Hiding in the Dark

"While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do." 

~ Hebrews 5:7-8 The Message

When I was a little girl I was afraid of the dark.(Truth be known...I was afraid of the dark long into my adult life too!) Sooo, growing up, I would make sure my bedroom door was cracked open so that the light coming from down the hallway could peak in and allow me to “see” in the dark. As I got older and lived on my own I continued this habit by leaving a light on outside my darken bedroom. After I was married I felt “safer” in the dark....but discovered that a bedside clock gave off just enough light to dispel the darkness without disturbing my husband’s preference for sleeping in a darkened room.

Strangely...my fear of the dark did not return when my husband died. Instead of feeling frightened and anxious of the dark...the utter blackness now beckoned and invited me to come live in it. 

I never knew what “living in” real darkness was until Brad's death threw me deeper into it's depths. I never imagined I’d want to run into it’s bleakness...but that is what I blindly rushed towards in trying to hide from the light of my crushed spirit and all my broken dreams. 

It was soon after I had exhausted myself from my attempt to escape the light that glared into my overwhelming sorrow and grief that I discovered I had sat down in a place that seemed too deep and far away from any source of light to help lead me out. I had little strength left and my faith to climb out of it’s dark cold grip was just as weak. I thought I was alone with only darkness to cover me...

It was in this darkest time, when my world had gone black and I could not find my way...that I heard the Lord call my name. As I reached out to The Lord weeping expressing all my pain...I prayed...asking for Him to deliver me from one more breath of grief...one more heartbeat of sorrow. I asked Him to take away the circumstances I was in and change the course of my future as I saw it...for to me...my life had no redeeming purpose anymore.  

"While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow...”

Do you have any idea what it means to me to know that Jesus understands my darkest thoughts and my heavy burden of sorrow? When Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion in the Garden at the Mount of Olives...the Bible tells me that His tears were falling from the pain of sorrow He was feeling. 

Now, I’m not suggesting that my dark hours should be held next to Jesus’ sacrifice. But I do believe I can take from His dark hours in that garden...that God’s mercy delivered an angel full of light to stand watch over His Son and comfort Him as He prepared to do His Father’s Will. Darkness cannot hide it’s menacing dissuasion from the light of God!   

In my days of great sorrow Jesus did the same for me. He was faithful to break the dark and shine His light so I could "see" He was with me. His presence comforted me and His promises gave me the courage to look at Him and listen for His voice to trust Him to lead me (and stay with me) into the spacious place He had already prepared for me to go. 

Unlike Jesus that night in the Garden...I often took my eyes away from God and back on the darkness that threatened to consume me...But Jesus would not let go of me...even when I let go of Him. His light could not be dimmed by my lack of faith...for He is always faithful to His own. He refused to allow the darkness to hide me (even when it was my prayer that it would) and He always reached out for me and lifted me up into His saving arms of mercy until I was strong enough to take the next step with Him beside me. 

...When I discerned God's light shining into my darkness...I don't recall those moments bringing "happiness" back into my life. What it did bring was relief from my fears and calmness to my anxious thoughts. The steady Light of Christ renewed my hope which lifted my spirit from total despair allowing His joy in me to become my joy in Him. 

God is patient and His love never fails...even in the dark! 

Psalms 139:1-18 

  Lord, you have examined me

    and know all about me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I get up.

    You know my thoughts before I think them.

3 You know where I go and where I lie down.

    You know everything I do.

4 Lord, even before I say a word,

    you already know it.

5 You are all around me—in front and in back—

    and have put your hand on me.

6 Your knowledge is amazing to me;

    it is more than I can understand.

7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?

    Where can I run from you?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there.

    If I lie down in the grave, you are there.

9 If I rise with the sun in the east

    and settle in the west beyond the sea,

10 even there you would guide me.

    With your right hand you would hold me.

11 I could say, “The darkness will hide me.

    Let the light around me turn into night.”

12 But even the darkness is not dark to you.

    The night is as light as the day;

    darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made my whole being;

    you formed me in my mother’s body.

14 I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.

    What you have done is wonderful.

    I know this very well.

15 You saw my bones being formed

    as I took shape in my mother’s body.

When I was put together there,

16 you saw my body as it was formed.

All the days planned for me

    were written in your book

    before I was one day old.

17 God, your thoughts are precious to me.

    They are so many!

18 If I could count them,

    they would be more than all the grains of sand.

When I wake up,

    I am still with you.

Glory! 

