Breaking Open the Flask

     John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."       Unfathomable peace comes when we are so intune to Him that we have no need to rely on our own understanding, serve ourselves or bypass the authority of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Peace comes because we are obediently offering our whole hearts to Him to benefit His Kingdom.  When peace does not exist we must find out why and tarry for it as Oswald notes.  Peace does not exist because of my decisions.  And questions do not exist where obedience exists.   As I am obedient, I will face problems but they do not distract or cast doubt nor do they produce chaos.  They simply compel me to enjoy God's peace and to anxiously await His solve! 

     He caught my attention today in Luke 18:1, "....always pray not give up.... I will see justice."  I've known so many who have prayed the same prayer request for years and have yet to see an answer.  I've always wondered how it must feel not get the answer you desire especially if your prayer is for your mate to meet Christ as their Saviour.      Today, I'm struck by Intercessory Prayer in a whole new way.  I've always thought of it as my opportunity to pray for someone, on behalf of their circumstances.  I discovered two things I was missing out on though.  I haven't been putting myself in God's place to see from His mind and His perspective.  And secondly, I've been asking for too much understanding or information.  It's not how much I know that's beneficial.  Knowing too much can become overwhelming to my flesh and keep me from seeing His Truth.  Rather it's praying to become Like Him!      In our culture, we miss out on so m

     John 17:4, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do."      Sometimes, our days are hard where the rubber meets the road.  Where no one except Christ is there for us and only He is in the trenches with us.  Where He reveals His ultimate pupose for our very lives in the circumstances He allows to come our way each and every day.     Why then do we still question?  Why do we still contemplate what Christ is doing?  Why do we have "Pitty Parties"?  Why not trust?  Why not believe?  Why not practice FAITH?        God is who He says He is;      God will do what He says He will do;      I am who God says I am;      I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength;      God's Word is Alive and Active in me.      I'm Believing God! ~ Beth Moore, "Believing God"      "Trust and Obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey." ~ John H. Sammis, 1887

     1 Peter 4:13, "But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when HIS glory is revealed."       In our culture today, we do not want to be identified with Christ's suffering.  Translatation: terminal illness, hardships, difficulties and financially hard times.  We are desperate to be encouraged so we flee without reaping the truthful value of the experience that God wants to use to help us be identified with Him.  (James 1:2-4).   We flee to a short cut.  God's way is rarely, if ever, short.  His way is generally long = Longsuffering to be exact.  Have we forgotten that HE IS our Happiness even in the suffering?  Are we so desperate that we miss the Happiness He affords to us IN these times?         Dear friend, if we will abandon TO His agenda, there is literally no telling what principle(s) we will come to discover.  God has been guiding our way, ..... just so .... so very maticulously, so particularly.  Yet we w

I am reminded once again of the importance of faith and trust, and the power of even the tiniest amount. It is why the devil will do anything to undermine and destroy our faith. Without it we are weak and of very little use in accomplishing God's purpose. It can be more difficult to have faith when we are feeling discouraged and overwhelmed yet it is no less important during those times. The Bible says it is "the cares of the world that chokes out the word of God". Those cares can sometimes cause us to take our focus off of God and on to our trials. I need to make a conscious decision every day to remain faithful and obedient and trust God to guide my decisions and choices. Oswald Chambers says, "Never confuse the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, because a great deal of what we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him---a faith

     Recently, I was studying and came across a little reminder of the most amazing principle I've ever learned in my walk with God.  Romans 2b-5, "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."      In this same, I was led to Amos 5:4b, 6, 14-15 "Seek me and live."  "Seek the Lord and live."  "Seek good, not evil, that you may live.  Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.  Hate evil, love good: maintain justice in the courts.  Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph."        In the years since I've graduated from college, married, and started a family, I've experienced joy and suffering though

     Jude 20, "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit."     Jesus Christ represents to me a calm strength in the every day circumstances of life; panic is not even a shadow in his temperment.  Impulsivity is the opposite.  It is a loud voice in the world that screams to be heard.  Panic is it's MO (Mode of Operation).  Impulsivity stunts our spiritual growth.  Learning how to discipline the impulse to act hastily, or speak too quickly, is key.   Replace your impulsive responses to the every day, 24/7 circumstances, with a slowly developed habit of praying first before speaking or acting.  It may just save you from real embarassment.  Lean into God for an understanding of your circumstances and pray to discern His wisdom and word.  Learning not to be in the center, and live exceptionally in the ordinary, is not easily acquired. 

