All posts filed under: Reflections

Surrender

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I surrender all. What does it mean when we say that to the Lord?  Have we stopped to count the cost? If so, does it matter?  Does it depend upon the day or the hour? I surrender all.  A sweet melody but are our hearts in it?  Or, if our hearts are fully engaged in that song’s cry, will our wills back it up at the first sign of discomfort? He is worthy of all our surrender; yet the price can be steep.  In the midst when push comes to shove, in the midst of the raging storm and sea, in the midst of desolate, barren, dry, desert sand – do you choose to hold fast to your confession of surrender to Him and hold fast to Him through it all? Lord, we are weak.  We long for easier days, for clearer guidance.  Truly, we have nothing to bring to you except our whole selves, feeble as we are.  Yet, we confess that it is in our weakness when Your spirit is at work within …

Power of your Testimony

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8/16/2016 Dear friends, I was so moved today to share this word and to encourage you that if you are not already, to use every opportunity to share your testimony. Ask the Lord who He has placed in your life that you can speak words of Truth, encouragement, challenge – all by just sharing the Testimony He has given you. Are you waiting on the Lord for His promises to you to come true? Then you know how active this waiting process is and how difficult the battles, how sick the heart can become when hope is deferred and yet how beautiful the journey can be.  Have you been given a Word that you are actively walking out? Then you know how intense the battles, how wearying the walk, how exhausting the trek through enemy camps, through wilderness routes, through deep valleys and yet how incredible His strategies, His army, His right hand which holds you and guides you and leads you forth are and the beauty of the mountain tops. There is tremendous joy that is …

Reflections on God and suffering

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2/23/2017 What if it’s so much bigger than us? Scripture makes clear that God not only allows suffering to take place but that it comes at His directive, sent by His command. (Jeremiah 44:2-14; Joel 2:25; Job 5:17-18; Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 54:16; Psalm 105:17-19; Isaiah 13:1-6; Hosea – so much in Hosea and Hosea 8:7a; Isaiah 46:10-12) For what purpose? To redeem us. To free us from the chains of idolatry in our pursuit of false gods. To give us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to understand that He alone is God. He alone can redeem and save and deliver. To help us understand that He is Sovereign, He is Righteous, He is Holy, He is Just. It is our sin, the consequences of which is death. And yet, in His infinite mercy, He bends near. He becomes jealous for us (Joel 2:18, Exodus 34:14; Song of Songs 8:6). He pursues the enemy He sent against us, routes him and delivers us from his hand (Joel 2:20; Isaiah 49:24-26). He draws …

Light shining – are you bright?

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Isaiah 60:1-2 1“Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.       2“For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. 9/1/2016 As I was driving tonight I noticed for the first time a flashing light up on a hill. The Lord had me pull over for a minute and this is what He spoke: “See that flashing light? I AM that beacon, I AM your beacon. A light shining on a hill is not meant to be hidden. It is not meant to be hidden.” At hearing this I was reminded of two scripture verses. The first passage, Isaiah 60, is posted above. The second is from Matthew 5:14-16: 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the …

Who is your Source of strength?

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2/21/2017 Heard: “Ezekiel Chapter 29. You know what this means? Don’t go over the bridge to the left or to the right but stay on the bridge.” Ezekiel Chapter 29. The Lord is the one speaking in this prophetic passage and as I read it in light of the above, verse 16 of this Chapter spoke strongly to me: “16 Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her for help.Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’” (NIV) Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people….then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. If we think of the bridge as the cross – stay the way of the cross.  If we stay the way of the cross, looking to Jesus, walking in Him, then we will not look to others for our source of confidence or for our strength but will look to God alone, the Sovereign I AM. Who …

Humanity in brokenness

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I was eating lunch with a friend and we were sitting outside on the restaurant’s patio.  I saw a man approach people who were sitting at tables lining the sidewalk of a little park plaza nearby.  I heard him say, “Excuse me” and then he followed it with a request which I could not hear.  Table after table rebuffed him – some not even acknowledging his presence, some looking up but barely giving him heed. It was almost as if he was hitting and bouncing off of people’s disgust and rejection – person after person after person. He walked with a bit of a limp and it broke my heart to see him; his body language was complete dejection as no one gave him the time of day.  And he walked away. Lord, help us not be so ignorant and cruel to those in need. May we remember their humanity. May we take heed of ourselves and our common link of our each being created in your image by your own hand and respond in …

Lessons from Joshua

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7/25/2016 I love the book of Joshua and greatly respect the man Joshua. I feel that in Chapter 1 alone there is so much to be gleaned on how to walk by faith, how to stand waiting upon the Lord, how to trust Him, how to contend and war for the promises He has spoken to us, how to take our promised land.  All this in the first few verses of Chapter 1. And then there are countless more lessons and fleshed out examples for us in the proceeding 23 chapters that follow. One day, as I sat reading the 4th chapter of Joshua, I was quite struck by the following verse: Joshua 4:9 “Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.” (emphasis mine.) While reading, the below pieces struck me, and I’ve sketched out a bit of the significance embodied in each one which came to …

Focus

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When the attacks from the enemy come, and they come, who do you focus upon? The enemy standing before you or the Lord? I once had a dream which God used to speak a very strong message of where our focus needs to lie when face-t0-face with the enemy.  I share it with you: There was an egg the size of an apple hovering in the air and coming towards me; this egg was preparing to hatch.  I got all excited and walked over to it and as I did so, I noticed a raven swooping down and coming directly at this hovering egg. I had a few things in my hand and I threw it at the raven to protect the egg. As the raven came right up to the egg and was hit by what I threw, it transformed into a small demon person the size of the raven. It wasn’t interested in the egg, it was engaging with me.  I immediately started to speak in tongues and I was angry and started backing …