May You Walk in More Light

May You Walk in More Light

We had another houseful of grandchildren this week. It’s always fun and chaotic. As I went downstairs before daylight, I noticed that the grandsons, who were sleeping on pallets, had turned all the lights off but the one small light over my keyboard at the computer. It was dark everywhere but there. I made my way to the desk and began to type. Soon I had to run back upstairs to get something. As I left the computer area I realized it was much darker just a few steps away. I could hardly see the four steps to the upper area of our home. I also noticed that when I was going back downstairs, headed toward the light of the computer area I could see much better, even the steps had light on them.

God spoke to my heart: When you are in the light you have enough to see clearly for where you are. But when you walk away from the light you will find it even harder to see. Only in coming toward the light can you have your steps illuminated. I AM the Light of the whole world. And you are My child, so you are an inheritor of the Light. Always keep close to Me. Walk towards Me, grow in Me, brighten your life in My illumination. Every time you step away from My Light, things will only grow darker. Your circumstances of disaster, discouragement, and ultimately disbelief have to flee in the light. The enemy of your soul wants you to believe that I AM not enough, that I AM not the way, and that I AM not able to give you light for the present time. He is a liar and the Father of all lies. Yes, you may be experiencing problems that look impossible, but don’t walk away from Me now. Yes, you may have been left alone, cast out or forsaken by someone you trusted, but I will never leave you to grope in the dark for comfort. I AM your comfort. My light dispels all darkness.  Your perception of your gloom will only change as you look at Me. My light is always present. I will make the darkness light before you as you come closer to Me.

Oh beloved, are you walking in fear, disbelief or worry? Are you living in the dark? It’s time to turn around and walk in the light! Your view will clear up and your heart will strengthen as you determine to believe God in spite of whatever is going on. His plans for you are outrageously wonderful. A life lived for Christ is blessed with every spiritual blessing – not one is kept from you. Quit stumbling and quit mumbling and start praising Him. Things may “look” dark but He is always lighting your way for He is the Light. He will dispel the darkness and His light cannot be extinguished. Turn around and look for His light is beckoning you to come back to Him.

God loves you and He is surely for you so you can trust His light to dispel any misconceptions, miscommunication or misinformation as you live in the Light of His Word. He sheds His Light on everything so you can see clearly and walk fearlessly.

Colossians 1:12  always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light.

Psalm 112:4 Light arises in the darkness for the upright, gracious, compassionate, and just [who are in right standing with God] Amplified

I John 1:5  This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all.

Psalm 119:105 Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the Light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the Light that leads to life.”

You Can Walk in Freedom No Matter What

This morning I decided I needed to go out and enjoy the snow with “the young’uns”. Donning the heaviest clothes I could move around in I stepped out onto the snow and gingerly made my way across the cement at our front door. It was great! After walking around and throwing snowballs I noticed that my left foot was hurting. Looking down to see what was wrong I saw that I had gathered a huge ball of snow and leaves on the sole of my shoe. I knocked it loose and walked some more. But both feet were gathering these piles of snow and leaves. It impeded my ability to walk freely about. It was a lot of trouble to stop every few moments and knock snow from the instep of my shoes.

Finally, cold and weary of the constant removal of shoe from beneath my shoes, I went back inside to wait to help warm the first grandchild who got too cold. It just wasn’t worth the trouble and I realized that although the shoes were comfortable for regular walking, they weren’t meant for the snow. I should have picked a different pair, one with a different tread and sturdier ankles. I also realized that had I needed to walk a long way in the snow I would have been in trouble with the shoes I had on. Preparation is important. Without it I didn’t have as much freedom to enjoy the trek outdoors.

When we are born again we come into a kingdom where God has provided everything we’ll ever need for life and godliness. Yet we often find ourselves ill prepared for the situations that come our way.  We tend to want to wear house shoes everywhere. We prefer comfort. We like it. We’re God’s kids and we want it easy. Sometimes we prefer ballet slippers. We want to pirouette through life as though we’re all little princesses and princes. We are in fact God’s kids and since He is the King we are in a sense royalty. But we’re meant to traverse through hard times, rough times and rugged weather. We have to be prepared. Neither house shoes nor ballet slippers will get us through when we need our feet shod with rugged boots.

