes open and be prepeared, always and rest in the father's hands.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Wonderfully Made Mess

I think everyone struggles with their self image. We see ourselves through our own eyes, as well as the eyes of the world around us. That is the problem. We shouldn't look at what the world says, we are in the world, but not of it. We are His! We are the adopted children of god, formed and fashioned by his own hand, with works prepared in advance for us to do, every day planned and laid out for us, known by him...fearfully and wonderfully made! Amazing! But why is it so hard to believe, grasp? The world around us is so loud. It is intrusive, pushing its way in and taunting us with what it thinks we should be, which is almost always the opposite of what God says. The more you read His word, the more clear it becomes. This is why we need to spend more time in it. Sigh, yes I struggle with that I admit.

It reminds me of Max being teased about being little. At his yound 2 year old age (when it started, believe it or not)he and his peers thought that the only rule was that Bigger was always Better. Max struggled with this and even used to root for the giant Goliath when he watched the movie or read the story of David and Goliath. It took a long time of repeatedly talking to him about what is really important, which is being big on the inside...which he definintely is! The reality and truth of his struggle saddened me. It is all of our struggle. Whether it is power,size, money, beauty, image, influence...it is all the same...a passing gift only of importance in the fact that it can be used by God if allowed, just like all of our undeserved gifts. The only one true thing that is powerful, beautiful, big, important...is our Lord and God...and Him in us. The more of him we have in us, guiding us, empowering us, walking with us,the bigger we are on the inside.

Anyway, this is what God says is important and worthy. "God does not see what man sees. Man looks at the outer appearance, but God looks at the heart." "Our beauty should not come from outward appearances, such as the braiding of hair or the wearing of gold and fine jewelry. It should come from the inner self, the unfading beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit Which Is Of Great Worth In God's Sight."

Growing up I used to be very shy. My twin sister did all of the socializing for me. I just tagged along. This verse was one I memorized and clung to. It carried me and saved me. Our Lord and His word tends to do that if we let it. Did I tell you that I need to spend more time in his word? Yeah right. The truth hurts and helps.

The other side of this problem of self image is that at the same time that we belittle ourselves and God's good work in us, we also struggle with the sin of seeing ourselves as better, more deserving than we are. What is up with that? That is what causes us to not trust God. It is a sort of pschizophrenic faith. "Our nature wars with itself so that we do not do what we want to do." Does this all sound familiar? It should. It is God's word and He, who created us, knows us so well...so well!

So what should we do...give up? Never! Continue fighting the good fight. Regularly go to God in prayer, confess your sins so that you can see yourself honestly and get rid of any barrier between you and God. Then you are in a position to hear His voice. He will tell you the truth and remind you as many times as he needs to (for eternity) Who you are, Whose you are and How much you are worth. You are precious to Him, loved and forgiven. That is all we need to know. That truth alone, even when whispered to us as he quietly sings over us, is louder than any lies of the enemy or the world around us.

Fight on beloved! Stand in the truth of who you are and walk boldly everyday in whatever work he has called you to do for the moment. We are only as strong as the amount of power and provision we are willing to receive from our Lord. He is waiting to give it to you daily, just open up your clenched little fist and receive.
"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7) Believe the truth. Don't get your vision from the world, get it from the one who made you. You can do all things through Christ. Nothing is impossible with God.

I challenge you to read Psalm 139 to yourself every day this week or month, or more if needed. Can you tell I read it alot? Yeah, I need it too. Anyway, this has always been a favorite for me too, and helped me a lot. Try also reading it by inserting your name it it. Believe it and see the truth in it. If you do you will be amazed at how good our God is. Never forget that you are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made! Yes I am a fearfully and wonderfully made mess at times, yet wonderfully all the less!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Let God Move!

This last week I have felt like God was nudging me to let Him move in my life. I need to give him room to move. I have the tendency to squeeze Him out with the business and concerns of the day. My natural instict is to take control, or at least try to, as flimsy and inadequate as my abilities are. Anyway, I am trying to be more open for God to work. This takes flexibility, keeping our eyes on him and asking His guidance often. Most of the time I just go around in a fog, overly focused on the next job to do, I am too busy for God I am ashamed to admit.

If I want to see miracles at work and for God to make changes, to catch glimpses of my heavenly father and savior, taste and see of them...then I must give them room. I must put myself in a position (no matter how vulnerable it may be or feel)to need and receive. I must increase my awareness of how big God is, how good He is, how perfect He is. And yes, I must increase my awareness of how little, sinful and imperfect, weak, needy...etc. (I could go on forever)I am. There must be that truth, that honest, proper perspective for our eyes to be open to His work. We have to be in a right position ro receive, otherwise we will miss it. We won't see the opportunity or gift or else we will assume that it occured because of our abilities and effort and not God. I don't want to even think of the number of times I have probably missed it. Our God and Savior are gentlemen. They give us free will and never force themselves or their way on us.

Another barrier is unforgiveness of others, even ourselves. We have to forgive since He first forgave us. Who are we to do any less? It is not just for others, but even more for ourselves that we must forgive. God wants to unlock, unclog the barriers of unforgiveness and sin that keep Him at a distance from us. He longs to draw close if we would but let him. We must be aware of our faults and sins, but not be overwhelmed by them so that they don't paralyze us, but instead propel us towards our Lord. We are not defined by power, money, beauty, intelligence, status...none of these last. Everything fades, but the love of God and Jesus. That is how we need to define ourselves every day. We are forgiven, loved, his children, his beloved and we belong to the Great "I AM"! Trust Him enough to give him room to move in your life. Let down your guard today and be open to new things He may bring, work he may want you to do (prepared for you in advance). Walk in faith, confidence, boldness never letting timidity get in the way. He has great plans for you...Do them! Don't miss out.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Graham Cooke

Below is a video from Graham Cooke. He is an awesome preacher I recently found, yesterday actually, from none other than my hair dresser, Barb Giordano. Like I have said before, she has all the hook-ups and info. If you go to U-tube you can see many other videos from him. They are great. He is full of the Spirit, real, and speaks the word in truth. I hope the videos bless you as much as they have blessed me.

Beloved, this video reminded and inspired me to spend more time resting in God's love and grace. There is nothing better for us and nothing that pleases Him more. Yes, we are loved by a great, good and relentless God, not because of anything we have done, but because of who He is. It is his nature to love. He cannot help but love us. Anything else is contrary to His nature. And He never changes. We may change, but he doesn't. He cannot love us any more or less than He does right now. His ability to love can't increase, decrease or change in any way. Only our ability to receive His love can change. Open up and recieve. We are his beloved. That is something to rejoice about!

Graham Cooke's Inheritance