Kathy 

Better Than "OK"

"But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus." 1 Timothy 13-14 The Message

In Beth Moore's book "Breaking Free" she writes;

“Imagine in heaven God lovingly shows you His plan for your earthly life. You see footprints walking through each day. On many days, two sets of footprints appear. You inquire: "Father, are those my footprints everyday, and is the second set of prints when you joined me?" He answers, "No, My precious child. The consistent footprints are Mine. The second set of footprints are when you joined Me." "Where are You going, Father?" 

"To the destiny I planned for you, hoping you'd follow." "But, Father, where are my footprints all those times?" "Sometimes you went back to look at old resentments and habits. Sometimes, you departed from My path and chose your own instead. Other times, your footprints can even be seen on another person's path because you liked their plan better. At other times, you simply stopped because you would not let go of something you could not take with you." "But even if I didn't walk with You every day, we ended up OK, didn't we?" He holds you close and smiles, "Yes, child, we ended up OK. But you see, OK was never what I had in mind for you." "Father, what are those golden treasure boxes on certain days?" "Blessings, My child, I had for you along the way. Those that are open are those you received. Those still closed were days you did not walk with Me."

________________

For years I asked God to walk with me...to bless the plans I had made. Really? Oh the loving patience of The Creator to hear such prayers from His created! The clay telling the Potter how to mold and what to make of it, and then what it should be filled with! 

Thankfully God is too wise to do what I say...and too gracious in His love to leave me misshapen, broken, and empty by all my poor choices. 

Since I don't have a clue where the paths I choose will ultimately lead me...it's wise for me to walk daily with Him in pursuit of His wonderful plans for my life. The path where God leads me...He Knows where it will lead me. He has already planned and laid out His daily blessing and provisions for all I will need. When I stray off His path and walk on one I create...I leave unopened all the treasures God had intended for me to receive.

I honestly don't want to leave any more unopened treasures that God has planned for me while here on earth by walking through this life "my way" and settling for just an "ok" life! So...I choose to diligently follow God and leave the consequences of each step I take on His shoulders. I feel confident that when I go “with God” He has in store for me an abundant life...one that won't leave me feeling disappointed in the journey! 

"I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” - Jeremiah 29:11-13 The Message

Glory! 

Kathy 

Hide & Seek

“Cleanse me from secret faults.” Psalm 19:12

The other day while in my car sitting behind the driver's wheel waiting for the red traffic light to change...my thoughts were nowhere in the vicinity of the intersection in which I sat. So when the car next to me proceeded forward... I also took my foot off the brake and drove through the intersection too. The problem was...the car next to me was in a turn lane with a green light and I was in a straight lane with a very red light! Yikes!

Thankfully...my mistake did not result in an accident...but I instantly felt terrible. “Forgive me Lord” I quickly spoke as I glanced around to see if a police car was anywhere in sight and saw none...so I breathed a sigh of relief ~ vowing to myself...I will not do that again! 

Sad thing about that vow...this was not the first time I’ve ever done this very same mistake...nor was it the first time I had the same good results. Nope! The few times I've repeated this same mistake I have been fortunate that it has not caused an accident...and every time it didn't result in my being held accountable.

It wasn’t until I was home again (I decided I needed to keep my thoughts on my driving until then) when I gave what happened at the traffic light more thought.

I sat down and thanked God for protecting me, protecting the other drivers and allowing me to avoid getting a ticket. My thoughts quickly wandered away from my prayer of gratefulness as my feelings of overwhelming relief kicked in again. "Thank goodness, no one I know saw my embarrassing blunder!" To be honest...I even felt a bit elated that I had escaped the penalty if I had been caught going through the light. Thinking..."No harm, no foul"...I began to get up to go about my day again. I was ready to move on to more pleasant things.

However...I felt the Lord’s urging me to sit a while longer so that He may speak to my heart. As the quiet gave way to His presence in me...I discovered quickly that the Lord desired for me to join Him in some self-examination...He wanted me to take a closer look not so much at my fault of “bad driving” and it’s consequences...but my attitude in not being caught. 

“Kathy...Do you think there is not any fault in a thing unless somebody sees you do it? 

You feel it is a great sin if someone steals and are caught robbing the owner ~but what if he should not be discovered—does that make it no longer a sin?  You are offended and seek justice against someone who is caught misrepresenting the value of what they are selling ~but if they were never to be discovered, does that make them sinless?

A sin is still a sin, whether done in private or before the whole world. Do not measure sin by what you or other people say of it; but measure sin by what I say of it, and what the Holy Spirit says of it.” 