Thankfully we are blessed. We have an entire wardrobe standing ready for us. We don’t have to go unprepared. We have every need for every situation we find ourselves in. Others only have what they find for themselves, but we have the entire council of God’s Word to choose from. He speaks from Genesis to Revelation for our journey through life. All we have to do is get prepared. And we become prepared by taking in the Word and keeping it handy. We don’t know what we will encounter in the days ahead, but God does. So He has provided us with just the right Word for just the right weather. If all we insist on wearing is flip flops we’ll have a hard time in the winter of life. We may know that we have been saved, but we need to know more. We need to know that God will get us through. We can’t wait until times get hard to try to find the right Words to help us through. We must prepare ahead.

Oh beloved, are you struggling with the situation you are in? Did you find yourself in the midst of adversity and see that you are ill prepared to walk it out in faith? Are you wondering why it has happened? Did you fail to hear the weather report that all will have to walk through tough times and blustery weather? It’s not too late! You can still make it. Just stop in to God’s Wonderful Shop of Truth and let Him fit you with the proper Word for this time in your life. If you will come aside and spend some time with the Lord, reading His Word, searching for the right fit, He will lead you into all truth.  And the truth you put on for your present circumstances will get you there and you will walk through in freedom and grace.  You are not meant to stumble or be hobbled in life, but you are called to walk freely in His Word fully prepared for whatever you may encounter.

God loves you and He’s for you. That’s why you can trust Him to lead you into all truth so that, even when the going gets tough, you will walk in the freedom of His truth. There will be better days of flip flops, house shoes and slippers. But it’s wonderful for you to know that you don’t have to walk hampered as you live in the light of His Word.

Psalm 119:45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts. NLT

Habakkuk 3:19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! Amplified Bible

Psalm 86:11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. NLT

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work. NLT

Drop Every Restraint and Take Every Chance with God!

Our 3 year old grandson, Caleb loves to play on my phone. When I enter the room he walks up to me with the sweetest face and says, “I want to pay you pone”. Sometimes I let him. Other times the battery is too low. Occasionally I will try to get something from him in exchange. “Okay, if you give me a kiss!” Rarely do I get one of those. But sometimes when I say, “Okay, give me a hug” he’s willing to make the exchange.  Other times he just says “hmph!” folds his arms and walks away. He weighs the give-and-take in the balance and just can’t let go even though he desperately wants to play a game on my phone. We’re both disappointed. Me, because I really wanted that hug or kiss and I so wanted to bless him. Caleb - because he really wanted to receive the blessing of getting to play on my phone.

We’re like that with God sometimes.  He speaks to our heart about moving out or moving on or simply letting Him choose the road we need to take. It’s just a little east of our comfort zone. We look at the request from God, we look at the desires of the heart, we look to Him and we look at ourselves. It’s just too much to give.  We weight it all out and find ourselves walking away after deciding the exchange is too costly.  It’s a huge disappointment for us – for we who are in the household of faith ought to be more willing to let go.  Not sure if it’s a disappointment to God, for He knows all about us and He already knows what we’ll choose. But He has to wonder why His children don’t just give the hug and receive the blessing!

Unlike Caleb, who is simply thinking with his mind, we are able to pray about our decisions and look at them from a spiritual aspect. If we let ourselves see with the eyes of the Lord, then we’ll say sure to God and move with Him!

Caleb will outgrow his toddler thinking. He will grow out of being so shy and unsure of the consequences of letting someone have a hug or a kiss. As children of the Lord, I hope we outgrow our restraint with God.

Oh beloved, I pray for you today! I pray that you will see the Lord and run to Him willingly and give Him your whole heart! I pray that you will not hold back one piece of yourself from Him. I pray that as you give yourself entirely to Him you will see all the amazing blessings that come from a willing heart. I pray that you will measure carefully what God is asking of you and do it with all your might!  I pray that as He speaks to you, you will listen with the ears of faith and see with the eyes of trust and hold out your whole life with the hands of service. I pray that you will feel the hug of His amazing love and hear the joy in His heart as you give it all to Him.

I want to encourage you to drop every fear, worry, concern and control and take every chance that God presents to you. I know in your heart you want to receive every blessing, every mission, and every plan from God. You’ll have to drop your guard in order to receive completely from the Lord. But I’ll let you in on a little secret – it’s more than worth it!  Why? Because God loves you and He’s for you and that’s where the real blessings are received.

 

2 Samuel 7:28 For You are God, O Sovereign Lord. Your words are truth, and You have promised these good things to Your servant.

Psalm 119:32 I will [not merely walk, but] run the way of Your commandments, when You give me a heart that is willing. (Amplified)

2 Chronicles 25:2 He did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.

Psalm 26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.

1 Chronicles 29:9 Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

 

Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

Are You on a Tightrope Walk of Faith?

