open our eyes

"And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened"

Matthew 20:32-33

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When we ask Jesus to open our eyes, He is filled with compassion. He lovingly reaches out, touches our eyes and they are opened.  And we receive our sight. 

When He opens our eyes, we see the depth of our depravity.

We come face-to-face with the wretchedness of who we are apart from Him.

We see our desperate need for a Savior.

When He opens our eyes, we begin to recognize the self-centered tendency of our nature. Our first thoughts as we rise in the morning, tend to be all about 'me'. As our eyes are opened, our awareness of Him increases and we realize the intense need for our focus to be all about Him.

Our thoughts transform from  'what am I going to do today', to 'what does God desire to do through me today'.

When He opens our eyes, we see more clearly the deep desperation of our need for his generous grace.

When He opens our eyes, we begin to see His Hand working in our lives. We begin to sense His presence more vividly and our longing for it intensifies.

We begin to see His Handprints everywhere we look.

When He opens our eyes we begin to see His wonder. His power. His fullness. His glory.

When He opens our eyes, we begin to truly experience Him. And a deepening hunger. And an increasing thirst. And a more desperate yearning for Him.

Our eyes are opened, our spirits enlightened and our satisfied souls then gaze upon our Lord and we are filled with awe.

And we pursue Him with a renewed passion and purpose as our eyes feast upon the only true nourisher of our soul.

Lord, that our eyes may be opened indeed.

breaking those ties that bind

I love God's perfect timing. I love how He works even when we don't think He is working or perhaps when we think we have closed off an area of our lives from Him to work in.

I first did Beth Moore's 'Breaking Free' about 11 years ago. Even though I have been a Christian since I was 9 years old, I didn't progress much in my spiritual life until about 5 years ago. Oh, I have the loved the Lord intensely for many, many years, but I just didn't quite grasp the difference between reading the bible and studying God's Word. Between loving Him and having an intimate relationship with Him.

So when I started studying about strongholds and captivity, I really didn't see the cords of the yoke that had me entangled back then. I didn't think I had any strongholds. Well, not of any significance. I looked back over my book from the first study and just couldn't believe how blind I was to some real captivity in my life back then. I definitely had the stronghold of ignorance! Or perhaps it was pride.

One thing I love about growing closer and closer to the Lord is how He reveals more and more of our imperfections as we grow. The deeper our walk with Him, the wider our eyes are opened to the truth of our depravity.  With our more intense seeking, comes the freedom from self-delusion. He will reveal His Truth to us so that we can begin to distinguish the Truth of His Word from the lies of satan.

"The LORD is near to all

who call on Him, to all

who call on Him in Truth"

(Psalm 145:18)

When I began teaching this study earlier this year, it didn't take but one homework session and I was just blown away at the captivity in my life! How in the world could I have been so blind? This statement really hit me square in the eyes and caused me to do some in-depth soul searching.

'A Christian is held captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for her"

Oh, my.. I was a captive in the worse way. My life was not as abundant and Spirit-filled as Christ had planned for me. Not even close. I started right then by getting an index card out and making a list of the strongholds God was revealing to me. Of course, I wrote 4 of them down but didn't write one more that came to mind because, well, if I didn't write it down it didn't count. Right? Um... no. Wrong. It just meant that it would take God a little longer to deal with me on it and I would stay in bondage just a little bit longer than anticipated. Not a good plan.

We are nearing the end of our study and the other day I pulled out my card and glanced at it and realized that I was indeed, with God's help, breaking free from those things that are binding me and preventing me from experiencing true abundance in the Spirit. Except for the one thing that I failed to write down. Once again, God brought it to the forefront and I knew that it was time to deal with it. And so I did.

With the generous grace dispensed by my Lord, and with His Sovereign Hand leading the way, I was able to take that first step toward freedom in this area. It wasn't easy. It is a work in progress. But oh, it was so good. I felt a weight lifted off of me that was a long time in coming! I felt some freedom in my spirit that I hadn't felt in a while. I took another step in the journey with my Savior and took great pleasure in tearing down some high places in my life.

Each day is a new challenge, but I know that God is faithful. He wants us to quit cooperating with the enemy. He wants us to be free. He desires for us to experience the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life He planned for us. Our liberty in Christ is a reality!

