Tag: Faith

Because what we’re really getting ready for is Love

Preparing for the holidays is primarily a preparing of the heart.

Because what comes down is love and the way to receive love isn’t to wrap anything up — but to unwrap your heart.

This will take time.

This will take waiting.

I must make space for these.

Why don’t I make space just for the heart unwrapping?

Advent — this is the season of preparing that prepares us for any season of life — because we are preparing our lives for Christ to enter in — which prepares for us the life without end.

Is that the ultimate purpose of this life — the preparing for the next life?

Is this why Christmas, Advent, unlike any other time of year, glimmers with a glimpse of heaven — because it’s the time of year we’re fulfilling our purpose, preparing for Christ and His coming again? The Christmas tree’s been lit for weeks, a beacon, a preparing, an anticipation. Why is it easier to make Christmas cookies than to make our hearts ready for Christ?

Is getting ready for Christmas as simple and difficult as simply sitting stilled before the cradle of Christ?

And yet.

Love came down and “He came to his own people, and his own people did not receive him.”

(John 1:11)

Love came down – and his own people did not recognize Him.

Love came down — and His own people did not want what He offered.

The Messiah came down and He wasn’t received as the Messiah — and Love comes down down and who receives all the moments as His love?

 

How in the world am I receiving Christ this Advent?

During Advent, the season of waiting for the coming, the Christ-people, they meet whatever comes with this brazen belief that it is Love that Comes Down.

Love comes down to His own people — and His own people are the ones who do receive the unexpected and unlikely as His love.

The infant as infinite God.

The Babe as bondage-breaker.

The stump as new shoot, the ugly as beautiful, the weak as strong.

Our loving God always comes to us wrapped in the unlikely.

We may not know the outcome but we tenaciously believe that in Him we overcome — because Love comes down.

Is that how we get ready for Christmas? By readying the heart to receive the gift of every moment — no matter what the moment unexpectedly holds — as a gift of His love?

We’re ready for Christmas, not when we have all the gifts, but when we are ready for Christ — when we’re ready to give all of ourselves to Christ.

At the end of the day, the carols hardly play, and yet I hear them.

I light the candles at the hearth.

And I can feel how it comes.

The warmth and the flame and this slow unwrapping of everything bound…

***

ANN VOSKAMP

Needs in our Community

Thoughts have been running through my mind for days as to how to post about what is going on in our lives.

We really need your prayers and support as we continue to minister in our community–a community of many who have deep needs. Our friend who is terminally ill with cancer has needed our help in preparing her to move to live with her son in Nevada. Emotional,  physical, spiritual support has been needed and we have been obeying God to fill those needs.

Others have needed guidance, prayer, and all kinds of other support.

There are those in our community who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, so your prayers for those specific needs would be greatly appreciated.

We feel God has given us the gift of love in action. It takes a lot of energy and spiritual strength. Of course, in the process, the devil is attacking us, and we have been physically sick in the middle of helping those who need us.

All of the things going on has kept us from coming here with any consistency, and I know you all understand. We get a lot of strength and encouragement from each of you, but have been unable to take the time we used to, to read what you all are writing. But know that each of your ministries are important to us, and that we keep you all in our prayers, daily.

Much love and blessings, especially during this time as we celebrate the life of Jesus and the Greatest Gift we have through Him.

Sharon & Erick

 

 

 

Bad Memories « Broken Believers

Bad Memories « Broken Believers.

Again, Bryan has given us a visual of what it is like to carry guilt, or sin, around our necks. Constantly trying to sling it off, but having the stench hang on. Even after obtaining forgiveness, we must immediately drag those self-deprecating memories to the feet and arms of our Lord and Savior. He will lovingly, willingly, pick them up, throw them out to the farthest point, and lift us up. Holding us, taking away our pain. Letting us rest from the weight of it all. Always, Jesus is the only one who can truly set us free.

Daily Promise – November 9 – He is our Light and the Strength of our Life

Psalm 27:1 KJV

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Promise #313: I am your light and your salvation, the strength of your life.

There is a confidence that the Lord wants you to walk in that will cause fear to flee from our lives. It is the confidence that the shepherd boy David walked in when he defeated the lion and the bear while tending the sheep. It is that same confidence that David had when he ran towards a huge giant named Goliath armed with just a sling shot and a few stones.