I ran over to my daughters’ house Sunday night to watch the tightrope walk of Nik Wallenda across the Grand Canyon. For a person who is afraid of heights I found it quite harrowing to watch. I’ve also been to the Grand Canyon and what you see on tv pales in comparison to what you see in real life: so much more magnificent, deep and windy than you can imagine.




The Flying Wallendas began as a circus act of daredevil stunt performers, most known for performing high wire acts without a safety net for nearly a century. Most of us baby boomers watched them often on television. Not all of the Wallenda family performers survived their “talent”. Several of them fell to their deaths while executing various walks. Still, you just have to admire people who appear to do death defying acts.



As the most recent family member to attempt a walk across the Grand Canyon, this trip was a little different. There was a preacher praying with the family before he began his walk. Then, all during the walk across Nik prayed and talked with the Lord and spoke to the wind and the movement in the high wire. Obviously his faith was beyond his natural talent. It would have to be. Because even the best of daredevils can’t stop a fall once it’s begun. Mere talent never got anyone anywhere. But talent plus faith or even faith without talent – that’s something God can work with and we can survive with.



Most of us have experienced some type of tightrope adventure. We start out on level ground, walking surefooted and solid. Then something comes along and we find ourselves holding on for our lives. We go from sure ground to nothing beneath us! It’s harrowing. We experience sickness and don’t know if we’ll make it. We experience rejection and wonder what we’ve done. We experience sorrow, fear, surprises, and all the while we know the next gust of trouble will thoroughly blow us away in the tempest. We don’t know how to hold on, move on or remain standing. We might begin to think the trouble is so severe that letting go would be the answer.



Oh beloved, you may be in the tightrope walk of your life! You may have been thrown into it by circumstances you couldn’t control. But it’s no surprise to the Lord and it’s not meant to blow you away! It’s really a walk of faith when you put yourself in God’s hands. You are not out there alone, you are not left without a safety net and you are not going to fall! God speaks to your heart this morning and says Have Courage! I AM with you! Have Faith! I AM on your side! Have peace! I will go before you! Have rest! I AM the everlasting hands underneath your entire life! Walk through it with Me, walk on with Me, grow bolder, rest in faith, grow in grace and knowledge, while you overcome with Me!



God loves you and He’s for you and that, beloved, is all the safety net you will ever need!



Job 11:18 Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.



Psalm 11:1 I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!



Psalm 59:16 But as for me, I will sing about Your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about Your unfailing love. For You have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.



Proverbs 29:25 Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.



Psalm 91:2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.

God Always Leads to New Horizons!

Social media changes often, have you noticed? From facebook to pinterest to twitter, they do the unthinkable – move things around! Just as we figure out what we’re doing, we have to learn some new way to do it!

Life is a lot like that.  We do things the way we always did them. We found a plan, figured our path and went by the letter. We follow this route for years and then one day our route comes to an end. We wonder how this could happen!

We rehearse all the right things - we rehearse the route, we rehearse our faithfulness and our accuracy. Then we look to see why it no longer works. We think to ourselves, “I was a good parent” (wife, employee, church member, friend, etc.) or we say, “I liked it the way it was”. Yet the road has changed. If we’re not careful we will find ourselves bitter and frustrated to the point of abandoning the way entirely. It’s not worth it so we convince ourselves to quit.

Do you think God might have a plan in changing our plans? Do you think He might shake our world to help us focus on the “real” world of faith? Is it possible that God could let us keep going by the letter, but He might love us enough to keep us having to focus on Him and learn new nuances about the walk of faith He has planned for us?

Change is hard, but not changing is much harder in the long run. Without change, we can’t grow, learn or progress. If we’re not willing to let God change our direction or allow ourselves to be changed by Him we’ll find ourselves simply going through the motions. If we give ourselves entirely to Him and let Him be the programmer of our media, then we will find that change is not only possible it’s good!

Do you like life in the status quo? Do you want things to stay safe and familiar? Try as you might, things in your life have been shaken up, pressed down and sifted again. You may feel that you’ve lost your way because you’ve lost a friend, a loved one, a spouse.  God understands your heart – for He left the splendor of heaven for the insecurity, instability and faithlessness of life on earth. He experienced it all so that your life will remain secure until He comes again.

Oh beloved, rush to the mercy and grace of His direction! Don’t hesitate, for surely His ways are better than anything else! If He has whispered something new into your heart it’s for your good and His glory! If He’s asking for you to turn loose of things you hold much too close, it’s for the best! Let Him rearrange your life and as He does you’ll see new horizons, make new friends, learn new nuances of His grace! And when it’s all said and done you will always remember that God loves you and He’s always been for you and that’s all that really mattered anyway!