Conviction settled over my spirit. Strange isn't it how our nature knows how to find just the right circumstances and conditions in our lives to help us hide our sinful responses so that we don’t even see them as sins that need confessed! 

I may have earlier confessed my sin of inattentiveness and quickly found forgiveness...but my unrepentant hidden sin was tucked away in my attitude of feeling relief...and thinking myself as “not at fault” since my actions didn’t result in being found out and thus held accountable. 

As I more humbly confessed all of these things to the Lord...what blessed relief I received! 

The Spirit of God does not admonish us so as to condemn us...but to set us free so that we may live our lives more abundantly... as a reflection of His Son... and all to the glory of God!                                                                                                                                                                               

    “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”   ~ Romans 8:1-2

Glory! 

Kathy 

Not for a Moment...

"I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— I will not leave you all alone like orphans; I will come back to you." John 14:16,18

This morning I woke up feeling tired and discouraged. The past several days have been tough ones in caring for my mom. She has constant back pain from arthritis and it seems none of the medicine I have for her will "remove" her discomfort. Throw in a strong dose of dementia that plagues her thoughts with confusion and perhaps you'll be able to understand the growing frustration I have in not being able to "fix" her health issues to the satisfaction of us both! These past few days and nights have been exhausting ones.

As I sat down with my usual morning cup of coffee and the day's devotional in front of me...my overwhelming feelings of discouragement led me to put both of them down as I felt compelled to unload my burdening thoughts first to the Lord in prayer. 

Before I even formed my first sentence...tears began falling down my face. I realized instantly what was really bothering me the most in all of this. I’m tired and frustrated because I feel so alone without Brad beside me. 

I miss my husband’s encouragement and company...so I reminded God that He left me to do all of this work alone without Brad's help and love to get me through the tuff stuff of caregiving. I once more asked Him “why?” even thought I’ve long since understood even if I did know God’s reason...it would not make me miss Brad less. It seemed to my heart this morning that God has decided I am to be alone...and I just need to accept it. 

As I dried my eyes, I paused for a brief moment...wanting to give God some time just in case He wanted to respond to my complaint...but...I quickly decided He had nothing new to say and was choosing to remain quiet. Feeling no better... I picked up my cup of coffee and after taking a sip, I began to read my first daily devotional for the day...

"...so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone." ~ Joshua 1:5b NET

I paused after reading this familiar Scripture and just smiled. 

“Thank you Lord for reminding me that not for one moment have you ever left me alone! How foolish I am to forget your faithfulness. All I ever need to do is call on your name...and you are with me! For every moment of every day and night when I need wisdom in what I should do...You are with me. When my strength is spent...You give me yours for You are with me. When I feel all alone...You are faithful to remind me...You are with me...and You are all I will ever need.”

I soon realized God had even more He desired for me to understand as I read the devotion that followed...

"True, our days can be filled with frustrations, and life at times is puzzling. But for the believer, lasting happiness is discovered when we center our lives on God. That worldview gives your morning alarm purpose. It changes your commute into communion as you ready yourself to glorify God in your work. Yes, work is man's crowning achievement on earth -- when you focus on God and not on yourself." - David Jeremiah

When I stop looking at the "work" of caregiving  ( or any work of service) as it "affects me"...and see that the work I do is actually a means to commune with God...I am encouraged to know I may look "alone"  but God is always right there with me!  I'm also greatly blessed with the high honor to accomplish every task the Lord places before me to the glory of God!  

When I sat down this morning, I felt defeated. However...when I rose up in response to my mom calling me a few minutes later...I rose up with the light of Truth encouraging me to press on! 

What changed? Not my circumstances...but Contentment was mine because I knew God loves me enough to give me a reminder when I need it... Jesus is with me always and forever. 

Not for a moment... will I ever be alone.

Glory! 

Kathy 

Living the Invited Life

"This is the kind of life we've been invited into, to live our lives as Christ lived. He suffered in every possible way so that we would know how to get through any adversity we face in this life...step-by-step.He never did one thing wrong,..not once did he say anything amiss. We may not be perfect like Christ...but we have His perfection living in us to guide us in the way we should go. 

"They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls." ~ 1 Peter 2:21-25  The Message 

God's Word teaches and directs...

After reading the above Scripture I couldn’t help but stop and ponder the way Jesus lived His life here. He lived each day with a heart that was unrestricted and gave way to unconditional love. Jesus never had one concern for His “rights” or placed a condition on others to accept Him before freely offering what He was willing to give them to meet their need.

