In His Word Wednesday: Is 64:4

Isaiah 64:4
For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear. Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits on Him.

For the last few weeks I have been writing a series on seeking God's guidance. I wanted to share points that will help when you are at the point of making a decision. We all know when God is in the decision, it's always better for us and others. If you are just now joining us please go back and read part 1 (introduction), part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6.

This is one that is difficult for me...waiting. In this hurry-up world, waiting for anything can cause us to lose our temper, our good sense, and our tongues...often more than we can admit. We don't like to wait for anything. We want it right now. The Word of God lets us know that we will learn some of life's greatest lessons while we wait. God promises that He acts on our behalf when we wait for Him. If we want to, we can run ahead of Him. God will use these long pauses in our lives as blessings. But often times, we try to fix things on our own, or manipulate our circumstances. If we wait on the Lord then our sovereign God will act on our behalf. It's our choice.

In His Word Wednesday: Mark 11:22-24

Please forgive me for not posting last week. I feel terribly ashamed. I have to say sometimes I can be the queen of procrastination. Then I've missed a very important opportunity.

Mark 11:22-24
So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."

For the last few weeks I have been writing a series on seeking God's guidance. I wanted to share points that will help when you are at the point of making a decision. We all know when God is in the decision, it's always better for us and others. If you are just now joining us please go back and read part 1 (introduction), part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.

These verses are very clear in what fifth thing we need to do when seeking God's guidance. Jesus tells us just to "believe." Sounds easy doesn't it? Well depending on the circumstances, and what guidance is needed, many times it is not easy at all. We all know God, in His sovereignty, is capable of doing anything. Many of us have stumbling blocks that makes belief easy. Sometimes we think we do not deserve. Let me stop here and say, "God loves you and has plans to prosper you." Often we need to stop and evaluate what we are asking. Reach deep is side and honestly ask, "Is this the best for me and my life?" Thankfully, God knows what is best for each of us, and He knows what tomorrow brings. Praise you Lord for your sovereignty.

In His Word Wednesday: Psalm 119:105

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

For the last few weeks I have been writing a series on seeking God's guidance. I wanted to share points that will help when you are at the point of making a decision. We all know when God is in the decision, it's always better for us and others. If you are just now joining us please go back and read part 1 (introduction), part 2, part 3, part 4.

Meditating on God's word is the 4th thing we need to do when seeking God's guidance. I often like to say marinate on God's word instead of meditate, because we need to dive into God's word, rolling and bathing ourselves in it. Or in simple terms, spend more time reading our Bible. All answers we need in life are written there. God's word is living and breathing, and it has a power so powerful that our little minds can not understand. The more time we spend in God's word the clearer our path will become as it lights our path. So don't remain in darkness, fretting over what you should do, but meditate in God's word, letting it lead you from the darkness to safety.

In His Word Wednesday 1 John 5:14,15

1 John 5:14,15
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

For the last three weeks I have been writing a series on seeking God's guidance. I wanted to share points that will help when you are at the point of making a decision. We all know when God is in the decision, it's always better for us and others. This is part two in seeking God's guidance. If you are just now joining us please go back and read part 1, part 2, part 3.

The third thing we need to look at is asking. God promises that when we ask according to His will, He hears us. And when we know that He hears us, we know He has answered, even though the answer may come over a long period of time.

I have to point out a key point in these verses. These verses are often used out of context, leading people to believe they can ask for anything and God will supply. God is not a genie. We can't ask and poof, we get it or it happens. God doesn't work that way. It says, "according to His will." God has a plan for each of us, and He knows what's best for us. His will often doesn't coincide with our wants. Just keep in mind that God loves you more than you can imagine.

Blessings and Happy Sewing!

In His Word Wednesday: 1 Peter 5:6

1 Peter 5:6
Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.

For the last two weeks I have been writing a series on seeking God's guidance. I wanted to share points that will help when you are at the point of making a decision. We all know when God is in the decision, it's always better for us and others. This is part two in seeking God's guidance. If you are just now joining us please go back and read part 1, part 2.

The second thing we need to do before we go before our Creator is surrendering. Submitting to the will of God is both a humbling and uplifting experience. I will also say it is essential. We have to give God control of our lives. In today's society this is not always easy. Not submitting to God and trying to control aspects of our lives is stemmed from good ole pride. When I thing of pride, I always think of the fallen Lucifer and his pride. It is the same for us. Our pride always causes us to fall.