Deuteronomy 13:4 Serve only the LORD your God and fear Him alone. Obey His commands, listen to His voice, and cling to Him

Isaiah 30:21 Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a Voice will say, "This is the way you should go," whether to the right or to the left.

Isaiah 29:24 Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction.

Psalm 37:4-5 Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.  Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust Him, and He will help you.

Psalm 31:13 For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.

Walk in His Promises for 2013!

As the old year slipped away, some folks were partying, some were sleeping, others were wishing on falling stars. Whatever 2012 was like, it’s forever in our memories. For the good times, we fondly reminisce and hold those memories dear to our hearts. For the hard times, we remember that every day is a new opportunity to start over and make a better day for ourselves and those we love. New years melt away into the past so quickly, reminding us to make the most of the times for the days truly are short. Danny and I have been holding hands as the ball drops for 4 decades now. We’ve celebrated with friends of our youth, then with our own little ones in our home. Other years we celebrated with a house full of teens or waiting for the car to roll into the driveway. Then there were the years we had a houseful of friends, learning to celebrate again as a couple with an empty nest. Those years gave way to celebrating with grandchildren sometimes and married children other times. Like many of you, we had years that we had to say good-bye to loved ones and other hopes and dreams left in the past.


But with every New Year, there is the wonderful view that even though things might have been hard, God saw us through it all! And there are always the promises of God to greet us. We are a blessed people indeed! We who claim to know Christ can also lay claim to all the promises of God for they are available as the sun comes up each morning and the calendar rolls over each year.

I know this past year may have been hard for you, but God was with you all the way. Maybe you didn’t know that when the hard time came, but as you look back you can see and take a deep breath – you made it! Maybe you want things to go differently this year, but you’re watching the news and you wonder how on earth you’ll make it!

Oh beloved, I’d like to pray for you! I pray that God will pour out His richest blessings on you for 2013! For you, beloved, I pray that you will not only hold onto the promises of God but you will walk with victory in each of them! I pray that you will not look back to the mistakes, the hurts, the broken promises of people or the unmet hopes of your heart, but that you will look ahead, for God is with you! He loves you more than you can imagine and He’s not only walking with you into the future, He is walking ahead of you, making a way where there seems to be no way! Look up to His countenance, look forward to His promises and look inward to His Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, which dwells in you! You are His forever and He will never turn His back on you or say it’s over! All the way to heaven you will live in the promises of your Lord for they are faithful and true no matter what else may come.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. KJV

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. NAS

I Corinthians 2:12 And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

Romans 8:11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for His glory.

Hebrews 6:16-20 16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.



Isaiah 43:16, 18-19I AM the LORD, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I AM going to do. For I AM about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

Need Insight for Living? You Can Have It!

You know they make some great commercials. I especially love the insurance commercial where the girl is talking to a guy about what she read about his insurance company on the internet. She tells him “they can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true”.   At the end of the commercial she walks off with a guy she had “met” on the internet who was a French model, only he definitely was anything but that.  Still she believed it and walked away arm in arm with him.

There are so many things taken as true today.  There are multitudes of infomercials extoling the virtues of one thing or another, all the time promising that their truth is the best.  If you buy it, you’ll be perfect, your life will be perfect, your future will be perfect. Just buy their product, the book, the dvd…whatever they’re selling.   There is much on Christianity as well. I find that I get lost in the information about all of it, unless I spend time in the Word. The more I fill my heart and mind with God’s Word the more easily I discern the false from the true.

Oh beloved, are you drowning in a sea of information? Have you searched everywhere for something to hang onto, something to make sense out of your situation? Maybe you want to do your own thing so you’ve sought out writers who believe you can do just that. Are you tired of running here and there and everywhere to find something that really touches your heart and changes your life? Run to God’s Word this morning and read! All the promises mentioned within the pages of the Holy Word are true. They will feed you, they will increase your beauty, they will add wisdom to your life and they’ll stay with you when everything else, everyone else, is gone.   

What wondrous love is this that the King of the Universe, the Self Existent One would write a Book just for you to live by? No ordinary book; written by no ordinary author; published by no ordinary producer.  Thank the One Whose name is Faithful and True! He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that really matters!

Psalm 19:8-10 The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.  They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.

Hosea 14:9 Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them...

2 Timothy 3:16  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

Psalm 86:11  Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to Your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor You.