Perseverance and Maturity

Apostle James said that Christians should consider it a joy whenever we face trials of any kind because this tests our faith which develops the perseverance that makes us mature and complete.  Well, this is a good description of my life right now.

In the last month, I've had sick family members, money disappear, demons show up and not feeling well myself.  I think my Heavenly Father is giving me the opportunity to become mature and complete.

While we get an earthly father, he doesn't always know what is best for us, but our Father God always knows and does what we need to grow spiritually.  It is awesome to be learning things for eternity and not just this brief time here.

Happy Father's Day to my Heavenly Father that loves me unconditionally and always does what is best for me.  Thank You for Your Spirit that guides and protects me 24/7!

The Biggest Miracle

This past week, I've seen healing and provision miracles.  And there have been lots of trials and tribulations, too.

This reminds me of my favorite book, 90 Minutes In Heaven, that was made into a movie that I recently watched.

It tells the true story of a minister that died in a car accident and 90 minutes later another minister stopped to pray for him, and he came back to life.

This story has many miracles in it, like a visit to heaven, surviving impossible odds, many Christians praying for his recovery, etc.  But the biggest miracle of all was how this man grew spiritually from his experience.

When things go our way, we rarely learn anything or even appreciate it.  But when awful suffering stops us, we have an opportunity for change by beginning or building a relationship with Lord Jesus because He gives us the supernatural support for great improvement.

My Recent Book

It took me three years to finish my last book this past week and not because it's long.  This ebook is only 14 pages but it was very challenging.

The challenging part was not writing the book because the Holy Spirit tells me what to write or directs me where to get the information.  The challenging part was the subject.

This book is about being a disciple for Lord Jesus, which requires complete submission to Him - 100%.  I didn't want to do this and found writing this book to be very convicting.

My book is done and my desire is for my will to be the same as my Lord Jesus.  Thank You, Jesus, for Your patience, mercy, love, understanding and direction!

Spiritual Regrets

Two good friends of mine died last year.  I feel sad because I miss them, but I feel joyful because they're in heaven with Jesus.

It was our mutual love for Jesus that drew us together as friends.  They were both very complex people.

They shared stories of great spiritual triumphs when they were on a mission for our Lord.  They also told me of the ones that haunted them because they told Jesus, "No."

This is the story of all Christians.  Sometimes we are obedient and sometimes we are disobedient.

While we can't be perfect, we can pray for help to become as much like Christ as possible, so obedience is a high percentage and we don't live with regrets.  For our own good, Jesus Christ want to be the Lord of our whole life and not just a part.

Decisions, Decisions

Every day we make hundreds of decisions usually based on our worldly programming.  This programming in our heads begins the moment our brains and senses are developed enough in the womb to integrate information and continues until we die. 

The Lord wants me to stop blindly doing what I've learned and follow His advice.  My mother taught me when I was a teenager to put money in my pants pocket so I don't lose it.

So like I always do, I put the twenties in my pocket, but the Lord told me to not do this because I would lose it.  I thought this couldn't happen because I had done this with no problem for over 40 years, so I put it in my pocket.

Unfortunately, when I went to pull my money out to buy my groceries, it was gone.  Sometimes history repeats itself and sometimes it doesn't.

Even with supernatural help, we have to be open to following it and not just do what we have always done.  When we follow our worldly programming, we are not following our Lord Jesus.

Dear Lord, I am sorry that I ignored Your good advice.  Please forgive me and open my mind to Your advice in the future.  Thank You, Jesus, for helping me!  Amen

Disobedience

While my resolution was to be more obedient this year, I found myself quickly in disobedience after making this promise.  I needed a new cell phone, so I went to the store and purchased one.

This had always been a simple process in the past but not this time.  After returning the 3rd phone this week because something was wrong, I realized that I should have prayed for direction.

It is so easy to make decisions based on assumptions instead of being patient and praying for directions.  Obviously God had something else planned for me instead of a simple purchase.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for my life of adventure!  This exciting life of holy direction is only a prayer away.

More Holy Redistribution

In my last blog I wrote about how I got things to pass on to others and still had a hospital bed, so this last week I prayed about it.  The Lord directed me to the internet, so I assumed I would be posting it on a site for getting rid of stuff.