Here are a few of my thoughts I wrote down concerning the freedoms we have been given through God’s grace to live our lives following Jesus’ ways.

I am not called to love other because they agree with me. In fact, God’s love lives inside of me which enables me to love those who believe the exact opposite of what I do.

I do not need to be concerned and worried about what others have said or done against me. God’s love enables me to know I need only be concerned with the word of my mouth, the thoughts of my heart. My actions towards other...all which should be a reflection of what Christ has done for me. 

One of Jesus’ greatest teachings in my life is knowing I don't have to live my life under the pressure of being someone who must try to please the fickleness of an ever changing world. I know how it feels to have my mind, heart and spirit at peace with my enemies.

And through enduring hardships I have Jesus' love living inside of me to guide me in the way I should go...which allows me to experience a godly form of contentment with confidence in God's goodness...trusting He will set all things right.There is so much more to living a full life than living it as if I am at the center of it all. 

Oh...I still have days that I allow my circumstances to determine my contentment...but thankfully the Holy Spirit is quick to remind me that God has a purpose for me in what He is allowing...

His purpose for me to endure difficult or frustrating circumstances may be to strengthen or test me...or just maybe...my circumstances have less to do about me and more to do about God allowing me to be a part of His plans to show someone else why trusting in Jesus produces the peace and contentment they are seeking to find. 

Each morning before my day begins...I must purposefully accept Jesus’ invitation to live today as he lived His. I’m determined not to allow my contentment to depend on my circumstance  For I am confident that the less I fill my spirit with the things about “me”....the more Christ is abundantly filling these spaces with Himself. 

Besides...I know I can trust God! In fact, His faithfulness has been so evident in my life especially these past few years since my husband’s death...I can't help but notice...when my circumstances seem dire...His peace and contentment rule over my heart more often than ever before...crowding out my fear and my  doubts...and even giving me a beautiful glimpse of Jesus living in me. Glory! 

"For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13 (HCSB)

Kathy 

Where Love Meets Me

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."  -Lamentations 3:22-23 

I’m so flawed. Sometimes...the only things I can see in me are what makes me unlovable. Yet...when my heart is downcast and I feel the most unworthy of God’s grace...His mercy...His love...I know that He has invited me to go humbly to His Word which never fails to lift my chin and pull my eyes up to gaze upon His glory. Sometimes, I even think I can hear Jesus sing over me just how much He loves me...

It will aways amaze me that as God looks upon me...He feels only love for me...a perfect love...a love that cannot be shaken or destroyed...a love that has so great a worth...it’s value cannot be measured. 

God desires for us to simply to be a people who are content to live close to Him. To renew each day our pursuit to live the kind of life in which the closeness to God is felt...experienced...and lived out! To live the abundant life God has planned for us under His wing of protection...that only His love for us can provide.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7  (NCV)
   Put me like a seal on your heart,
       like a seal on your arm. 
    Love is as strong as death; 
       jealousy is as strong as the grave. 
    Love bursts into flames 
       and burns like a hot fire.
   Even much water cannot put out the flame of love; 
       floods cannot drown love. 
    If a man offered everything in his house for love, 
       people would totally reject it.

Oh Lord,

You have set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm!  Love me, Lord and help me to understand how great Your love is for me. As your heart move towards me...let your arm move for me too. I need Your loving arms to surround me.

Thank you Lord that you think of me..and you have set me on your heart. Your love works on my behalf...it has sealed me to You.

Father..I feel there is nothing in me that can make you love me. Yet, I feel bold in my need to ask this very thing...please love me. Your love is so powerful that it finds its own fuel to burn...so love me with those coals of fire that burst into flames that nothing can put it out. 

And since floods of water cannot put out the flame of love you have for me...make it evident in me I ask; for there are many waters of sin in me... Lord, help me to believe that your love is not washed away by them. 

To you Lord, I give myself completely...take me and make me what you would have me to be...keep me safe in your love...even to my last breath. 

I love you Jesus, there is nothing I possess that has greater worth than Your love...there is nothing I more truly desire than to be with you forever.  Amen  

What about you? Can you say with assurance that God “so” loves you (John 3:16, 1 John 4:11)? Well He does! Our Omnipotent God loves His people with a love that is an all-conquering love...one which surpasses all knowledge and imagination (Romans 8:35-38).

Where you are...is where God's love will meet you. 

Glory!

