Friday, May 21, 2010
A Grateful Servant
Isaiah 49:3
He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor." (NIV)>
Since 1991, the year of my miraculous healing from Crohn's disease, life for me has been an extended gift. It was then I decided to dedicate my life to the Lord and the work He has for me.
Up to that point life revolved around acquiring things and providing comfort for and meeting our growing family's needs. Life seemed to be passing by without my giving a thought to my savior and His desire for me.
Along came the resurrection life and a zap to my mortal body. It caused a change in life style from a life focused on the world to a new life focused on Christ.
Grateful I live. I am grateful for the grace that has brought me thus far and grateful for the grace that will enable me to complete my race here on earth.
The world offered me a limited life with limited benefits. Grace has granted me the opportunity to be a servant of the Lord by serving others. The benefits are unlimited. I continue to count them today. Among those benefits are being able to watch our children grow into awesome adults and to be a part of our grandchildren's lives. It is also a benefit to share stories of Jesus and His love with our grandchildren, by living a long, loving, God centered life with my husband experiencing God moving in our lives and in the lives of others.
I could go on, but I will stop there. What things in your life do you have to be grateful for?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Take up Your Cross
As I was reading the dialog between Jesus and his Father in the garden, the Holy Spirit shed a light on what "our cross" means. Jesus the man cries out to the Father, "If possible, let this cup pass". (Matthew 26:39) The very next moment, in the same breath, Jesus finishes by saying, "not my will but yours".
John 12:27 is the punch line for me. It reads "I came to this hour in light of my purpose". The human Jesus dies to himself by leaving all earthly desires behind to face his Father's divine purpose for his life. He turns away to face his death on the cross.
Our cross is not the heavy burden as I was once led to believe. It is something light, fun, and easy to accomplish. Ah, the cross, therefore, is our divine purpose. It is that purpose the Father has for us to accomplish here on earth. Just think for a moment. Jesus told the fishermen to leave their nets and follow him. What an adventure they had learning, loving, and living with Jesus. They were living in their divine purpose.
So today I call upon the Father and say, "Have Your way with my life, using all for your benefit to advance the kingdom of God within me and those who you lead me to." This is the cross I carry. I am to listen and obey, sharing my life and declaring His love to others leaving my personal desires behind and keeping Him first.
What is the cross you carry to fulfill His divine purpose in your life? What are you letting go of so God can have His way with you?
John 12:27 is the punch line for me. It reads "I came to this hour in light of my purpose". The human Jesus dies to himself by leaving all earthly desires behind to face his Father's divine purpose for his life. He turns away to face his death on the cross.
Our cross is not the heavy burden as I was once led to believe. It is something light, fun, and easy to accomplish. Ah, the cross, therefore, is our divine purpose. It is that purpose the Father has for us to accomplish here on earth. Just think for a moment. Jesus told the fishermen to leave their nets and follow him. What an adventure they had learning, loving, and living with Jesus. They were living in their divine purpose.
So today I call upon the Father and say, "Have Your way with my life, using all for your benefit to advance the kingdom of God within me and those who you lead me to." This is the cross I carry. I am to listen and obey, sharing my life and declaring His love to others leaving my personal desires behind and keeping Him first.
What is the cross you carry to fulfill His divine purpose in your life? What are you letting go of so God can have His way with you?
Monday, May 3, 2010
Come Hungry
When I was first married, I remember going to Mom's for dinner. "Come hungry," she would say. And believe me we did come hungry. We ate and ate until we could not fit another bite in. Then to my surprise, there were the leftovers we did not expect to receive. WOW enough for another few days. Many nutritionists say that we become what we eat. And there is plenty to say about that statement.
Today the Lord is shouting to us "Come hungry"; there is plenty to eat and more than enough for you. He wants us to partake of His Spirit; to ingest and digest His word and become what He has called us to be. -More Love, More Power, More of His Word, More Compassion, More and more of Jesus. And we find out there is more for tomorrow and no need to gorge ourselves. It is like the manna He gave the Israelites. It was more than enough for today and more was always available for tomorrow, and all the days to come.
It is not until we are hungry do we appreciate being satisfied.
So here I am again, coming hungry. I am starving. I am famished for your infilling Lord. I am depleted, empty, and desperately waiting for God to move amongst us-anxiously and excitedly waiting for a manifestation of His love
Today the Lord is shouting to us "Come hungry"; there is plenty to eat and more than enough for you. He wants us to partake of His Spirit; to ingest and digest His word and become what He has called us to be. -More Love, More Power, More of His Word, More Compassion, More and more of Jesus. And we find out there is more for tomorrow and no need to gorge ourselves. It is like the manna He gave the Israelites. It was more than enough for today and more was always available for tomorrow, and all the days to come.