      Genesis 5:24, "Enoch walked with God."  What does it mean to walk with God?  Is it a feeling of security? A steadfast renewable joy? A peace that passes all understanding?  Is it sure?  Is it pleasant?  Is it plain and simple?  Is it a state of Brokenness? Is it a bumpy ride with bruises?  Is failure a regular result?  Is it confusing?  Is it turning the wrong direction?  Is it thinking the wrong things?  Is it misunderstanding His intentions?  Is it calculating things on my level?  Is it observing suffering?  Is it observing self-distruction?         Altering my patterns of discernment, walking, observing, and praying into complete abandonment to Him.  Relinquishing  my way: the way I see your people, the way I pray, the way I observe, the way I speak, the way I learn, the way I abide in You.  Life altering.        Paul said, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:14.  No matter the pa

     Our Goal is complete Abandonment to Him.  It probably isn't enough to just consider what Jersusalem represents to us: Salvation and Sanctification.  It may be that we must go up ourselves to Jerusalem to fully understand Our Lord Himself.  Eph 4:13, "... until we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure (the required, due, fit measure) of the stature (length of life, maturity) of the fullness (filled, completeness, abundance of His presence, power, and riches) of Christ."  It's really not about  our idea of this "life walk".  Our goal, our aim is to  do God's will and in that "life walk" He will render us useful to His purpose: drawing all men unto Him.       Jesus was never discouraged in the least by his circumstances or the events along the way (the road to Jerusalem).  He wasn't in a hurry to get through those places where He was presented with road blocks

     Upon salvation, we receive the very nature of God (His own Righteousness and Holiness); therefore, He demands absolute Righteousness and Holiness from us.  Once His nature enters us it meets with our human nature which is bent to preconceived ideas, narrow minded thinking and all other allegiances.  Our sinful nature never alters God's purpose in us.  We are created by Him.  He made us to worship Him and glorify Him.  Then, we must rely, rest, and force through to this amazing realization; never allowing our intended purpose to be thwarted for very long without getting back on a course of Righteousness and Holiness.  ~ Amy

      Pray in the secret place; not to be seen but to be in communion with our Father.  Wrap your head and heart around HIS will and pray.  Prayer is not getting things from God.  Rather it is the coming together in your secret place to know Him better.   Since we have been born again into a new life, His life will be formed in us through prayer.  His will, will press itself to the forefront of our thoughts and change our attitude, our hearts and minds, about the thing which we are praying.       My thoughts are brief today and refreshing after a period of Spritiual Confusion.  Leaving the secret place just now and headed out to the great adventure He has waiting for me.  ~ Amy

     Some days are a struggle as we believe we are handling our circumstances well and then out of nowhere we find ourselves in Spiritual Confusion.  The Bible tells us in I Cor 14:33, "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace..." From that we surmise that God is not a God of confusion.  True that!  He created this world and ordered it completely.  How can God be confused?  Key word in the verse: "author of."  God does not author confusion.  Spiritual Confusion is; however, authored in our minds and manifested in our human flesh.  God will not reveal the full measure of our circumstances until such a time as He is ready and He knows we are ready.  If at times, we feel the circumstances are keeping us from seeing the face of Christ or understanding fully, we need to take refuge in His shadow; in His Sovereignty and WAIT.  The real consideration is, "Are there enough "credits" in my spiritual bank account to carry me past the "debit&quo

In today's reading of My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers says "A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness." It is the daily Bible study and prayer times than enable us to deal with any crisis that might come our way. Just as a marathon runner cannot run a marathon without daily training, we cannot be prepared for the struggles that come into our lives if we have not been spiritually training through daily worship times. "God's training ground is the hidden, personal worshiping life of the saint."

