God with us!

Immanuel ~ God with us

This past week I have heard the name Immanuel numerous times, from the whispers of God, to written word or song. Everywhere I would turn I would hear Immanuel. 

What a precious reminder for the child of God - that He is with us, not just at Christmas time but all the time.  He never leaves us or forsakes us. When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior His precious Holy Spirit comes and lives in us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in His believers through the Holy Spirit and it's His job to magnify Jesus in our lives. Because of this intimate relationship we have access to God anywhere and anytime, we are not alone because God chooses to come and live within us.

So many times we only hear God referred to as Immanuel at Christmas. But Immanuel - God with us isn't just a name to pull out of the basement or attic like we do our Christmas decorations. It's a guarantee from the moment we ask Jesus to come into our lives and be Lord, He is with us. Having a good day and you feel God at work in your life He's there - have a bad day and you feel overwhelmed by the things of this world He's there. Our job is to seek Him, listen to Him, operate with Him and in doing so we will experience Him.

Share Your Dream #Dreamshare

My dream is to open a coffee shop near our local college campus which will serve coffees from around the world. I would like to learn how to prepare the coffee from our international students who are here studying. My dream is for open doors and a place to experience life outside the box we live in. A place to serve and be served so to speak, having merchandise available for sale which would benefit people from around the world who are taking the steps to create and better there lives, then use the proceeds to pour back into others to provide hope of a better life.

Now - Share Your Dream!

World Vision Share My Dream

The sneaky creeper!

We have a little area along side our garage in the backyard where I have a flowerbed with a major design flaw. When the garage was built the owners at the time poured a concrete approach and connected it to a sidewalk which leads up to the house. Along side of the garage they laid white rock down a 5 foot strip leading to the back of the garage. In the center of this strip I put in a flowerbed to bring some color to the area. When I stand at the kitchen sink and look out the window I look upon the side of our garage so you can see why I would want something nice to look at while doing the dishes - after all a person has to have some joy out of doing the dishes besides just getting them clean.

Instead of laying rock it would have been so nice for the grass to grow to the edge of the garage at least you could mow the grass, we can't mow this area due to the rock or one could have just continued pouring the concrete to make a nice little pad around the side to connect it all together. You see this is where the sneaky creeper comes in...

It's official name is: Creeping Spurge eww... the name alone makes you have to lower your voice and say it slow C R E E E E P I N G   S P U U R R G E

This is what it looks like!

It grows low to the ground and it's seeds spread like crazy. You don't know where one begins and the other end. Before I knew it you couldn't see any of the white rock around my flowerbed or the inside of my flowerbed because it had been taking over by THE SNEAKY CREEPER!!!!!!!

One good thing about this weed is once you can get to the main root you can pull it out. As I was looking for the name of this CREEPER I discovered the experts say it's easier to pull the weed out by the roots if you wet the ground and hand pull the weed out and stay on top of it. The roots can grow down in the ground up to 2 feet!! WOW! I wish I would have know the experts secret before I was outside pulling these up best I could this morning as the heat of the day was starting to rise. Once I pulled one I couldn't stop, I was actually seeing ground again, yeah what a good sign. I couldn't plant anything beautiful until these weeds were gone. Please don't think I'm dramatic here but honest. Every time I would look out there and instead of seeing something beautiful I was seeing nothing but weeds. Oh the frustration and constant reminder!

God can use anything and this morning he used CREEPING SPURGE to teach me a lesson. Isn't this how our lives can look at times? Over ran with weeds? 

We need the Master Gardener - God!

Jesus tells us in John 15:1 I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. 

When we don't have an intimate relationship with Jesus who is the true vine our source and giver of life and live a life yielded to the Father - gardener, we are over run with weeds. We need God to pour out his life giving water then allow Him to tenderly take hold of the weedy roots in our lives and gently remove them. Beloved, God loves us so much he doesn't want to leave us weedy and over ran. 

He sent us Jesus to make a way. 

