He Gave Us ALL A Choice!

"O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!  Get out of my life, you murderers!  They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name.  O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?  Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?  Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies."  Psalm 139:19-22 NLT (Part 4 in a series on Psalm 139)

Dear Reader, have you ever felt this way?  King David has seen enough evil and knows that his God's name is being taken in vain.  David hates this so much that he hates those who are his enemies.  He asks God to destroy them, to rid the world of them and their evil. 

We live in a world that is ripe with hatred and evil.  I was so upset with the terrorists who took those two reporters and beheaded them a few years ago.  I hated them even more because they wore black masks to hide their faces.  Like King David, I asked God to please destroy them and the world would be a better place.  I pleaded that they hated our God, that they hated anyone who was Christian.  I felt I was praying in line with David's prayer.

Then God spoke to me.  He said five words, "Deirdre, Paul was a terrorist."  When Paul was still Saul, his goal in life was to kill off all the Christians he could--men, women, and children.  It was at his feet that the accusers laid their cloaks as the Apostle Stephen was being stoned.  Saul was a witness, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. 

Jesus revealed Himself to Saul and His brilliance blinded Saul for three days.  God sent Ananias to lay his hands on him and say, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  Saul became Paul, and preached the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike.  He suffered greatly for Christ, and authored about 2/3 of the New Testament.

God reminded me that vengeance was His, as was the victory.  He reminded me that as long as anyone--terrorist, celebrity, politician, your lost child, or the guy down the street--was still breathing, they still had a chance to confess Jesus as Lord of their life and receive salvation. 

So, dear Reader, no matter how bad the world may look, there is always the possibility of change. So pray hard for those who don't know the Lord, those whose lives are worldly and full of sin, those who do terrible things, that they may come to know the Lord Jesus!  Can you imagine the terrorist who comes to Christ?  For him to learn the truth and then to secretly share it with others?  God can change anyone in to a Paul!  Jesus told us to pray for our enemies.  Now is a good time to start.  Go in peace, my friends, and know that you are doing the Lord's work!  goo.gl/TFGwth

He Spent Time Making You!

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:13-16

How reassuring to know that the God we worship spent time making every detail of who we are.  He didn't just wave His hand and order another person to be born.  No, He spoke you!  He knew your face and name before the earth was formed!  That means He cared more about you than creating all the heavens and the earth! 

He took special care with everything that makes you, you.  While you were in your mother's womb, He was there with you.  Each day He told you how much He loves you.  He told your little heart to beat and how many beats each minute.  He told your eyes to be green and your hair to be brown.  He told your legs how much to grow each day, and He told you how tall you would be. 

He breathed into your lungs just the right amount of air, and He delicately formed the inner workings of your ears.  He gave you your own fingerprints, retinas, and lip prints.  No two are alike, not even in identical twins.  He made you unique, a one of a kind.  Just the way He likes you!

It was His finger that you held when your world was as small as the two of you. He whispered the secrets of the universe in your ears, and told you that you were His, now and forever.  He gave you unconditional love, and when it was time to be born, He lovingly guided you out of your mother's body, and then placed you into the doctor's hands.

Celebrate today the loving care our Father gives to you.  It didn't end when you were born; instead, each day of your life, each moment of your life, He is still pouring out His undying love for you.  That won't ever change.  Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  He loves you more than you will ever know!  Enjoy your day, dear Reader!

Faith and Obedience

Hello dear Reader,

Each morning I read several devotions. Today one quoted 2 John 6.

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." (NIV)

The devotion* goes on to say, "If you've made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you've already taken the first step of obedience." 1 Corinthians 12:3b (Voice) says, "...and no one confessing “Jesus is Lord” can do so without the Holy Spirit’s inspiration."

Faith follows the same suit.  If you change the word 'obedience' in the last paragraph to 'faith' it reads, “If you’ve made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you’ve already taken the first step of faith.”

