Say What You Need To Say

JUST A THOUGHT
Mark 14:58
“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’”

I looked at this today and it made me laugh! I love so much how Jesus constantly was saying things that the listeners did not understand…..yet He said it in faith as His Father directed. I know it must have been frustrating, and he admitted it often. Matthew 15:16
“So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding?” But He kept on, knowing that as He spoke, one day they would understand as God opened their eyes.

So it is an encouragement to keep speaking God’s words, especially to your kids! I quoted Romans 8:38 to my daughter so many times…..it was such a joy to see it coming out of her when she was in her 20’s during a time of trial. So the thought for the day for me is “say what you need to say” !!! It’s okay if it’s not understood yet. Water it with prayer and God will open it up at the appropriate time. Sowing seeds….it’s a God given task and it’s awesome when the little plant pops through the soil of a heart!! Love you all and have a great day!

THE POWER OF REMEMBRANCE

Go back to the place of remembrance
A place you can clearly see
The times that God has rescued you
The times He has set you free

Go back to the place of remembrance
A time when He had your back
The messes He has delivered you from
The times you have gotten of track

Go back to the place of remembrance
When you had felt all alone
Then as you were quiet before Him
You felt like you entered His throne

Go back to the place of remembrance
When things were out of control
Then you cried out and let out a shout
He steadied and strengthened your soul

Go back to the place of remembrance
When your heart was broken and torn
Gently He came with a kind, loving touch
And gave you the hope to go on

Go back to the place of remembrance
When you wondered if He would provide
Though the hour was late it did not negate
The answer came as a surprise

Go back to the place of remembrance
When you were intimate and close
Nothing could separate you
From your heart sweet praises arose

Go back to the place of remembrance
Stir up the faith in your soul
Yesterday, today, and forever
He’s the God that will make you whole

Let go of all the woundedness
For surely we live in a war
The battle between good and evil
Can damage us down to the core

Just as the days that have past us
Our God is still on our side
As we return to Him in remembrance
In His love again we can hide

copyright 2014 Jean Chamblee Thomas

Learning To Trust

You’re not alone
He sees you try
To meet all your own needs
He wonders why

All things possible
To them that believe
That a loving Father
Your stress to relieve

Each circumstance , a signpost
Directing the way
To reveal that the answers
On the cross they were laid

Often we end up
On a dead end street
But that’s okay
When the Master you meet

Leading us to
The ways of the Lord
The only thing working
The truth of His word

Oh how we must humble
Ourselves at His feet
Admitting our weakness
In truth as we see

Learning to trust
As He answers again
Our heartfelt cries
Repentance of sin

After all we are planning
To dwell in His house
To live there forever
Like a heavenly spouse

Should we not learn
His well being for us
With each passing day
Learning to trust

Cry out, cry out
You’re not alone
Jesus is still sitting
There on the throne

He wants us to enter
Into His rest
To know quite assuredly
His desire for us is best

copyright 2014 Jean Chamblee

David’s Secret

God is awesome, I believe He speaks in many ways, King David understood this. As a shepherd boy, he saw that God was a good shepherd leading him into green pastures and still waters just as he led his sheep. David discovered a secret about God. He discovered that as he drew near to God, God would draw near to him. God actually desired intimacy with him and us. David loved God’s words and loved God with all of his heart, wanting to please him above all else.

He was a poor shepherd boy isolated from family and society in the hills surrounding Israel. For long periods of time he was tending the sheep, but that didn’t stop him from growing. In fact the isolation and poverty pushed him into a deeper relationship and appreciation for God than perhaps anything else. This was the training ground of God for David. You see how David’s faith and love grew toward God so much so that when a lion attacked his sheep, David went out and killed it. When a bear attacked, he killed it also. A good shepherd is fearless and unshakable. He lays down his life for the sheep.

