TRUTH or CONSEQUENCES

I read this scripture today in the Passion Translation done by Brian Simmons.  I like to read in different translations to get new perspectives.  Listen to how he writes this, "You are to love the Lord Yahweh, Your God, with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, with every thought that is within you and with all your strength."  I reread that a few times today. It is so much more descriptive of the love we are to have for Father God. He says we are to love Father with ALL THE PASSION OF OUR HEARTS. Passion is defined as a strong liking, desire or devotion to something you enjoy, or own.  It is also ardent affection, which means you are very zealous with your affection. Passion is displaying strong emotions for someone or something.  Jesus was saying we are to take every thing that we cherish, long for, or partake of and turn those affections FIRST to the Father. Nothing should have more of our time and attention than our love for God. OUCH

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. Grow in God's grace.  I have lived most of my Christian faith believing that Grace meant "favor".  And it does!  I am so happy for God's favor on my life.  But in the last few years I have learned that His grace is much more than just favor! I want to define grace as  unmerited assistance, coming from God to me, through Jesus, for my re-birth spiritually and the power that enables me to live out that spiritual life.  I grow in grace as I choose to walk more closely with the Holy Spirit! God's grace is always available to me. When Paul had a thorn in his flesh, a weakness that could have taken him out, he cried to God to remove it from him.  God's reply was that,  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) Paul's response was, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly a

Faithfulness is a big deal! Father God is the most faithful person who has ever existed! He is faithful even when we are faithless. Psalm 145:13b…The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.   Psalm 145:17…The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.   Psalm 146:6…He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever . I hope that as you read these scriptures that you are able to get in your spirit that our Father is faithful! We can trust Him to fulfill all of His promises.  Everything He has said in this Word is true, and will come to pass.  Many get upset with God because He doesn't respond like a magic genie that jumps at their every word.  God is a Father, training us, His children, in how to walk out our lives for His pleasure.  We forget that He created us to have fellowship with Him.  We are supposed to walk with Him and talk with Him throughout our da

Expectation means to believe that God will always come through for me!  He will never let me down. I need to have the expectation that I CAN depend on Him, I CAN trust Him, I CAN follow Him wherever He leads, for His heart is for me!  He says over and over, if you seek ME with all of your heart, I will be found by you.  Call to ME and I will answer. Over and over He has promised to be there for me, so I should expect Him to be. The problem with most of us, me included, is that we put our expectations ON people.  A lot of the time we never even tell others what the expectations are that we hold them to!  But we expect people to never fail us, to meet our needs, to love us unconditionally.  Unfortunately we get let down!  I have been let down many times, so I know you have too.  Even well intentioned people let us down. That is because we are ALL flawed human beings, each struggling to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow! I have let people down too. Not because I set out t

Are you a disciple of Jesus? A disciple is someone who sits at the feet of another, who accepts their teaching and helps to spread those teachings to others. So I ask you again, are you a disciple of Jesus?  I have to keep reminding myself that a true disciple takes time with the ONE they believe in and learns ALL they can learn.  I have committed myself to be a lifelong learner.  I try to keep the attitude about me that there is always more to learn about Jesus and the Kingdom of God.  I don't ever want to think that I know all there is know, and no one can teach me anything I don't know.  That is actually pride!  As a disciple I am asking the Holy Spirit to daily breathe on the Word of God and show me something NEW. I want more!  I want more understanding and insight into the heart of my Father.  I want to know MY inheritance in the Kingdom.  I want to be the best daughter I can be.  So I willingly posture myself to continue to be in the Word every day and look for new

The "C" word the Holy Spirit is speaking to me is COURSE. I am defining course as the path we follow, the direction we go as we follow the Holy Spirit leading us.  It includes the way I act as I follow Him.  The course of my life has led me deeper in the things of God.  I have never been one to just settle for what is easy or simple! One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 4:18, "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of day, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." To me it gives imagery of God's plan for each of us! We get a little glimpse of who He is and Holy Spirit brings a ray of light, of hope, of love into our lives. Jesus said he was the light of the world! So I begin to receive some light, some understanding, some revelation about my God. As I am drawn to follow Him, to get more, I am drawn deeper into light.  Light chases away ALL darkness!  So as I come closer to Him, the dark places inside me MUST be dealt with and over

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' Blood and righteousness. I dare to make no other claim but wholly trust in Jesus' name.  On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand! A hymn that declares the gospel truth!  When we are building our lives to be able to walk through all the storms and turmoil of life, if Jesus is not in our foundational beliefs, we are in trouble.  I don't know how people walk through life only depending on themselves or others.  I have learned through life that only my Heavenly Father is trustworthy!  Actually the Bible tells us, to love others, but to put our trust in only God! Jesus told a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7 about the wise and foolish builders. 7: 24-27... " Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat aga

I felt like the Holy Spirit told me to go through the alphabet and He will give me words to write about for the next 26 posts!  So here is the first word...ABIDE. Jesus addressed this concept of abiding in Him in John chapter 15.  He talked about Himself as the true vine, the giver of life.  In verse 4 He said, "Abide in me and I will abide in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me." He is our connection for life! I have heard it explained like this... He is the source of our power, everything we need to do life! Like an electrical appliance, if we unplug from the source of our life, there is no power.  That is when we flounder on our own, mess up and then quickly try to plug back in for His help.  The picture above says it all! I can grow and do life when His life flows into mine.  That flow is only created as I stay attached to Him.  So why do so many people give no thought to who