My greatest desire is to bring honor to His Name. I want to be an instrument for His glory. I want to be a display of His Splendor. May He be able to say over me, "My Name and My renown was the desire of her heart."

~~~~~~~~~

Thank you, Lord, for helping me to walk in your ways. Thank you for the power of your Word and the presence of your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the freedom that comes from a life lived according to your commandments.

mixed emotions

"And the Word was made flesh,

and dwelt among us, and we

 beheld His glory, the glory

as of the only begotten of

the Father, full of grace and truth"

(John 1:14)

~~~~~~~~~

Like many other people tonight, I am sitting in a warm house, comfortably relaxing on my couch. As my husband and I watch "It's a Wonderful Life" the lights on our Christmas tree bring a soft, peaceful glow to the room. We are anticipating a wonderful day tomorrow with our children and grandchildren. The day will be full of fun and excitement. Joyful chaos will descend upon our household in the form of 6 amazing grandchildren.

Love will abound. God's goodness will be evident. The presence of our Savior will be welcomed and embraced.

We will enjoy good food and fellowship. We will have a good time giving and receiving gifts. We are abundantly blessed and generously graced by our Lord.

As I sit here tonight and think about all of this, I am struck by the reality that although many families will be experiencing a joy filled day as well, there are many families that won't have that privilege.

There is a family that is still mourning the loss of their 21 month old  boy just a few short weeks ago. A little boy that was full of life until a tragic accident at his house took his life.

There is a little girl named Jessica, who at age 4 was just diagnosed with cancer a few days ago. Tonight her family is in the hospital waiting for test results so the doctors can begin plans to treat the stage 4 cancer that is in this precious baby's body.

There is a family here in my town, that is still grieving over the loss of their 10 year old daughter, Zoe, in a car accident about a month ago.

There is a little boy named Skyler, who is 4 years old and battling leukemia with many complications. He and his mom are spending Christmas in the hospital. And they spent Thanksgiving there, too. And her birthday. And Halloween. In fact, little Skyler has been in the hospital since August.

There is a family whose little 20 month old twin girl, Evie, died in her sleep a little over 2 weeks ago. She evidently had meningitis and they didn't know it.

A precious lady named Cindy experienced the loss of her husband today as was swept home to be with the Lord.

It breaks my heart to realize that these families aren't sitting in their comfortable homes tonight, watching Christmas shows, drinking hot chocolate, enjoying the lights on their trees and anticipating a grand celebration of our Lord's birth tomorrow. Their precious children aren't nestled snug in their beds in new pajamas, with smiles on their faces.

Instead they are struggling with raw emotions of grief. Stark emotions of disbelief. Trying to get through another day with no bad news.  Trying to smile when they feel like crying. Instead they are cradling their little children as the chemo they are taking is making them sick. They are praying for a good nights sleep. They are praying for their children to just make it through the night. Some of them are gazing at the empty beds that should be filled with their precious children that are now in the arms of Jesus.

And my heart is heavy for them as they experience what no parent should have to experience.

But for the grace of God, any one of us could be in that same place in the blink of an eye. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. None of us are immune to tragedy. None of us exempt from suffering.

But the one thing we can know for sure is that we can place our hope in Jesus. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Even in our grief and our sorrow, He is there. He will cradle us in our sadness. Comfort us in our mourning. Give us peace in the midst of uncertainty. Embrace us with His sweet spirit. Where there seems to be no hope, there is God. When there seems to be no answers, there is God. When all appears lost, there is God.

As we awaken in the morning to our healthy families and overwhelming abundance, let's remember to say a prayer for those less fortunate than us. Let's pray for all those children that are battling life threatening illnesses. Let's pray for their parents as they try to remain strong. Let's pray for those parents still in shock at the loss of their precious babies.

Every day God gives us an amazing gift. The gift of life. Every blessing He bestows upon us is one not deserved, but one so graciously dispensed to us. God is so good. May we be ever thankful for the greatest gift He gave us in the form of a baby. His only begotten Son. Fully God. Fully Man. Born to be our Savior. Born to be the redemption for our sins. Born to give us eternal life.

Thank you, Father, for the gift of grace. May I never take lightly the sacrifice you made for me. May I be ever mindful of your infinite power and your unending mercy. You are everything to me and I love you with all that I am.