     God has given us His Divine Strength and Power through the Holy Spirit at Salvation to fight off the things of our flesh which become so deeply embedded in us as to destroy our river of blessing in this world.  Our impulsive actions quench His Spirit.  Our impulsive plans and projects carried out before we take them captive to prayerful consideration make a mess of things.  Then, we wonder, "What went wrong?" So, we analyze it and recreate it and then we tweak it, again and again.  Where once the project could have been an innocent act of Obedience to Him, it now became a work of the flesh.  Impulsively, we put the project into play before being disciplined to stand still and wait on Him to approve it one step at at a time.  Our flesh distinguished itself from His making it our own project/plan.  It took away from the time He wanted and needed to create a work in us.      I'm feeling really small just about now as I consider my impulsiveness.  I'm confessing a

       My Utmost  encourages us that we should "'be being filled' (Eph 5:18) and the sweetness of the vital relationship with Jesus will flow out as lavishly as it is imparted to (us).  If not, something has obstucted the flow."  It would seem to say that even in the struggles and trials of this life as we remain focused on the Source, Jesus Christ, our circumstances may  not seem blessed, but rivers of living water will still flow.  So, I stopped this morning and examined the "flow," taking into consideration all types of circumstances/obstacles in life today.  What obstructs the Source of your flow?  Busyness and Stress, Rebellion, Terminal Illness, Death and Sorrow, Frustration?  Yea, all of these can obstruct the flow of His living water - not from entering your spirit but from exiting your spirit.  (John 7:38, "... shall flow rivers of living water.)  Won't you take a moment to be still and allow Him to reveal any obstruction that is keeping y

     Rivers begin at a higher source and as Oswald Chambers is quick to point out, "A river touches places of which it's source knows nothing.... a river is victoriously persistent, it overcomes all barriers."  When a river flows into a deep canyon the canyon can become so narrow as to hide the river from site.  As it runs it's course through the canyon it picks up minerals from the boulders and various deposits that fall into it's waters.  These minerals become life giving nutrients.  Then the river breaks from the canyon and the water's velocity becomes smoother and wider.  Those minerals deposited in the canyon now offer nourishment to whatever it makes contact with.  The time spent overcoming the obstacle of the canyon is purposeful and meaningful long after enduring the stress it brings.       Our lives are quite similar.  When we keep our focus on our original Source the obstacles, boulders, and currents  we call "LIFE"  deposit spiritual wea

Matthew 26:40, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?"        It's easy to think, "I would not have done that; no, no way." Then the Lord gently reminds me of a request He made of me this time or that time or even another time and I'm suddenly humbled to realize that I too, would mostly likely have fallen asleep that night in The Garden of Gethsemene.  Would you take a moment to go deeper with Him, "Lord, show me when I have missed out on 'watching with you'?"  Would take a moment to sit and listen as He reminds you of an event or circumstance or perhaps a person.  Let Him draw you into His thoughts.  Be patient and wait on Him to speak to you just now.       We have to get out of our finite minds and into the INFINITE wisdom that is available to us when we "watch with Him" as His word is revealed to us and our circumstances reveal Him to us.  ~ Amy

Yes. This quest to conquer worry has been life changing for me as well as the weekend renewal with my dear friend Amy. It is "the cares of the world" that can keep us from living the abundant life Jesus wants us to. Although many of the problems we have in life can be prevented just by praying for guidance and doing the right thing in the first place, many circumstances are beyond our control. It is our reaction to these circumstances that can "make" or "break" us. Will we worry and fret and become depressed? Or, will we pray and trust in God and leave the outcome to Him? Worry and trust cannot exist at the same time. If we are worrying about our problems we are not trusting in God. God can and will do wonderful things in the midst of our struggles if we have faith and trust in Him. Patti

About 2 months ago, I arranged to meet an old friend I had not seen in 17 years.  We both needed a break from our "life" and decided to spend a weekend together renewing our friendship and breaking bread together.  We were greeted almost immediately by our Father at a rather common intersection of our communes, Worry Wort Ave. and Fret NOT Blvd.  It seems we both have a tendency to travel to this intersection quite often but had not noticed the other one as we passed through.  Little did we know that our BIG God was going to use this particular weekend to painstakingly press down this burden we had created for ourselves.  From the mouth of an innocent little 5 year old boy and his crayon coloring book frog came the words we were to learn to live by, "God is great, trust in Him, He will help you Miss Patti!" Thus began the "Steps to Conquering Worry" assignment: Identify the moment you begin to worry and NIP it, NIP it, NIP it in the bud, Amy!   Worry begi