It is not until we are hungry do we appreciate being satisfied.
So here I am again, coming hungry. I am starving. I am famished for your infilling Lord. I am depleted, empty, and desperately waiting for God to move amongst us-anxiously and excitedly waiting for a manifestation of His love
Monday, April 26, 2010
Become More Determined Than Hell Itself!
They say they serve Christ. I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.
(2 Corinthians 11:23 NIV)
If you are going to do something mighty for God, you have to throw yourself into the call of God and do what is needed regardless of whether or not it is convenient to you. The fact is doing what God has called us to do must be paramount in our lives - more important than any comfort or pleasure. Like the examples we see in the lives of Jesus and the apostle Paul, we must be willing to do anything required or go to any length to do exactly what God has assigned to us.
Of course, God wants His people to be blessed! But a believer shouldn't start whining and complaining just because he runs into an attack of the devil that affects the level of comfort he is accustomed to. And if he is asked to do a little more than what is usually asked of him, he shouldn't start griping that the extra task is not a part of his job description. When a person does that, we can know that this is someone who will not do something mighty for God - at least not until he makes an adjustment in his attitude!
To push the forces of hell out of the way, you have to be more determined than hell itself. You have to be willing to do anything necessary to get the job done. The vision before you must be more important than your own personal pleasure. When you adopt this mentality for your life, you will always push through hard times and take significant territory for the Kingdom of God.
Paul had a determined attitude to finish God's call, regardless of what he had to do to or the challenges he had to face on his way to victory. You might say that he was obsessed to finish the work the Father had set before him.
There were many times in my life that I had been desperate about one thing or another. I would and did anything to accomplish the goal I had in mind. I reached a point of desperation before receiving my healing from Crohn's disease. Sometimes I had to be willing to give up on fostering a relationship with our children so that God could make a way for reconciliation to occur. That took dying to myself so that I would be changed and that gave our children space to grow and become the people God has called them to be! Sacrifice was called for and I had to yield.
Paul tells us what he has physically endured in order to fulfill his heavenly assignment. He tells us that he had been physically beaten as he pursued the fulfillment of his God-given task, experiencing "stripes above measure."
In my case, it has been more emotional stripes. The thought of a life without our children's company for example. Another example is doing and or saying what the Lord would have, knowing that some would be offended and I would be cast aside.
If we are leaning on the Lord and are desperately obsessed to have Him demonstrate His greatness amongst the believers and unsaved, there is a sacrifice involved. A sacrifice of self.
God is our loving Father and He calls us to go beyond what is normal. To view all things as temporal and the only things that matter is His will for your life and the lives of others.
We must be more determined than the forces that will try to come against us. Otherwise, it will not take much pressure to make us say, "This is too hard" or "I didn't understand how difficult this was going to be." We mentally start packing our bags so we can transfer back to a more comfortable territory where less is expected of us.
By no means am I wishing hardships or hard times on you. But, I do pray that you make up your mind to be tougher than anything the devil ever tries to throw in your direction. In our flesh alone, we are not strong enough to withstand the devil's assaults. But, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can resist, stand against, and drive back everything the devil will attempt to do to us, to our family, to our business, or to our church or ministry. Isn't it time for you to make up your mind to stick with God's call on your life and press ahead in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Recently the Lord spoke through me saying "Break the sound barrier; push the envelope. Push the envelope beyond what you can imagine or what you have experienced. Get dizzy in the Father's Love.
Know and experience that there is freedom in being obedient to the Lord and there is a refreshing that comes about by being diligent in His Word and soaking in His presence.
Take advantage of times of trouble by allowing God to bring you to a place of extreme confinement where His peace reigns and your contentment in Him will move mountains. Put your trust in Him.
In 1 Corinthians 15:55, we see that Paul learned to meditate on victory rather than on mortality and fatality: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" Wither this is death to self or physical death, we shall serve the Lord!
The Holy Spirit who empowered the apostle Paul to overcome trials and tribulations is the same Holy Spirit who is available to help you and me. You never have to be a defeated victim. If you choose to take advantage of the power that is available to you, the Spirit of God will energize and lift you to a place of victory over any obstacle the devil tries to throw your way. Never forget that you have resurrection power residing inside you (see Romans 8:11). If you will yield to that power, it will supernaturally quicken you to overcome every time!