David knew that the Lord was his light and his salvation and was the strength of his life. As a result of this revelation, David could walk in a holy boldness without being afraid. God wants you and I to have this revelation too! Jesus Christ is our light and our salvation and the very strength of our lives! We have nothing to fear because if God is for us, who can possibly stand against us!

May the boldness of a lion (Proverbs 28:1) rise up within you today as you reminded who you are in Christ!
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promise – September 27 – He will keep us from falling

Jude 1:24 KJV

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling,
and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

Promise #270: I will keep you from falling until you joyfully stand blameless in My presence.

One day, each one of us who has called on the name of the Lord will stand before His presence. Today’s promise encourages us that we have nothing to fear on that glorious day. Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord, and our Elder Brother, will present us before His Father completely faultless (blameless) on that holy day. The NLT Bible says that Jesus ‘will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.’

I love the thought that when Jesus presents us to God, He will do so with exceeding joy! The Amplified Bible describes it as… triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]. It will absolutely thrill the heart of Jesus to present us blameless before His Father on the day that we will see Him face to face!

We have nothing to fear about our future. Jesus has promised to be faithful to keep us from falling and will one day present us completely blameless before His Father and our Father in triumphant joy with unspeakable, ecstatic delight! Hallelujah!!!!!!
Photo by Martin Smith

AuthorBarry Adams

Verse of the Day – join us in going to the great celebration of grace and salvation at his return!

VERSE:
The inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, “Let us
go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself
am going.”
— Zechariah 8:21
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Zechariah+8:21

THOUGHT:
This Messianic message from Zechariah anticipates the day of the
LORD’s redemption. Many different peoples, from all over the world,
will come looking for the great mercy of God. God’s people will
have one key phrase on their hearts: “Let’s go seek the presence of
God. I’m going; why don’t you join me?” As believers, we know Jesus
has come, has died, and has been raised from the dead. We know
Jesus is returning with salvation for all who truly know and follow
him. Let’s ask others to join us in going to the great celebration
of grace and salvation at his return!

PRAYER:
Loving Father, I seek your presence daily in my life. Without
your guidance, love, holiness, and truth, I would be lost and
confused. Knowing that my destiny is with you, I look forward to
seeing you face to face as your child. Please lead me to those who
do not know you, but who are seeking you. Give me eyes to see them,
ears to hear their cry, and wisdom to know how to share your grace.
Use me to prepare them to meet you at the great Day of Redemption
that is coming with your Son. In the name of Christ Jesus my Lord.
Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20110927

Verse of the Day – What difference does it make if we praise him?

VERSE:
You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest
heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on
it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything,
and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
— Nehemiah 9:6
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Nehemiah+9:6

THOUGHT:
Our praise is pretty irrelevant to everyone and everything but
us, those closest to us, and amazingly to God. In a universe so
vast, so much bigger than Nehemiah could have imagined, what is our
small voice and our song of praise? The billions of stars and
innumerable creatures of the immense seas all cry out that our
Creator is LORD. God will receive the worship of the angels and all
the heavenly beings. What difference does it make if we praise him?
To the universe, to be blunt, it doesn’t matter. But it does to us!
It matters even more to the LORD, who longs to be our Father and
wants to bring us into relationship with himself.

PRAYER:
Holy and amazing God, you alone are Lord — Lord of all creation
and Lord of my life. You are praised by all you have made. Your
works cry out and declare your creative genius and your loving
kindness. Father, I want to add my heartfelt praise to the chorus
of creation, the voices of the angels, and the praise of many who
have come before me. You are truly worthy to be praised. I gladly
offer you my words, my songs, my heart, and my life. In Jesus’
name. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20110926

Daily Promise – September 26 – God will bring comfort to you

Psalm 23:4 KJV

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Promise #269: When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will be with you.

Today’s promise is a much loved verse from the often quoted Psalm 23. Most times, we might quote this verse at a funeral service or at another time of extreme loss and of course this verse is fitting for those occasions. At the end of our lives, it is comforting to know that God will never ever leave us.

However, I do want to ask you to think of another application of this promise… Jesus told us that except a seed falls in the ground and dies, it abides alone (John 12:24). The principle of the Christian life is a continual letting go of things, allowing them to ‘die’, only to see them resurrected again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Whether those things are dreams or desires, the principle of the cross (death, burial, resurrection) is a resounding theme in the daily Christian life.