So go to an altar, your living room, bedroom, where ever you feel comfortable, and kneel or lie prostrate (although this is not required, it is very humbling), freely give you life to God. Submitting your life in every area; the future of your job, your marriage, your finances, your health, etc. Trusting God that no matter where life takes you, whether easy or tough, God's will will be done in your life. I have to say to the mothers, this includes our child's lives too. We tend to try to emit motherly control over our children. This can be relevant in young children, but as they get older we have to submit their lives to the Lord. Remember, even as much as you love your child, God loves him/her more, and He has a plan for their life too. I do not want to be the one who gets in the way of that plan.

Submitting to God can be easy when life is going our way, but what happens when the road gets rocky? Trusting God, and not jumping in trying to control and twist things to work out the way we want is not easy (especially for us control freaks). How you deal with these trials will either cause you break down, or it will cause you to mature as a Christian. When we submit and seek God's will in these situations, we are being molded to be more like Jesus.

 

Blessings and Happy Crafting!

In His Word Wednesday: 1 John 1:9

1John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Last week I started a series on seeking God's guidance. I wanted to share points that will help when you are at the point of making a decision. We all know when God is in the decision, it's always better for us and others. This is part two in seeking God's guidance. If you are just now joining us please go back and read part 1.

The first thing we need before we go before our Creator is cleansing. We need to ask God (and ourselves), "is there anything in my life that is hindering me from hearing what You are saying?" If so, cleanse yourself with confession and repentance.

Even Christians sin. Sometimes the sin is from a habit of our old flesh, or it could be from a new situation in our life, but it is still sin. When we have sin in our life, we sometimes feel like God is nowhere to be found, and question if He hears us. This feeling causes us to feel discouraged and shameful. Satan loves to have us here. He will often tell you "God doesn't love you," or "God will never forgive you." That is so far from the truth (exactly where Satan wants us...far from the truth). 1John 1:9 shows us how big a liar Satan is.

Take a moment to sit and cleanse yourself, restoring your relationship with our mighty God. A restored relationship means the communication lines are open. Be prepared to hear what God has in store for you and your life.
Magnificent God by Big Daddy Weave

 
Blessings and Happy Crafting!

In His Word Wednesday: Psalm 27:14

Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage. And He shall strengthen your heart, wait, I say, on the Lord!

With the election coming up, it has got me to thinking about life's choices. Life is full of choices, and if we want to make the right choice, we need to wait on God's guidance. We all have those times in life when we need God's guidance. It's not always to easy to wait on God, or follow His decision because the answer is not the one we wanted. But I have learned, and it has taken a few times, that God doesn't make mistakes. His decision is always the best for me and my family. Take note that I didn't say "the easiest."

One thing the above scripture says is "wait." Patience is one trait that I, and many others, struggle with. In this time and age, there are few things we have to wait on. Technology has made many parts of our life so much easier and definitely faster. I remember, as a young teenager, I had to wait to get home to call my BFF to discuss the happenings of that day. Fast food was an occasional treat, not a source of a daily meal. In my first job, paperwork was time consuming but necessary. Sometimes it would take hours to discover a mistake in the records as we flipped pages, checking each entry. Dinner took about an hour to make, not 15-20 minutes it now takes to bake in the oven or heat in the microwave. Well anyway, my point is that waiting is not always easy for most of us, but God says wait. "Wait on Lord," is mentioned twice in this one verse, and the last ends with an exclamation point. I can safely say that David was trying to drive the importance of waiting in this one verse.

Over the next 7 weeks, I want to share 7 things that will help when seeking God's guidance in your life's choices.

As always please feel free to share any of your thoughts, but I would like to ask that you share a time in your life when waiting was difficult.

Blessings and Happy Sewing!

In His Word Wednesday: Matthew 10:42

Matthew 10:42
And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.

I would like to point out two things that I think of when I read this verse. First, God doesn't reward only "big" jobs and "important"works. He loves to give and He loves to reward obedience, no matter how "small"or ïnsignificant" it may seem to us. Giving a glass of water, smiling, saying kind words such as "thank you" or "have a nice day," could be just what that person need that day. Second, it also reminds me that we can do things for God just for the rewards we one day will receive. It has to come from our love of God. Think about it, when you really love someone what do you usually do? You do things that show that person you love them or to make them happy. True acts of service stem from a sincere love of God and a desire to please Him.