However, as I prayed on what heading to put the hospital bed under, I was told, no, to all my questions.  So, I switched to a search and a wonderful organization called HELP popped up.

The Lord confirmed that this was where He was leading me.  St. Louis HELP is a non-profit organization that lends out hospital equipment at no charge to whoever needs it and the equipment drive had just started.

Thank You, Lord, for letting me be Your hands and feet!  For more information on St. Louis HELP, check out their website at www.stlhelp.org

Another Sign From God

My husband paints Christian scenes from the Bible and was unsure about its acceptance in the art world.  We had received a sign from God about doing Christian art at the last art show, so we prayed for a sign at this one.

All Christians need signs and wonders from God to build up their faith because this world provides constant discouragement and pointless distractions.  God gave us His miraculous sign when my husband won the highest possible award, "Best In Show," at the art festival.

Only with the Lord's direction can we be successful for eternal purposes.  His help is freely available for anyone, at any time and any where with sincere prayer.

Trials and Tribulations

This world is full of problems and along with death, we can count on suffering here.  I talk with people almost every day about some type of problem.

While there are many problems, I know of one sure solution for all of them.  When we allow Lord Jesus to lead our lives, the worries and stresses disappear.

We can still have the same trials and tribulations but with His peace, strength and direction it all becomes ok.  Jesus knocks on the door of everyone's heart but most people do not answer.

Even when we let our Lord into our hearts, He is often left in the foyer.  Only when He runs our whole life can we rise above the trials and tribulations to live joyful, holy lives.

My Miracle of Singing

For most of my life, I couldn't sing but I began to think about the importance of singing last year.  I realized that music was a ministry, angles sing in heaven and worship includes songs.

I wanted to be part of this joyous sound so I prayed to be able to sing for 6 months.  Then one Sunday morning in church I started singing a hymn and noticed I could sing on key, recognized I was doing this and could follow the music.

This was definitely a miracle and recently I sang a solo acappella in church.  I had many complements on my lovely voice.

All the credit goes to the Lord because my voice did not develop from hard work but an answer to prayer.  One minute I couldn't sing and the next minute I could.

But it took me a year to accept this new change and put it to the test.  Even when Jesus changes us for the better, it's hard to let go of the past.

Obedience Is Best

Before the storms came, I was cleaning out the dirt between the wood boards on my front porch, so there wouldn't be a small pond afterwards.  I began with a screw driver until the boards got too close together and then switched to a sharp knife.

I was tired, crabby, stressed and not open to advice from anyone.  Suddenly, the Holy Spirit told me to stop because I was going to cut myself.

Instead of stopping, I continued and proceeded to argue the point.  This didn't last very long until I cut my finger.

I felt very foolish and pathetic.  Should I go to Him for help or the doctor for stitches?

I decided that I trusted in Christ's mercy more than the medical profession, so I repented and asked for help.  I received His forgiveness, pain relief and the bleeding quit.

While I have no pain and the finger is healing, the wound is still there to remind me of how obedience is best.  No matter what we foolish humans do, Jesus' grace and mercy is only a prayer away!

Spiritual Maturity

As a Christian, I'm amazed and overwhelmed with the loving sacrifice Christ Jesus made for us.  And as a follower of His, I want to seriously do Luke 9:23, which says I must deny myself and take up my cross to follow Him.

So I prayed for the Lord to teach me and He answered me in three dreams.  In each dream I was busy but not accomplishing anything, and then my left hand hurt so bad that I woke up.

I looked at my left palm and saw a read circle in the middle, so each time I prayed for healing, received it and the first two times went back to sleep. As I was thinking in the morning after the third dream, the message became very clear.

Only with Jesus as the Lord of my whole life can I achieve spiritual maturity.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for my spiritual lessons!

The Biggest Miracle Is Love

For the past month I have been talking with Christians about how they want to give up; on each other, neighbors, their children, themselves, etc.  

The solution to these problems is easy - put God first more.

When we put our Lord first, we get the love, peace, joy, strength, patience, direction and self control to love everyone else.  Christ commands us to love all people, no matter how mean they are or what they do and to never give up on them.

This unconditional love of everyone is only possible from a close personal relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  When we put this relationship first, we receive the miraculous power to endure all things and persevere in love.