Throw open your arms of faith and embrace the Spirit's power to overcome each attack the devil has tried to orchestrate against you. If you will embrace that power, it will begin to flood you with everything you need to survive and to gloriously succeed in your task! Make the decision to let it start flowing today!
(2 Corinthians 11:23 NIV)
If you are going to do something mighty for God, you have to throw yourself into the call of God and do what is needed regardless of whether or not it is convenient to you. The fact is doing what God has called us to do must be paramount in our lives - more important than any comfort or pleasure. Like the examples we see in the lives of Jesus and the apostle Paul, we must be willing to do anything required or go to any length to do exactly what God has assigned to us.
Of course, God wants His people to be blessed! But a believer shouldn't start whining and complaining just because he runs into an attack of the devil that affects the level of comfort he is accustomed to. And if he is asked to do a little more than what is usually asked of him, he shouldn't start griping that the extra task is not a part of his job description. When a person does that, we can know that this is someone who will not do something mighty for God - at least not until he makes an adjustment in his attitude!
To push the forces of hell out of the way, you have to be more determined than hell itself. You have to be willing to do anything necessary to get the job done. The vision before you must be more important than your own personal pleasure. When you adopt this mentality for your life, you will always push through hard times and take significant territory for the Kingdom of God.
Paul had a determined attitude to finish God's call, regardless of what he had to do to or the challenges he had to face on his way to victory. You might say that he was obsessed to finish the work the Father had set before him.
There were many times in my life that I had been desperate about one thing or another. I would and did anything to accomplish the goal I had in mind. I reached a point of desperation before receiving my healing from Crohn's disease. Sometimes I had to be willing to give up on fostering a relationship with our children so that God could make a way for reconciliation to occur. That took dying to myself so that I would be changed and that gave our children space to grow and become the people God has called them to be! Sacrifice was called for and I had to yield.
Paul tells us what he has physically endured in order to fulfill his heavenly assignment. He tells us that he had been physically beaten as he pursued the fulfillment of his God-given task, experiencing "stripes above measure."
In my case, it has been more emotional stripes. The thought of a life without our children's company for example. Another example is doing and or saying what the Lord would have, knowing that some would be offended and I would be cast aside.
If we are leaning on the Lord and are desperately obsessed to have Him demonstrate His greatness amongst the believers and unsaved, there is a sacrifice involved. A sacrifice of self.
God is our loving Father and He calls us to go beyond what is normal. To view all things as temporal and the only things that matter is His will for your life and the lives of others.
We must be more determined than the forces that will try to come against us. Otherwise, it will not take much pressure to make us say, "This is too hard" or "I didn't understand how difficult this was going to be." We mentally start packing our bags so we can transfer back to a more comfortable territory where less is expected of us.
By no means am I wishing hardships or hard times on you. But, I do pray that you make up your mind to be tougher than anything the devil ever tries to throw in your direction. In our flesh alone, we are not strong enough to withstand the devil's assaults. But, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can resist, stand against, and drive back everything the devil will attempt to do to us, to our family, to our business, or to our church or ministry. Isn't it time for you to make up your mind to stick with God's call on your life and press ahead in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Recently the Lord spoke through me saying "Break the sound barrier; push the envelope. Push the envelope beyond what you can imagine or what you have experienced. Get dizzy in the Father's Love.
Know and experience that there is freedom in being obedient to the Lord and there is a refreshing that comes about by being diligent in His Word and soaking in His presence.
Take advantage of times of trouble by allowing God to bring you to a place of extreme confinement where His peace reigns and your contentment in Him will move mountains. Put your trust in Him.
In 1 Corinthians 15:55, we see that Paul learned to meditate on victory rather than on mortality and fatality: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" Wither this is death to self or physical death, we shall serve the Lord!
The Holy Spirit who empowered the apostle Paul to overcome trials and tribulations is the same Holy Spirit who is available to help you and me. You never have to be a defeated victim. If you choose to take advantage of the power that is available to you, the Spirit of God will energize and lift you to a place of victory over any obstacle the devil tries to throw your way. Never forget that you have resurrection power residing inside you (see Romans 8:11). If you will yield to that power, it will supernaturally quicken you to overcome every time!
Throw open your arms of faith and embrace the Spirit's power to overcome each attack the devil has tried to orchestrate against you. If you will embrace that power, it will begin to flood you with everything you need to survive and to gloriously succeed in your task! Make the decision to let it start flowing today!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Psalm 121 abridged by me!