Isaiah 53:5-6 But he (Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Step back with me into my yard for a moment. Remember the rock bed? Yes, it's rock but it's broken which allows the weeds to grow up. Sin is our broken relationship with God, we need Jesus who was crushed and took upon himself our punishment. This Jesus is our ROCK! Our SOLID ROCK!

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! 

Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior! 

2 Samuel 22:47 NIV 

Click hear & take a moment to listen to the words. Is Christ your Solid Rock?

In the heat of the battle

Have you ever tried to hold water in your hands? As quickly as it's poured in, it can just as quickly flow out. How often does God pour out life giving water and without our quick response to drink it in - it's gone? I'm guilty of putting things off or not responding when I should and then the moment is gone. 

Let me rephrase that, I'm guilty of putting God off. Plainly said, I ask and ask for God to speak then at times when He does I'm quick to not listen or not identify it's Him and go on. Then that sinking in your stomach feeling happens and you can't help but grown from the pit of your being ohhhh-awwww. God forgive me, thank you for loving me so much to not leave me there but grow me from it. 

I can't help but think of Gideon, God gives him a promise I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together. Aren't we all like Gideon? The next thing he does is ask God for a sign that it is really him talking. Beloveds, I'm not saying we should haphazardly listen to every voice we hear. There a lots of voices speaking that we should not listen to, God tells us to have discernment. That's why it's so important for us to have an intimate relationship with God and rely on His Spirit to guide us. We have to fully rely on God as our source and His spoken word (Rhema) will always line up with his written word (Logos). 

Back to Gideon - We pick back up in Judges 7 through the process of the promise God gave to Gideon, God continues to peel away the number of fighting men from Gideon. We don't get very far in chapter 7 verse 2 God tells him, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength saved her..." For God to get the glory in our battles there are times when He sifts people away from us. God instructs Gideon to take the men down to the water and to separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink (verses 5-6) God reduced the fighting number from 32,000 to 300, with a group this small there would be no doubt that this was a God sized victory. The 300 were willing to lap the water but knelt down to drink it, which put them in a strategic position to still be on guard ready to battle. 

Hold on... have you been there? Are you there now? There is a battle before you and God starts peeling away the support? The job? The friends? Those who committed to be with you till the end? You feel abandoned, rejected you name it, an emotional mad house. A place where your emotions get the best of you and you are ruled by them. The void seems ever so deep and yet never full. A place of desperation, oh but if you have found yourself there what a gift that can be when we allow ourselves to go there. You see Gideon could have jumped onto that emotional roller coaster but he didn't. He stayed connected with God and he was obedient to the directions God gave. No matter what path you find your self on, when we totally abandon ourselves and submit to the work of God in our lives He gets the glory. 

Don't expect it will come in man made form - glory that is. God's ways are so far above anything we could ever ask or think. He tells us to give when we don't have, step out of the boat when there is water all around. For Gideon he thinned out his support, Gideon's response? He trusted God, he got up and went when God told him to go, he overhead a man tell of a dream he had and was encouraged (verses 9-15) and his response? He worshiped God. 

In my opinion the most bizarre part of this story is when Gideon returns to the camp of Israel and tells everyone to "get up the Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands" he divides the 300 men into 3 groups and places trumpets and empty jars in their hands with torches inside. Gideon tells them "watch me and follow my lead and do exactly as I do". They proceed to blow their trumpets and shout, "For the Lord and for Gideon" they blow their trumpets and brake the jars with their hands taking the torches in their left hand and holding their right hands the trumpets they began to blow and shouted "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon" and held their position around the camp. And what happened? The Lord caused the Midianite men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. 

I have to be honest, as I sit here and type I want to run to my kitchen find an empty Mason jar, stick a candle in it and call the school to have my son bring home his trumpet and go and have me a time running towards my enemy!

But I can't, I have to be willing to bend my knee to the Almighty God and drink of His river of life. I must pick up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And incline my ear to hear His voice. Then I must go and do what it is He has called me to do and I must be the person He has created me to be. I must not be afraid when darkness comes near or when the enemy unleashes an attack. 