The day I gave my life to Jesus was one of the most emotional days I ever had. When the Holy Spirit started calling me, and I stopped what I was doing and listened, the urge to turn my life over to Jesus became so great I couldn't resist it.  I almost literally ran down the aisle during that altar call only 4 days shy of 30 years ago. 

A week had gone by since the very first time I heard those words, the words that formed the most beautiful invitation my heart could receive.  I resisted on that particular day because I was filled with religion and its laws.  But during the week that followed, my heart yearned more and more for Sunday to come again so that I could answer the call.  All week I was thinking about that invitation to ask Jesus into my heart to be my Lord and Master. I had never been asked such things before.  My upbringing in my former religion held me back from receiving the gift of salvation a week earlier.  Being born again wasn't something I was taught, so I knew absolutely nothing about it. I shudder to think where I would be if I had died that week before asking Jesus into my heart.

I always believed in the Trinity, and that Jesus came to earth as a human and died for us. I learned that at a very young age, so I had absolutely no doubt it was true.  It was faith--believing without seeing; and believing with all my heart.  Jesus says in John 20:29b NKJV, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

It requires faith to give your life to Christ.  So we must spiritually accept and understand in a way that our hearts cannot deny, but instead needs more than anything else, to pursue.  This is our greatest faith.  We believe without seeing, and we 'run to the altar' without a second thought. 

The enemy has never wanted this day to come, so he has helped you sin by temptation as often and as long as he could.  You kicked him in the teeth the day you were born again.

The devotion says that when you accepted Christ as your Savior you took the first step of obedience.  That still small voice inside you kept calling, and each time, your heart beat with a yearning and desire to answer the call.  And when you did, when you couldn't say "not now" any longer, you obeyed the Spirit of God.

Was it difficult?  Not for me.  As I said, I almost ran up the aisle.  And as I gave my life to Jesus that day, as I recited the Sinner's Prayer (also called the Prayer of Salvation), the joy in my heart poured out in uncontrollable sobs.  What was empty in my life became filled with the love and forgiveness of God!  It was by far the most incredibly emotional and spiritual day of my life.

I confess that over the last 30 years my faith has wavered and I wasn't always obedient.  Since that Sunday morning on June 14, 1987, the enemy has attacked again and again, sometimes causing me to doubt many things.  That's his main objective--to cripple the Christian and make us doubt God's love for us or that we are precious in His sight.  Satan will tempt us into doing or saying things that will make non-believers have a very poor opinion of Christians.

Though there have been times of great struggle, God has kept His hand on my life.  He has shown me many things, and brought so much joy to my life there aren’t words to tell you. He gave me the armor that defeats the enemy.  He reminded me that faith will carry me through the valleys up on to the peak of the great mountain where the view is magnificent.  I trust that He will always be by my side, that He will never desert me.

We must be vigilant, my dear brothers and sisters, and keep in mind how we 'ran to the altar' without trepidation or doubt, or second guessing, or analyzing our feelings.  We really can have faith in all situations and be obedient.  We just need to remember the first time we did it.  It was so easy and proved to be the most significant moment in our lives. It was the moment that gave us eternity with our Father!

* From Faith to Faith by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland  

Just Call!

I wasn't paying attention; I took my eyes off the Lord because things were going well.  Then, like Peter, all that supported me caved in and I collapsed into the sea of despair.

I hadn't lost faith, I lost sight! I forgot to grasp my life preserver when I ventured out. Life had been going 'my way' and I never noticed myself drifting.  I blamed everyone but myself for my misery. I even shied away from my Savior, feeling totally unworthy of His love and forgiveness.

But then like Peter I shouted, "Lord, save me!" and a strong and loving hand grasped mine and pulled me out of the abyss I was in and held me close to His heart.  He said He loved me, even now! Always had and always will, in spite of my failures.

So if you find yourself sinking, just call out for Him.  He won't let you drown.

"And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him."  Matthew 15:31a NKJV

From:  From My Heart to Yours by Deirdre Tolhurst

Move Forward!