As you lift up your eyes and gaze upon the hills, you ask where does my help come from?
Your loving Savior responds, your help comes from no other then me, the Maker of heaven and earth. I am your Heavenly Father, the one who created and formed you in your mother's womb.
He will not let your foot slip-He who watches over you will not slumber, indeed. He who watches over you will neither slumber nor sleep. Even in times of wrong decision-making He is there to correct your course or to turn what was meant for harm to your benefit.
The Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Isn't it great to know that the Lord needs never to rest or sleep; He keeps a vigil over you day and night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life. He has called you into a destiny and purpose to fulfill your life. For your life is precious and it is valuable to give Him glory and praise.
He will watch over your coming and your going, both NOW and FOREVERMORE.
You are loved, wanted, and the blessings are here for you to take and appropriate in your life. Take a few moments and give thanks for by His grace you answer the call and through His faithfulness your purpose will come to pass.
For the Lord has spoken into your spirit a New Song of Jubilee. So take your hopes and dreams and wrap them in the Trust of the Lord. Deep within your heart, hide those loving treasures in your faith. You will see God move and grow within you and He will display His power through you! In Faith, sing of His Love for you that will endure forever! Praises to our King!
Many Blessings, dianne
Your loving Savior responds, your help comes from no other then me, the Maker of heaven and earth. I am your Heavenly Father, the one who created and formed you in your mother's womb.
He will not let your foot slip-He who watches over you will not slumber, indeed. He who watches over you will neither slumber nor sleep. Even in times of wrong decision-making He is there to correct your course or to turn what was meant for harm to your benefit.
The Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Isn't it great to know that the Lord needs never to rest or sleep; He keeps a vigil over you day and night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life. He has called you into a destiny and purpose to fulfill your life. For your life is precious and it is valuable to give Him glory and praise.
He will watch over your coming and your going, both NOW and FOREVERMORE.
You are loved, wanted, and the blessings are here for you to take and appropriate in your life. Take a few moments and give thanks for by His grace you answer the call and through His faithfulness your purpose will come to pass.
For the Lord has spoken into your spirit a New Song of Jubilee. So take your hopes and dreams and wrap them in the Trust of the Lord. Deep within your heart, hide those loving treasures in your faith. You will see God move and grow within you and He will display His power through you! In Faith, sing of His Love for you that will endure forever! Praises to our King!
Many Blessings, dianne
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Worship Described
Things to do! Things to DO? Things to do before you go on a trip, and then things to do after you return. You have a list of preparation for visiting guests, and another list to keep your dwelling place in tiptop shape. Things to do for your time of relaxation and more things to do at work and let us not forget the things we do at church. The lists and types of lists never end. It is a way of life. So when do we Worship?
Worship is not only an attitude, a state of mind, but also a matter of the heart. It is the spirit of awe, reverence, and respect toward God; His thoughts and His ways. It is far more than simply just a song and cannot be defined by or confined to a specific time frame occurring within the framework of a church service or meeting. If this is our perception of worship we need to change.
Worship is freeing, refreshing, and exhilarating! True worship is the laying down of a "self-life" and its pursuits in order to embrace the thoughts and ways of the Lord; to esteem and favor the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Worship is a lifestyle of living with a heart whose knee is bent in the presence of God and whose ears, and eyes are opened to hear His voice and capture the vision of who He is.
Our depth of worship will never supersede our depth of revelation. What is the reason I choose to write about worship and some of the ways in which we do worship? My answer is that Worship is our response to His divine love to us. It is our spirit man telling our flesh to come before the King and reverence Him.
Worship is the place where "self" is completely sacrificed and put to death, so that the fullness of the True Life may be discovered. It is when we only have His interest in mind.
Do you remember those love songs you associate with yourself and your sweetheart? Was it too long ago? Or do those same love songs send you running into your lovers arms? Dick and I have such a song. "Just the Two of Us" Just the two of us we can make it if we try…
It was this song and many others that held that lovin' feeling within me toward Dick! Ok, you might ask what does that have to do with God? It is my way in helping to describe worship. Being held by the one I love gave me peace, security, and an overwhelming sense of freedom to be me. This is the place I come to when I worship the Lord.
To get lost in your lover's arms is a wonderful experience. All you want to do is please them; love them until you cannot love anymore. You will cook, clean, decorate your home, and yes even want to wait on them. You have an overwhelming sense to please them. You might even dress for them. I understand part of this is what is called the honeymoon stage of our life together with our mates. However, that love does not leave as the years go on; it grows.