Where do you think he learned this? God was developing David’s trust and character in the field, so later when he faced his greatest test, Goliath, he would be ready and so he was. Sometimes in our most unlikely circumstances, God is at work. Can you look into your life and perhaps get a new perspective as to what character God is trying to build into you?

by Ed Thomas

A Thought For The Day … Life Lesson Surprise

Sometimes in our most unlikely circumstances, God is at work. It’s easy to miss what God is trying to build into us, until we take a fresh look from a new perspective…

Think about the Bible. God used a shepherd’s job to prepare David to be a protector of Israel. He defeated a lion and bear before he ever came to his challenge with Goliath. Moses was intrenched in the ways of Egypt and carried the weight of leadership (being in the kings house) which prepared him to fulfill his purpose as deliverer and leader of Israel.

For me, in one instance, God used a nasty tempered boss to teach me to begin to learn how to walk in love. When I arrived on the new job, my supervisor disliked me before I had even been there long enough to do anything wrong. I felt like I had walked into a hornets nest. I had prayed fervently for God to lead me to the right job and I knew I had been led to this one, so how could this be? I went home several times in tears as my boss continually picked on me unjustly.

I began to get angry at God because I did not understand His purposes. “How could you do this God? How could you lead me here? I’m going to just quit! ” I said to Him.  As I waited quietly I heard His quiet calming voice, “You asked me to prepare you for ministry, right?” “Yes” I said. “Well, there will be people like this everywhere you go and you need to learn how to deal rightly with this kind of situation.” He softly spoke. “ And you can leave this job if you like, but there will be the same kind of person at the next, and you can leave that one, and there will be someone of like issues there.”

So I decided to just stay at the current job and get the lesson over with instead of prolonging it. I can’t say that I was happy about it or that it got much easier, but I set my soul to learn about walking in love towards my boss. I would pray for her and forgive her attitude and work hard to have a genuine good will in my heart towards her.

Finally, after about a year, I was walking through the warehouse alone and chuckled to myself as I looked in my heart. I whispered inside to myself and God, “I really have love for her now! I truly wish her well and it is genuine inside my heart”. I honestly felt like I had overcome and even my boss had seemed to sweeten up a tiny bit. I felt such a beautiful victory!

The next day I came to work, everything was abuzz. My boss had been caught embezzling money and was fired that morning. She had already cleared out her desk and was gone. I was floored. It was as if God said, “Yes you have overcome, and the lesson is finished.” I was amazed!

I began to understand some of the workings of God in my life in a new way. The potter and the clay. He was building character in me. This situation had not been for me to be crushed or hurt, but to grow me in a very specific area. I prayed for my boss to get a new job and come to know the Lord herself. I rejoiced at the knowing in my heart that God would answer that prayer and look after her.

Looking back, I realize that it must have been her own guilty conscience that made her come against me right off the bat. It had more to do with Christ in me than me. It was an eye opening time.

So I pray that you take a fresh look at your life and see if the Master is at work. Your circumstances may not be as strange as you think they are. 🙂 Have a great day!

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.

This Is So Cool I Had To Share It!

PRAISE REPORT: So last week our Pastor asked us to all join in with 40 days of fasting and prayer. He made it easy to do that each person could choose their own fast…..partial, meatless, liquid, some gave up sugar, some coffee, etc. you get the point….to give up something for 40 days. Also to spend the first fifteen minutes of the day with God….5 in prayer, 5 in worship, 5 in the Word. THIS week we had over 40 new decisions for Christ and 89 baptisms! Praise God and wow….to ignore the connection of the fasting and prayer with the dramatic salvations a week later would be silly! Excited to keep going and see what else God will do in this season! So for those who are curious…..here is the Biblical explanation of what a God directed fast can accomplish!
Isaiah 58:6
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?”

Fasting is a powerful  “tool” God has given and He honors!  Hope this will excite you and you can try one on your own or with a group. I have never done one that did not bring results! Often great results that I did not expect, an opening of something I did not see and a closer position with God!  It’s a blessing and I hope you will enjoy and be blessed too!!

A Thought For The Day

Going through trials? Take heart! Something wonderful may be taking place right in the midst of it all!

1 Peter 1:6,7  “In this (salvation) you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…”

Trials stink! But at least we can take comfort in knowing that God isn’t allowing our time to be wasted. There is nothing He can’t use!