The words of Gideon are a foreshadow of Christ, "watch me and follow my lead and do exactly as I do". Jesus gave up His life for us. 

Our response should be,

 God, through the work of your son Jesus and by the power of your precious Holy Spirit come and sit upon the throne of my life because that is a place only you can fill.

Storms of Life

What is your response to disappointment? 

Disappointment is a fact, how we respond to it is another matter. In all honesty I tend to respond in the flesh instead of being led by the Spirit of God living inside me. I want to have a passion (desire for or devotion) to seek the eyes of Jesus, to take the time to sit at his feet and listen to him. But I have a tendency to let my emotions take over instead of allowing the Lord of Lords and King of Kings reign. 

It's only in Jesus that we can find serenity - Webster defines serenity as: clear and free of storms or unpleasant change. Change - could that be the root cause of our disappointment? We have a certain expectation or mind set and then something happens and what we thought was going to be isn't and that requires change. 

Are we being lord of our lives? Makes me think of Judges 21: 25 - In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. The bible tells us storms come. How can we have serenity then? How can we be clear and free of storms? There is only one way and His name is Jesus. What does the word of God say to us about storms?

Job 40:6 - He speaks to us in the storm

Psalms 107:29 - He stills the storm

Isaiah 25:4 - He is a shelter in the storm

Jeremiah 23:19 - He releases His wrath in the storm

Zechariah 9:14 - He marches in the storm

Matthew 8:24 - He sleeps in the storm

Luke 8:24 - He rebukes the storm

Storms rage all around us, no one is exempt from them. But as children of God we have a promise found in Isaiah 54:11-17 NIV - O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations from sapphire. I will make your towers of sparkling rubies, your gates of shining gems, and your walls of precious stones. I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great peace. You will be secure under a government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away. You will live in peace, and terror will not come near. If any nation comes to fight you, it is not because I sent them. Whoever attacks you will go down in defeat. I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals beneath the forge and makes the weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy. But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken.

What God says goes and we need God built walls and He must be at the center of our lives. We are born into a sin sick world and only Jesus can save us. Sin simply means to miss the mark, whether breaking God's law or living independent of God, it's sin. If Jesus isn't Lord of your life stop right now, don't waste one more minute. Repent of your sin, ask Him to come into your life and be Lord, for it's only in Jesus that we can be saved. Whether we realize it or not we bow our knee to all sorts of things and as a result our walls are destroyed. There will be a day when every knee will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. Will you be doing that with a joyful heart full of thanksgiving because of the price He paid for you on the cross? 

God cares for you. Exodus 4:31 - And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. Our response to His great love and care is to worship the One True God the only one worthy of our praise. 

I recently was at a Cody James concert and heard one of his new songs titled "Right Here Waiting". As he sung one of the verses I closed my eyes and the below picture came to my mind. "Are you needing rest, are you heavy burden, cause I am right here waiting, I've been here all along, my arms have been wide open for you've been called and chosen"

The Spirit of God reminded me of this picture, it hung on the wall in our church where I grew up. He was there for me as a child, it was in this same room where we celebrated our wedding reception and where we gathered the day we celebrated the life of my Father when he passed away.

You see He's been here all along, waiting. How will we respond?

If you notice there isn't a door knob in the picture. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts knocking are we willing to answer and let him come in?



Cody James Ministries: http://codyjames.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCodyJamesGang

God speaks!

There is a battle raging and most of us simply miss it. It's a battle for our soul. Not that we don't experience the effects of it, indeed we do but we are deceived in our understanding of where this battle comes from. 

Isaiah 59:2 - But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Anything - you name it, that separates us from God is SIN. We have to constantly ask ourselves, is this bringing me to God or away from God? We have to be willing to come before God through his son Jesus accepting him as Lord of our lives and openly receive the fullness of life in him. God doesn't just leave us there but receives us, he washes us white as snow with the precious blood of Jesus then fills us with his Holy Spirit. It's the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that draws us closer to God. I pray Father, give me eyes to see and ears to hear you, set me on a course straight towards you.