So how do we worship the King? How do we get lost in His presence? How do we? How do we do? Through our dress, through our reaction to others, our words, deeds, and most importantly our life style!
What about through music? What is your love song to the King of Kings? What music and words do we sing? The Word tells us that we are to lift up holy hands and also that we are to be holy as He is holy. Dance before the King, sing praises, rehearse His greatness and magnificence. Bring to remembrance what He has done in your life. How He has touched your loved ones and others through your very own hands. Play an instrument and sing a new song. Wave banners of worship and praise!
How many times have we done childish things to make our loved one smile? How innocent do we approach the Lord in our worship? I would do anything to give God the praise and worship He rightfully deserves. So I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone—dance, sing, clap your hands, wave a flag to your King. Get before Him and lie down in His presence giving yourself totally to Him and Him alone. I know He will make the world go away and show Himself to you in a greater measure of your understanding. He does that for me and wants to do it more and more for all of us.
Just the name Jesus sung over and over again is worship. What a privilege we have to use that powerful name! He is our Savior, Redeemer, all powerful King. What a Father we have in heaven. His love so great that He allowed Jesus to come and die so that we might not only live in eternity but be able to share in our Father's eternal love. Holy Spirit come and set us free. Convict us once and for all. Break the chains of bondages, sin, and shame. Pour into us the Love and compassion of our Lord Jesus the Christ.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Adoption and DNA
Days, weeks, months all run over and together these days. The busier our lives get the more we need to prioritize or triage our activities. Our Lord Jesus conquered the grave, Yes He conquered the grave and the sting of death has fallen by the wayside for those who believe.
This is a season of business for us!-How about you? There is a cry from heaven falling over the earth : "Is there anyone who will sup with Me?" In my quiet time the Lord has been showing me the truth about adoption and grafting in the vine.
The spirit of adoption fell upon Abram bringing him closer to the Lord and the promises God had for him and his generations. Once Abram was an alien to God; then the Lord called him into his destiny and foretold the legacy of his future. Hence, the Lord breathed upon Abram and changed his name to Abraham! Abraham is the Father of our faith. He was the first to believe in the one true God! He was the first Jew.
We were once gentiles, without God, now believers who were adopted into our heavenly Fathers family.
Romans 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
In the courts of law if we were adopted, we would have the birthright and could claim the inheritance of our adopted parents. We stand as equals in the courts of law with the natural siblings of our adopted parents. But we are not of the same DNA. We are adopted by law.
Romans 11: 23-24 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
God showed me that we are not only adopted by our heavenly Father but we were grafted into the vine through Christ. That for us is the tree of life, Jesus the Christ. We take on His DNA! This is big! Real big! His blood is ours. We no longer carry our old DNA. Praise God, we became NEW. Notice the kind of tree Romans uses to describe our grafting!-OLIVE tree, the tree of the Holy Spirit Himself.
What a freeing experience the Lord has for us all! It is the freedom to be called His own. It is our choice. Do we accept the grafting in Him or not? Choose life I say, choose eternal life and all the love, power, and authority that comes with our inheritance.
This is a season of business for us!-How about you? There is a cry from heaven falling over the earth : "Is there anyone who will sup with Me?" In my quiet time the Lord has been showing me the truth about adoption and grafting in the vine.
The spirit of adoption fell upon Abram bringing him closer to the Lord and the promises God had for him and his generations. Once Abram was an alien to God; then the Lord called him into his destiny and foretold the legacy of his future. Hence, the Lord breathed upon Abram and changed his name to Abraham! Abraham is the Father of our faith. He was the first to believe in the one true God! He was the first Jew.
We were once gentiles, without God, now believers who were adopted into our heavenly Fathers family.
Romans 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
In the courts of law if we were adopted, we would have the birthright and could claim the inheritance of our adopted parents. We stand as equals in the courts of law with the natural siblings of our adopted parents. But we are not of the same DNA. We are adopted by law.
Romans 11: 23-24 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
God showed me that we are not only adopted by our heavenly Father but we were grafted into the vine through Christ. That for us is the tree of life, Jesus the Christ. We take on His DNA! This is big! Real big! His blood is ours. We no longer carry our old DNA. Praise God, we became NEW. Notice the kind of tree Romans uses to describe our grafting!-OLIVE tree, the tree of the Holy Spirit Himself.
What a freeing experience the Lord has for us all! It is the freedom to be called His own. It is our choice. Do we accept the grafting in Him or not? Choose life I say, choose eternal life and all the love, power, and authority that comes with our inheritance.
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