In that context, when you are feeling like God is asking you to surrender something dear to you, when you are in a sense walking through the shadow of death for something that you have hoped for, be comforted in knowing that God is very close to you in those times of surrender and His staff and rod will bring comfort to you. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy is coming in the morning! (Psalm 30:5)

~ Barry Adams

Daily Promise – September 25 – God wants each and every one of us to run into His arms every time we need to be comforted!

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 KJV

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Promise #268: I will always be close when you need My comfort.

We all need comfort. When we scraped our knee playing in the backyard, we needed the comfort of a mother or a father to simply hold us and reassure us that everything was going to be okay. When we experience extreme disappointment or the loss of a loved one, words fail… What we need is comfort.

In today’s Bible passage from 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells us that God is the Father of mercies (compassion) and the God of ALL comfort. Our God and Father is the source of ALL comfort and He wants us to be comfortable coming to Him to receive comfort whenever we need it.

Since we were created to receive comfort, we will seek it out somewhere. If we don’t receive it from God, we will receive it from other things… Food, material things, false comforts, etc. God wants each and every one of us to run into His arms every time we need to be comforted! As we receive the comfort from His loving arms, we will then be able to be an expression of that same comfort to other people when they need a comforting shoulder to cry on.
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promise – September 24 – When we are feeling the farthest away from God, He is actually the closest

Psalm 51:17 KJV

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.


Promise #267: I will not reject the sacrifice of a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

I am so thankful that the sacrifices that God accepts are those of a broken and a contrite heart. Psalm 34:18 says… The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. NIV When we are feeling the farthest away from God, He is actually the closest. He does not abandon us in our times of crisis and struggle for He has promised to save us even in our darkest time.

King David wrote this Psalm after it became public knowledge that he had sinned with Bathsheba. His illegimate affair caused a world of hurt and pain for many people. It was at David’s lowest point, that he had a revelation of God’s love and kindness and mercy. Perhaps David expected God to reject him for his sin? Perhaps he was surprised to feel God’s nearness in the midst of his darkness?

Whatever he felt, he knew that God saw his broken heart, and God knew that David was truly sorry for his sin. For many of us, when we sin against God, we run in the opposite direction of Him assuming that He will turn away from us. The opposite is true! When we are our lowest point, He is very close to us and He promises to save those who are crushed in spirit.

~ Barry Adams

Without wood a fire goes out

Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies
down.
— Proverbs 26:20
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Proverbs+26:20

THOUGHT:
Ol’ Smokey The Bear said: “Only you can prevent forest fires!”
Basically, that’s what the Wiseman says about gossip. We can turn
down the heat, douse the fire, and let the quarrel die. How? By not
supplying juicy morsels of gossip, by ditching the urge to spread
destructive innuendo, and by refusing to keep alive an ugly rumor.
Without gossip, the bitterness of a rivalry can dissolve and
relationships can mend.

PRAYER:
Forgive me, O God, for the times I have kept gossip alive or
have entertained the conversation of a gossip. Please bless and
heal those whom I have wounded with my participation in gossip.
Give me the strength to say only what is helpful to bless others,
the courage to mend the relationships that I have damaged because
of reckless words, and the wisdom to know how to discourage those
seeking to spread gossip. In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20110924

We have Put on Christ

“As many of you as were baptized into Christ

have put on Christ.”  Galatians 3:27 NKJV

You read it right. We have “put on” Christ.

When God looks at us He doesn’t see us; He sees Christ.

We “wear” Him.

We are hidden in Him;

we are covered by Him.

As the songs says,

“Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”

Presumptuous, you say?

Sacrilegious?

It would be if it were my idea.

But it isn’t;

it’s His.

~ Max Lucado

Rainy Day People: Counseling Others in the Storm | BROKEN BELIEVERS

Rainy Day People: Counseling Others in the Storm | BROKEN BELIEVERS.

Thank you, Bryan. I really appreciated this message. You’re right. Those who do not suffer from depression or a mental disorder, don’t understand. No offense to them. It’s just not possible. They can sympathize, but can’t empathize. My husband and I are both bipolar, borderline personality, and PTSD, to name a few of our disorders. Even though we empathize with each other, so many times we have to pray, hold each other, and let the crisis pass. Lately, I’ve been extremely depressed, and for no apparent reasons. It’s rough. It is a little corner of hell, or maybe a big corner sometimes. I know it’s horrible, and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. It’s especially hard when you know that you have absolutely everything in the world, and with God, that a person could ever hope for, and yet, the depression is there, eating your guts out. Thanks for sharing your heart and encouraging others to express and share from theirs.