May the peace of God flood your hearts. May He be so evident in your life that He blows you away with His presence. May Jesus be the focus of our celebration.

 Merry Christmas!

fingermarks of God

The word 'sign' in this verse is from the Greek word "semeion" meaning 'a mark or indication that distinguishes a person from another'.

Much like our own fingerprints, which are unique and truly distinguish us from another, this babe - this Savior wrapped in swaddling clothes - bore distinct signs of His matchless identity.

This baby was born to be the King of ALL kings and the Lord of ALL lords. His birth was announced by a heavenly host of angels. A Star led the way to the place of His birth.

This Christ-child... this precious baby.... bore the very fingermarks of God. There was none that came before Him nor will there be any that could come after Him even remotely as unique and distinguished in this way.

This baby was conceived by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. The very breath of God. The very diety of God. The great 'I AM' - wrapped in cloth, placed in the manger lovingly by the Hand of God. Leaving His fingerprints on the baby who would change everything.

A baby marked with grace and truth.

A baby marked as Savior of the world.

A baby marked as the only Son of God.

Unequaled. Unparalleled. Incomparable.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

And this shall be a sign unto you....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas to everyone! May the Lord minister sweetly to your hearts and may Jesus be the focus of our celebration!

Congratulations to Terry of http://www.adisciplesthoughts.blogspot.com/ - he is the winner of Warren's book! 

Joy, Roaring Lions, Book Giveaway...



* Books bring me much joy! I love to read and I just love getting new books. A few months ago, I bought the book Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks, and other Gems from Proverbs by fellow blogger Warren Baldwin.  I have always loved reading from Proverbs but there have been times when I didn't always understand them and perhaps didn't always see a modern day application. Warren has taken these ancient sayings and so brilliantly applied them to our everyday lives. He has brought the book of Proverbs to life and given me new desire to dive into it with fresh awareness.

I love the way the book is set up. It is divided into 8 sections and each section is divided into short entries. I love using it as part of my daily devotion. I can read one at a time or I can read several, as time permits. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great devotional. 

When I purchased my copy of this book, Warren so graciously sent me an extra one to use in a giveaway.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will pick a winner from the comments sometime next week. 

You can visit Warren on his blog here and you can also read more of his wisdom laced posts at the Titus 2 in Action blog.

Thank you , Warren, for this great book inspired by the Holy Word of God.

* My granddaughter, Mercie, fills me with joy! She is so full of life and has such a sweet personality. There is nothing quite as sweet as her little arms wrapped around your neck and hearing her say, 'i wuh u, Nana'.  Last night she was riding in the car with me and her Papa and she was just amazed at all the Christmas lights. She was so excited and kept telling us, 'I see the 'tisamas lights! I do see 'em!'  I think that Jimbo and I got our hearts filled with much joy just from her delight.

* The Christmas story bring me much joy! I have been reading Luke 1 and 2 every morning for the past few weeks. Each time I read it, I feel an overwhelming sense of wonder in my heart. It still moves me to tears. It still fills me with awe at what my precious Lord did for me. May I never grow weary of reading about my Savior's birth and may it never cease to fill me with great joy.

* My granddaughter, Mikaela, fills me with joy! When she stays the night, we always spend some time together before bedtime reading God's Word and talking. A few nights ago, we were talking about getting crowns and rewards when we get to heaven for our works here on earth and how we would be able to lay these at the feet of Jesus. We were talking about how wonderful that is going to be and Mikaela looked at me and said, "Nana, I don't want to do good works just to get crowns and rewards, I want to do them because I love Jesus so much." Oh, my.. my eyes filled with tears and I could barely speak. I said, "Oh, Mikaela, me too, baby.. me, too."  Indeed, this eight year old child fills me with some JOY!

* My 4 grandsons bring me much joy! It has been so much fun watching these little ones grow. Boys are so different than girls and I have had the most fun experiencing all the 'little boy things' that I missed out on while raising 3 girls. Bryton, Sawyer, Eli and Silas fill me with great joy!

* Jesus fills me with much JOY! He is all I need. He is everything to me. I am so grateful for His presence in my life and I want to live my life totally surrendered to Him and His will for me. I am blessed beyond measure. I am overwhelmed at His goodness. I am so unworthy. He is my Joy.

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the lord."

(Luke 2: 10-11)