God Encourages

Almost exactly one month ago, I was feeling so wonderful that I asked the Lord to use me more and He said, yes!  Unfortunately, I did not pass my test and this month I needed encouragement.

Last Sunday night, the guest minister at my church called me up to the front for prayer.  He said that the Lord wanted me to know that He sees what I"m going through and wants to encourage me.

Spiritual growth is the hardest job anyone can do because it's so easy to regress and so very difficult to advance.  Success takes determined tenacity, unswerving faith and a desire for truth above all else.

As Christians, we have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for help.  

Of course, this supernatural assistance is available for anyone who wants this relationship and is only a prayer away!

God Answers

God speaks to us in many ways and for effective communication we must be receptive to it all.  

For the last two weeks, the Lord has been teaching me about obedience at my request when I failed to follow His directions twice.

Lately, I prayed that He would use me more, so this last week, I had a minister ask if she could pray for me.  She began by telling me God wanted me to know that I sparkle.

Hurray!  I'm a sparkle in this dark world.  She then explained that the Lord heard my request and was going to use me more to prophecy and edify the church.

Hurray! Jesus wants to use me more.  Holy direction is only a prayer away!

The Best Miracle

In the last two blogs I've been sharing my struggle on giving up control to Jesus.  After I failed Him the first time, I asked for another chance to be directed again but failed the second time, too.

So then when I repented, I asked to be slowly taught on how to follow His spontaneous direction.  I'm fairly good with planned directions but the immediate requests I refused to do until I had thought about it, which meant the opportunities had passed.

For this last week, I've seen people paying for strangers' purchases when they ran short and had people tell me how important this is to do.  The Lord is teaching and helping me to change into a more giving, loving person.

The best miracle is when we let go of our selfish, fearful, angry, worldly, sinful behavior for spiritual growth.  

Holy teaching for spiritual growth is only a prayer away!

Jesus as Lord

On my mission to relinquish control of my life over to Lord Jesus, I'm still struggling.  After I didn't leave my exercise class two weeks ago when the Lord told me, I have asked for forgiveness and repented.

Since then I've asked Him to teach me and try me again.  Well, He did and I failed again.

I was standing behind a woman with two small children at a gas station while she was buying some food but couldn't afford the milk.  The Lord told me to pay for her groceries.

I argued that this was my gas money for the week and refused to follow His direction once again.  Of course after I thought about this and the opportunity had passed, I felt foolish and repented once again.

While working for the Lord, I'm fine with following His structured directions but this spontaneous stuff is a new challenge for me, which I'll eventually overcome with His help.  

Supernatural help is only a prayer away!

Celebrate Spiritual Growth

After working on an issue, I will get a test to see if it's resolved.  When my husband and I quit going to art shows because it was too much work for too little pay, we were frustrated and angry.

Now years later, we felt God told us to try again.  However, we did things different this time.

We prayed and included His direction in our plans.  The Lord blessed us with good weather, tasty food, friends, a profit and, best of all, the opportunity to witness about Jesus.

It feels good to resolve past issues and celebrate spiritual growth!  Supernatural counseling is only a prayer away.

Evil Is Real

As a servant of the Lord building His Kingdom, I find myself frequently in a battle with evil.  The attack can be physical, mental or spiritual.

It can be assaults through humans, by demons, under incredible circumstances or with alien thoughts invading my mind.  Satan has so many weapons at his disposal (like violence, hate, fear, lies, manipulation, discouragement, chaos, distraction, illusions, etc.) that an automatic defense for any situation must be used.

The best defense for Christians is Jesus Christ.  They must be constantly vigilant, never use just their own strength and always ask Jesus for help.

Jesus overcame Satan when He walked the earth and continues to stop his evil today.  For a ready defense, Jesus is available 24/7 at any location by prayer.

Evil Experiences

Sometimes evil comes as a false prophet that teaches untruths and sometimes it comes as a physical assault.  While I cannot be deceived by unbiblical sermons, I am susceptible to direct attacks.

I woke up in the middle of the night in great pain and unable to move with an evilness surrounding me.  I couldn't even open my mouth to ask my husband for help.

However, I could pray.  As soon as I called on Jesus to save me, the evil attack stopped.  

Then I asked for a restful sleep and He granted it.  Protection and help from evil is only a prayer away.