In His Word Wednesday: James 1:4

James 1:4
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

I have been under a lot of stress with my dad suffering through chemo treatments. Not just the stress of watching my dad suffer, but all the traveling (I live 2 hours away), time away from family, not being able to complete projects (a little perfectionism), and the strain on the finances, has had me under the weather.

As with all suffering, we wish we didn't have to go through it. But I know that God, in all His wisdom, is using this time to strengthen me and deepen my faith. God has not only told me that He is there by using examples in His Word, He has placed many people in my life who have went through similar situations.

We don't need to be told "life is hard", all we need to do is live awhile. As believers we know God uses these hard times to crush out all our selfishness and warped priorities. Eventually we will get to a point to where we thank Him for the suffering we have endured.

Redeemed by Big Daddy Weave

In His Word Wednesday: Philippians 1:6

Philippians 1:6
"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day until Jesus Christ."

I love to watch these renovation show, of houses and yards. Experts come in a take a total disaster and make it into a beautiful, useful, functional thing. That is what God does with us. He comes in when we are dirty, damaged, and cluttered with sin, with skill only a Master Expert has, and cleans us up, fixing all our broken, dirty places.

We would be totally lost without the Lord. He rescues us when no one else can. Sometimes it takes a while for Him to clean up all the dirt, but He will be faithful in completing His work in us.

In His Word Wednesday: Psalm 56:3

Psalm 56:3
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.

Fear is a natural human reaction to danger. We have many things that causes fear to raise its ugly head: lack of money, deteriating health, lack of security in many aspects of life, etc. The list could go on and on. When fear is squeezing you into despair, trust the Lord. God does not tell us to ignore our fears, but to bring them to Him.
Through the Fire by the Crabb Family

In His Word Wednesday: Ezekiel 28:17

Ezekiel 28:17
Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.

What made Lucifer into the devil? Pride. He forgot that any wisdom and beauty and splendor he had came as a gift from God. These gifts are to reflect God's glory and not our own.

In a world that feeds our pride, we must beware of this same deadly mistake. To some it may be our physical appearance, our possessions, our accomplishments, or for us crafters, our creations. Take a moment to give thanks to God for the gifts you have.
Thank You Lord , For Your Blessings on Me

In His Word Wednesday: 1 Samuel 16:7

1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at the appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Evan a godly man like Samuel could not help but judge man's character by his appearance. This is why we must continually go to the Lord in His wisdom; only He sees the heart.

Two questions:
What do you see when you look at others?
What does God see when He looks at your heart?

In His Word Wednesday: John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 
John 14:27

A few of you know that my brother-n-law has been suffering from cancer, this past Friday, he left us to be with Jesus. The day before his death, my father discovered he has lung cancer that has already spread into his lymph nodes. Even though this time in our lives is emotionally and physically draining, we take great comfort in knowing that both Don and my father are children of the King. We know that in the end we will miss them greatly, but we will see them again. As we endure these storms in our lives, the above scripture reminds me that Jesus knew we would have times of trouble like these. Then He reminds us to cast our cares upon Him.

My brother-n-law chose this song for his funeral, In Christ Alone.

In His Word Wednesday: Matthew 10:34

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."
Matthew 10:34

One of my husband's brothers has cancer. It is a rare cancer that started in the lining of his lungs. It has been very aggressive with no radiation/chemo therapy slowing it down. He has suffered physically with blood clots, sickness from the medications, and difficulty breathing. He has suffered mentally, with each attempt to cure the cancer failing, he realizes that he will leave behind a wife and two daughters (ages 22 and 8). Even though he knows Jesus is his Savior, he and his family question why we have to suffer in such awful ways.

I know the context of this verse and those before it, is Jesus telling His disciples that following Him will bring persecution. I'm understand that, and am not taking the verse out of context. It's just this verse also reminds me that we will suffer on this earth. Satan is still the ruler of this world. Sin is still in this world. While we are residents in this world, even as a child of the King, we will suffer in all kinds of way. Jesus died on the cross so that we will have life with Him in heaven. Yes, making Jesus your Savior will bring peace to your human hearts, One day He will bring peace to this planet, but until then, plan to endure many trials that this life will bring.