Kathy 

Cancer...Powerful, But Not All-Powerful

 "Cancer is a powerful enemy. But it’s not all-powerful. For all who are in the heat of this battle, it helps to remember that there are some things cancer cannot do: Cancer is so limited…
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot destroy peace.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot suppress memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot invade the soul.
It cannot steal eternal life.
It cannot conquer the spirit.
It cannot lessen the power of the resurrection." -Unknown Author

I often would read this when Brad and I were checking in for Brad's chemo treatments or blood test. It was displayed on the receptionist desk as we checked in.

Cancer can and does cause great fear, doubt, heartache and pain in our lives. It holds nothing back in it's attack to destroy everything we hold dear in our lives. Sometimes it just feels unbearable...especially when we are in the midst of the battle and it appears the cancer is winning.

I rarely use the word hate...but, I do hate cancer. What's in it to love? Yet, as only God can do...Brad & I experienced the good God had for us that cancer never intended for us to experience. The most treasured experiences I received are the times my trust in God possessed my very soul...knowing with certainty that God would always take care of me in all the circumstances of my life.  

"Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."-Isaiah 41:10  

From the time Brad was first diagnosed with advanced stage 4 cancer and we were told he may have only 6 months to live (we were given 5 years), I prayed and pleaded for God to assure me He would not take my husband from my side. I searched the Scriptures looking for a promise...or two...that I could cling this plea upon.  

I found no such promise...but He did give me and my husband...this promise from Isaiah...that He would give us His strength and help to go through whatever laid ahead of us. I had His assurance He would always be with me and with Brad no matter what.  

I hate cancer...yet, I'm thankful for the trials it brought which have positively changed me. It's not the method of learning dependance on God I would have chosen yet because of cancer I have seen God's faithfulness in ways that I would not have known without the suffering and the learning to depend totally on Him. It's hard to know God is all you need until He's all you've got.  

So yes...I hate cancer. But, to cancer...I have this to say...

"I just want you to know this one important thing about what you did to my life...you meant to destroy me and my faith & love for God's goodness. You may have even thought you won a few of my struggles. But, here is the result of your attack upon my life and your ultimate harm in taking my beloved husband's life from my side;  

Instead of fear, and doubt and distrusting God...I now have a stronger trust and faith in God. This is result of what you left inside of me...a firm conviction that God does overcome evil with His goodness." 

"Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good..." - Genesis 50:20 MSG

For those who may be fighting cancer now or to those who have a loved one who is. I pray that when you have those moments of your greatest weakest...you will remember not only of the things cancer can not do, which are listed here...but trust that you have a very present and powerful Lord who loves you and willing provides you with His strength and love to endure and even overcome cancer's destructive forces. May the Lord reveal to you His Presence so that you too will become witness to seeing how mighty God is and how we need not fear cancer when our trust is in the Lord who care for us. 

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:12-13 

Glory! 

Kathy 

Whose Your True Hero?

"In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord..." Isaiah 6:1

I love studying God's Word through an in-depth study and the new challenges it delivers! I yearn to be found living my faith fully in the power of Christ each moment of my life.

In my lesson today..."Breaking Free" by Beth Moore, I was asked "Have you lost a hero? Why were they a hero to you?" I immediately reflected on the two heroes in my life...my dad and my husband. Here is what I wrote as to why they were a hero to me.

~ My dad - He had integrity. He was trustworthy. He stood up for what was morally right and defended the weak and needy encouraging them that they could succeed and overcome their circumstances.  He loved me unconditionally and he loved the people I loved. He was faithful and He lead me to know God.

~ My husband Brad - He had integrity. He was truthful. He stood up for what was morally right and defended the weak and needy encouraging them that they could succeed and overcome their circumstances. He share Jesus unafraid of how he would be received and cared only that Jesus would be received inside their souls. He was faithful. He loved me unconditionally and cared for me completely. He battled cancer more for me and for the love we shared than He did for saving himself. He knew and trusted fully in God's love for him and did not fear death but faced it with confidence that his last breath here would give way to his first breath of Heaven and the face of Jesus. 

As I sat content with my response to who my heroes were and my heart feeling a twinge of sadness too as I consider the challenges I've faced in their passing...the lesson quickly took me to what God would desire for me to understand more fully about who my real Hero is...Jesus.

Oswald Chambers wrote; "Our soul's history with God is frequently the history of the 'passing of the hero.' Over and over again God has to remove our friends in order to bring Himself in their place, and that is where we faint and fail and get discouraged. Take it personally: In the year that one who stood to me for all that God was, died - I gave up everything? I became ill? I got disheartened? Or...I saw the Lord? 