There are days I am not sure about how to get through a situation.  Do I move forward, even if I don't have all the answers I think I need, or do I wait until I am confident success is ringing my doorbell?

I have learned that in my moments of uncertainty I must remember that God has already been there and seen me through.  I must take that deep breath and release my anxieties with it, and move my feet forward.

Where He has already gone, I must follow.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."  2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV

From:  From My Heart to Yours by Deirdre Tolhurst

All Creation Knows

I am sitting in the cool of the morning.  My only company is God and His creations.  There is a hawk flying around.  He catches the stiff breeze and glides so smoothly!  I know what he's doing--he's laughing and playing in the wind.  This moment is his gift from God to enjoy.  He isn't hunting; he's dancing and praising his Creator.

Two hummingbirds dart over to me, quickly stop and then off they go, playing tag and praising God.

The tall trees dance for Him, and the sound of their leaves rustling are nature's hallelujah! And I am compelled to join them, so I lift my arms in worship, and with tears of surrender and love, give thanks and sing, 'How Great Thou Art!'

Oh how He loves us! If you have eyes, see!  If you have ears, hear! All creation knows the Lord!

Be More Childlike

When my little granddaughter doesn't want something, whether it is certain foods, going to bed, or meeting someone, her first reaction is to turn away from what she doesn't want in her life with such a frenzy while saying, "I don't want it!"  She will not look at the person or thing as if repulsed by it.  Sometimes my cajoling only makes her cry harder.

There are many things in my life that I don't want as well--anger, fear, doubt, and temptation.  Especially temptation to do all those things!  Why can't I be like her--a two-year old who only wants to be at peace.  Satan has had many years to cajole me, and along the way he has deceived me into seeing things his way.  It's more fun to hang out with cool people than godly ones, or to agree that some people aren't worth loving, or it's okay to be mad, healthy even!  Lord, help me to turn away in disgust from the temptation to sin.  Help me to turn my back on what doesn't bring me peace.

"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 18:3 NIV

From From My Heart to Yours by Deirdre Tolhurst

The Best is Yet to Come!

On those days when life seems to be getting the best of you, when all your attempts at success seem to be less than you desire, and failure looms like an albatross around your neck, remember that it is in your weakness that you gain your strength.

If not for those times when you fall on your face, how would grace be able to lift you up to see a new achievement? How dull your life would be if you remained stagnant, never moving ahead!

So look at your trials as building blocks of faith.  Look at what you have learned, and remain steadfast. This too shall pass, but you will have grown in faith and strength, God's warrior, no longer afraid of the battle!  Onward, mighty Christian soldier!  Your heavenly reward is great!

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV

Christmas in Heaven

Artist David Bowman (https://www.facebook.com/DavidBowmanAuthor?ref=stream)

What a year this has been.  There have been many children die this past year in different ways.  Sickness, stillborn, car accidents, abuse, and violence have taken what is so near and dear to us.  I can't even begin to imagine the loss of a child and what Christmas is like for a family without them.  But there should be a peace in our hearts knowing that God has our little loved ones right there in His kingdom.  He is a loving God, and is taking good care of them.  He did not abandon them at their death, whatever the cause, indeed His word says that to be absent from life is to be present with the Lord.  What a comforting thought!

So if you have lost a child, as I know so many have, please know that you will see them again.  They have moved to their place in eternity, and are fine, they are safe in the arms of Jesus.  I pray for you this Christmas season, that the peace that Jesus left with us overtakes your sorrow and one day brings a smile back to your face in remembrance of your baby. 

I wonder what Christmas in Heaven is like.  I think it must be awesome.  I think that Almighty God must look down and see us worshipping; and when he looks around at His loved ones that have already gone before us, those that are part of His very own choir, I think He must smile broadly!  I think He is happy that we still celebrate the birth of His only Son even when our hearts break.  I think it shows how much we trust Him, that is shows our belief that the enemy will not and can not defeat us!  And I think that makes Him glad.  We are here but for a moment, after all, and our eternity will not be filled with sadness or grief.  There is no sorrow in Heaven, there is only never ending joy!  God bless you!