In His Word Wednesday: Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Deuteronomy 10:12-13
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, an to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your soul."

From Genesis to Revelation, God instructs and urges His people to obey His commands and to fear His great Name. This is just two verses (of many) that I chose to share this morning.

My heart is heavy this morning with all the media on the Chick-fil-A president, Dan Cathy. I praise God he is standing on biblical principles about homosexuality. I'm praying just as God had provided protective hedges for Job, that He will also protect Dan. Dan is doing what these two verses tell us. He is keeping God's commandments. The Bible has many verses referring to homosexuality as an abomination to God. So if you believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, you will agree homosexuality is wrong.

Now I'm going to lean in another direction. I know homosexuality is wrong, but so is lying, murder, gossiping, stealing, hating...the list goes on and on. We are all born into sin, and we each have our own temptations that we struggle with. Humans categorize sins, God does not. A person that struggles with lying is no better than one who struggles with homosexuality. My struggle is with anger. When I'm faced with a frustration, my temper explodes before I think. This causes me to hurt others. The temptation to lose my temper is always a struggle, but it does get easier as I grow in Christ.

The above verses tell us to love and respect God. To serve Him and obey his commands. I believe this is exactly what Dan Cathy is doing. His business has been serving everyone (including homosexuals) with love and without prejudice, and keeping God's commandments. He is not condemning homosexuals, but he is not condoning their behavior either. This is how he believes, and as an American, should have the right to express his beliefs. Yet many are boycotting Chick-fil-A because of Dan's beliefs. I just have to ask, why is okay to agree with homosexuality, but it is considered "hate" if you disagree with it? I have seen no "hate" in his words or actions. Chick-fil-A has severed all kinds of people.

Our youth group will join in supporting Dan Cathy and His godly principles, by supporting his business. Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee suggested that if you agree with Dan Cathy, show your support with an anti-protest by eating at Chick-fil-A on August 1st (see story here). Show your love for God by encouraging one of your brothers while he is under attack.

In His Word Wednesday: 1 Samuel 3:5

1 Samuel 3:5
So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down."

I have a friend struggling with hearing God's voice in her decisions, so I was reading the beginning of Samuel's story in search of Scriptures to share. As I came across this verse, it spoke to me in a continuation of last weeks verse about teaching our children.

Samuel "went and lay down." Eli didn't have to beg or persuade Samuel to lay down. How can we see this wonderful trait in our own children? Well, Samuel learned to obey early in life. How a parent reacts to their child's demands, builds the foundation for their future (even as early as infants). Not only do we have to teach our children to obey us, but also to obey God. If early on we teach our children to obey God, we set them up to mature into godly men and women of spiritual understanding. This is priceless...

The Words I Would Say

In His Word Wednesday: Joshua 24:12

Joshua 24:12 I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow.

Are you a control freak? I am to some degree. Then I am often reminded that I really have no control. I find great comfort in this verse because it reminds me Who is in control.

Our Sovereign God can use even wild creatures to bring about His will and bless His people. Nothing is beyond His control, and everything can be a mighty tool in His hands.

When your world seems to be chaotic, remember Who is sovereign.

In His Word Wednesday: Proverbs 6:23

Proverbs 6:23
For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

We live in a dark world, and without becoming familiar with God's Word and learning how to effectively shine its light on our problems, we will certainlly stumble in the blackness.  -Charles Stanley

In His Word Wednesday: Colossians 3:4

Colossians 3:4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
“We woefully shortchange our earthly experience if we, with well-meaning hearts, relegate Christ to the top of our list of priorities and demand that he stay put.

We’ve been taught to live by lists of priorities but, if marriage is second on my list, what will happen without Christ’s intervention? If children are third on our list, what will become of them if Jesus sticks to our church category and doesn’t invade our parenting? If friendships are fourth on our list, how can we ever hope to break our cycle of broken relationships without Him who is wholeness incarnate? Colossians 3:4 doesn’t call Jesus number one in your life. It says He ‘is your life’.

If it has something to do with us, then it has something to do with Him.

If we’re willing, God is our song when we are happy, our escape when we are tempted, our hope when we’re despairing, our joy in tribulation, our strength in weakness, and our immortality in dying. Ultimately, He Himself is our health.” - Beth Moore
 
May your echo the words of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.”