God speaks - the question for us - Are we listening? Throughout history God has used his people to deliver his will and used them to encourage people to turn back to God.

Elijah was known as the prophet of fire

Elisha was known as the prophet of faith

Amos was known as the prophet of fear

Hosea was known as the prophet of forgiveness

How hard do our hearts have to be? How many idols or high places have we placed in the spot of God? How far have we gotten off track? How many affairs have with had with other loves? We commit adultery with anything we worship other than God

God knows each one of us intimately. He knows what we need even before we ever ask or think. And he places his messengers in just the right spots at just the right times to speak his truth. Do we have ears to hear? Are we able to recognize the great works of his hands? 

Do we welcome the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to bring us closer to God? God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. He desires that none should perish so much so that he gave his son Jesus to pay our debt. 

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." WHOEVER! That's pretty simple Who - ever. But we have to make the choice.

We are moved by our emotions due to this battle going on around us and/or in us. But God says "whoever" believes will not perish. We have a blood bought promise. 

Stop what you are doing right now and ask God to speak ever so clearly to you where it's undeniable that it's him.

God speaks are we listening? It's our greatest form of...

Signs

I couldn't help but laugh when I came across this sign! 

If only the signs around us were so obvious and came at a place that gave us opportunity to turn around and go another way. Or do they and we just don't pay attention to them? I have to wonder how many accidents happened because someone thought they would fit under the bridge. Or worse saw the sign, hit it and still tried to go under the bridge cause they knew better.

What I love about this sign is the spiritual meaning I see in it. Sin separates us from God and His holiness. Jesus had to come to this earth to "bridge the gap" between man and God that sin destroyed. Jesus is our bridge and how many times do we try and "go under or fall short" of his way? If we don't submit to the Lordship of Christ we are a wreck. If we don't do things God's way it is always going to fail. 

In 1 Samuel 15:22-23 the prophet Samuel is talking to Saul who was the king of Israel - But Samuel replied "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king." God's voice speaks do we listen?

How many of us struggle with trying to go under, over or around the bridge God has provided to us through His son Jesus Christ? When we don't trust God we get lost in the "lower story." When we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness - then all these things will be given to us. (Matthew 6:33) To seek means to turn to God first for help, to fill your thoughts with his desires, to take his character for your pattern, and to serve and obey him in everything - giving him Lordship in your life. 

We need to seek God and when we do we find Him, He is right there ready to meet all our needs. God calls Himself "I am" - what does that mean? He's everything, He's enough, He's all we need... and through Jesus we can be reconciled to a right relationship with Him, an intimate personal relationship with Him. 

God give us signs to see you clearly, Father make it easy, You know us better than anyone and more than we know ourselves. Turn our hearts towards Yours. 

I can't help but think of the story of Rehoboam King of Judah - see 1 Kings 14:21-31. Long story (not that long but to save time) made short - He was the son of Solomon who inherited a mighty kingdom with everything he could possibly want. His father Solomon was the one that established the temple of God in Jerusalem. During Rehomoam's reign he permitted God's people to sin and set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land and the people engaged in all kinds of detestable practices. As a result God allowed the kingdom to be attacked by Shishak king of Egypt (mind you - God delivered the people of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt but this story shows the bondage and slavery that sin brings in our lives) Shishak took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. Whenever the king went to the Lord's temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom. 

This is what he should have seen when looking at these bronze shields.

How many times did Rehoboam walk past these bronze shields? An idol if you will fashioned by man as a false image? Did they cry out REPENT? Repent means to experience sorrow for and seek to change wrong behavior. They served as a constant reminder of the precious shields of gold that he allowed to be carried off. Was his heart so hard that he wasn't sensitive to the signs around him? What is the condition of our hearts?

As believers in Christ we are called to put on the full armor of God so we can take a stand against the devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:13-17 says, Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

Take up your shield of faith and walk in the fullness of the grace and mercy Jesus' blood poured out for you. He knows our sin oh so well, for he's already bore it on the cross  - it was personal with him. Our response should be to make it personal with Him - intimate and personal in relationship.