Romans 8:28  “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Be encouraged! God loves you and the end result of our trials can turn out to be a beautiful thing. Hang in there and have a great day!

A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

1 Corinthians 16:13  “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

     Life will always present us with opportunities to be defeated. Always! What I love so much about God and His ways is that He promises that as we submit every situation to Him in faith that He will make all things work together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purposes. (Romans 8:28)

     Even the worst of situations can contain a great treasure for us if we give it over to God in faith. With God, it’s a win-win situation if we stand fast in the faith. I like that! Now this is a great place to put your bull headed personality trait if you have one! These are the places when we can flourish! Believing the promises of God and never letting go….(with the qualifying factor that we are asking according to His will.)

     I like what Phillips Brooks said: “Do not pray for easy lives! Pray to be stronger men . Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but YOU shall be a miracle.” 

     I love the old story about the grandfather that instructed his grandson to go out daily and push against a giant boulder in the field. The boy thought this silly, but loving his grandfather he decided to humor him, so he went to the field and pushed against the boulder every day for several weeks. Finally he went to his grandfather and told him that it was impossible for any man to move such a huge boulder and that his request was futile. The old man laughed and said “My request was not about moving the boulder at all, it was about making YOU stronger as you pushed against it! Indeed, as the young man looked down at his arms, he realized how they had been transformed into strong lean muscles and marveled at his grandfathers wisdom.

     So true with our God. Sometimes He may put a seemingly futile obstacle in our path! But as we submit these things to God and proceed in a godly way of dealing with them…we are changed into the likeness of His Son…which I think is His purpose all along!

     As we are instructed to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21) and to “ Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”(1 Corinthians 16:13) Know that our Father is working something good in us. He is a master craftsman. His wisdom is astonishing and you are His beloved and prize creation. Take a second look at your circumstances…. see if God doesn’t flip them around as you look freshly at them with the eye of faith!                      

Much love

A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Psalm 139: 23,24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”

This scripture always scared me as a new believer. It took a while before I came to know God as a loving Father. I didn’t want to ask of God to search me! I thought to myself “How courageous this King David guy is! or crazy!!” How silly were my thoughts! As if God doesn’t know everything about us from each thought to the very hairs on our head. (Matthew 10:30)

After years of learning God’s ways and realizing that He ALWAYS has my best interest at heart, I slowly began to yield to His dealings. He is the potter and I am the clay. (Isaiah 64:8)

Now that I am older and see the world as the dangerous place that it is…I long to be chastened and searched. It still hurts sometimes, but it keeps me in a place of safety no matter what happens.

Psalm 91:1 “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

The very cool thing about it all that I have found, is the reward God gives when we do this! Joy! I don’t think there is anything more wonderful than to know that you have made God smile! The lifting of a weight that we did not even see is pretty awesome too!

So when you read “Search me, O God…” Realize maybe David wasn’t so crazy after all and I dare you to give it a try!! Here’s to growing in God!! 🙂  Much love

A Thought For The Day

 Hebrews 12:6 “For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

As ministers and fellow christians we must be careful not to interrupt the dealings of God in someone’s life. It is by very nature that we want to rescue and eliminate suffering. As a parent I have been guilty of this. Yet God Himself has set up the standard that “we reap what we sow” and that He will discipline His children. If we jump in and try to stop God’s work or enable someone to continue in bad and harmful behavior……we err and prolong the process at times and we get hurt in the midst of it too. We must learn to know and recognize when God is at work as a Father/Parent.

So how do we recognize it and how do we respond in the midst of it when God is chastening someone around us? Just remember the 3 L’s…..Love, Let go, and Let God. Pray compassionately for them that God will open their eyes and give them grace to change their behavior. God is always interested in the greater good of the person and His motive is always love. Sometimes it takes a two by four to get someones attention and we need to just get out of the way.

It’s a hard word….but here is the rest of the scripture:

Hebrews 12:5-7  And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;  For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

It’s good for all of us to let God’s have His way….after all He is a master Creator and He is working on a masterpiece in you and me.

Blessings! 🙂