"In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord..." Isaiah 6:1

When my hero dad died...Brad took the top spot for being my hero...I looked to Brad...not God. Oh I still worshiped God... and I loved Jesus...but...Brad was my "hero." He comforted my broken heart and secured my need for security inside his love for me. I thought he was all I'd ever need ...the one I could always count on...the one who held my heart. 

I loved Jesus...but I held Brad up as the one who would never leave me or fail me. 

After my hero Brad died...I saw the Lord as never before. I imagined Him high and above me...I was in awe of Jesus' all encompassing presence and I knew right then I wasn't "alone" and never will be again as I had feared. I felt secure in His love and encouraged by His faithfulness. I finally felt safe. I found myself in the arms of my true Hero. 

I can hardly wait until the day I see Jesus face to face....He will always be my first, second, and above all others...My Hero!

Glory!

Kathy 

Corner to Corner...Covered!

"I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and honored. His long clothing spread out and filled the house of God." - Isaiah 6:1 

As I read this Scripture during my quiet time this morning I became overwhelmed as I envisioned the Lord on a throne, high and greatly honored. I imagined His kingly robe spread out and filling an entire house...His temple. 

I became overwhelmed with awe of how magnificent and beautiful this vision of God will one day be for my own eyes to see. 

As I gave thanks to God for sharing this promise of my seeing this very thing...I felt the Lord had something more He wanted me to be in awe of...to imagine and to envision about His all encompassing presence.

Is not my heart...my body...my entire being designed to be God's house? If I am God's house...than I can expect He is present and sitting high and honored on His throne! Yet..do I live as though I have His constant presence inside me...do I esteem and honor Him as King over me? 

Even more...do I realize that God's presence cannot be shoved into the small coves of my heart...or occupy only the empty spaces inside my soul? God's presence is far to great and it will surely spread out and fills this house...(me), corner to corner...leaving no space inside of me untouched by His grace...His mercy...His love! 

The Lord also gently reminded me of this...I have been given the Holy Spirit who lives in me. He will guide me and remind me to always treat God's house as divine and holy. The Lord wants me to have only His best...after all... I am the daughter of the King! 

“Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body”. ~1 Corinthians 6:19-20 The Message

Glory!

Kathy 

Blessed New Year!

“Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ..”  ~ Ephesians 1:3 The Message

To me...the first day of a new year is always a great starting point for beginning a new behavior...a new thought pattern...and to establish the starting point of both my short and long term goals. 

I like it when my ideas and goals are still “new”...or when something exciting and new is about to happen. I love the anticipation and excitement that “new” creates! 

When I am at the beginning of something “new” I’m usually eager to explore it’s hidden beauties and enthralled with all the exciting possibilities that being something “new” promises. I’m often inspired by the new challenges it brings into my life. 

I really, really like things “new”!

However..too often I find my excitement towards the “new”...gets old fast!  My new ideas and my new goals...all fall victim to the same problem a new year falls victim to...it ages. 

As “new” grows old...it becomes too familiar...and as it grows more familiar...I take for granted that it will still be here tomorrow to achieve or to leave behind...just another day...just another dream, having lost the excitement of being something new.

So...I leave these “old” ideas and goals unfinished and discarded...as my fickle heart begins to long once again...for something new!

I am sooo thankful that when God “laid down earth’s foundation, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love....” (Eph. 1:4). He doesn’t have a fickle heart like mine and leave the work He began in me unfinished! 

In fact...I think God sees each moment with “newness”...and that the passing of time has no negative influence at all in Him. God patiently leads us in the plans He has made for our lives.

He will complete the work He has begun in me...and in you...until it is completed. These plans include our adoption into his family...plans that bring us hope and a home. 

The Lord’s excitement and anticipation with each passing new year...new month...new day...new moment...only grows stronger...it will never wane or fail to succeed.

Is there any greater blessing than this promise? 

The New Year may not always be as “Happy” as we would desire...but the Christian is blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:3) and can look forward to a “Blessed New Year” no matter what may come their way because we are blessed by God!

May I encourage you...during this new year, you may live nearer to Christ than you have ever done before. Depend upon Jesus, for it is when we think more of Christ...that we are able to think little of ourselves, little of our troubles, and little of the doubts and fears! We will see more clearly God at work in each moment, giving us a portion of His anticipation for the “newness” of each day....and the new days to come! 

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”

And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then he said to me, “Write it down, because these words are reliable and true.” He also said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water free of charge from the spring of the water of life.” ~  Revelation 21:1-6

Glory!

Kathy