Please click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVE7H2QUD-U

Reaching the Unreachable

Have you ever been unreachable?  You know, someone who doesn't want to be reached?  Someone who cries out for help but as soon as it is offered you close up and run away and hide under a rock to fix it all by yourself only to find out that you can't? 

I have been there.  It seems that I can too easily find myself in a place where I want so much for someone to love me, to listen to me, to hold me and let me know that I am the most important person in their life, that I am valuable and worth their time.  I have felt insignificant around those that I needed the most to reassure me that I was worthwhile.  And then when they reached out to me, I felt like a burden, and said, "no, I'm okay, really!"

Except that I wasn't okay.  I wasn't anywhere near okay!  But something would stop me just before I grabbed the lifeline someone threw me.  I felt guilty for asking for help in the first place.  I felt stupid that I couldn't fix the problem myself.  I felt needy.  I felt that if they really cared they would have noticed without me telling them.  Why couldn't they just see?  Why do I have to tell them?

Occasionally in our lives circumstances happen through no fault of our own and cause us to grieve.  It could be some devastating news of a crime, a world event, or something much closer to home.  There are things that tear our lives apart--sickness, divorce, financial ruin, death, loneliness, or just the end of a dream.  How do we deal with things that make our hearts ache?

Why do we beg for someone to love us and make it all better and then when God sends them we don't recognize it as an answer to prayer?  Why is it so easy to run, to listen to the wrong voice and lock ourselves into a place we don't spiritually need to be?  We hide. We cry.  We think dark thoughts.  Why?  Why is it so easy to listen to the enemy's lies than to the promises of God?

Have you been there, dear Reader?  Are you there now? Is your heart so torn apart from the loss of a dream of happily ever after that you think nothing will ever make it better?  Have you made a mistake and tried to take care of it yourself, only to find out that now it was the wrong decision and you are too embarrassed or ashamed to ask for help?  Even from God?  Do you hide from Him because you know you messed up and don't feel worthy to ask for His forgiveness?  Do you just feel exhausted?

Do you ever ask for His forgiveness and then even though you know you should worship Him, you feel He wouldn't hear you because you made such a terrible mistake?  An unforgivable mistake?  Is it too hard to forgive yourself?

Don't continue to let the devil put lies in your head.  The fact of the matter is, God DOES love you!  And if you are sorry and confess your sin to Him and ask forgiveness, and then repent, He will always forgive you.  That is what He does, He loves and forgives those that ask and repent!  If you just have 'the blues' and don't even know why, you must look up, look to the Big Man in the sky and seek His face, His light, His love!

Accept that you are beautiful in His eyes, and that He died for you.  How could He not love you if He was willing to do that?  Don't run away anymore.  Just turn around and reach for Him.  He is right behind you, waiting to enfold you in His embrace, stroke your hair, and whisper words of encouragement in your ear.  He loves you, no matter what you have done.  He is ready to hear your plea and forgive you because He is all loving and kind. 

"Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray."  Psalm 5:2

"And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”  Deut 31:8

"In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.' Psalm 18:6

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  John 3:16 

Today's Simple Prayer

You prosper me, Oh Lord!  You fill my being with happiness and joy that can be compared to nothing I have ever know before.  With each new day my spirit grows, I sing from my heart and soul! 

I am so blessed I can’t describe the enormity of it!  Father, prepare me for the enemy’s attacks as I move forward in my growth.  Keep Your mighty hand on my back lest the enemy tries to push me off my feet!  Hold me close, dear God, that I may feel Your breath on my face! That I may see Your eyes on my life!

Bless me, Lord, in the way in which You want me to go.  Guide me these days, step-by-step.  Give me the tools I need to do Your bidding.  Speak through me to those oppressed.

I love You so much, Lord of Lords!