"Hill Country Thoughts:Walking Daily With The Lord -Thoughts, Hopes,and Living in the Real World" "Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult {and} thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.
It always amazes how the Lord does things. How He reveals Himself and how He talks and confirms things to us!
This morning while visiting Proverbial Wife Blog, I was totally blessed as she wrote and shared about how the Lord uses divine appointments in our lives. Click on Proverbial Wife and it will take you to her blog. A very good read!!
We have a tendency to call them "coincidences," things that just happen, that way we can take it out of the hand of God. I don’t think so!!
I have had to "many conscience's" in my life to know that they were events or actions in my life that got me to the place where I am now in my walk and relationship with the Lord!
Would I have chosen this path, no! Could there been another way, most likely but I do know because of the present events in my life, I am writing. That I am in the center of God’s will and that He is opening new doors in my life.
Would I be writing now if I hadn’t gone through what I have? Most likely not. It is out of the fire, the dealings in my life, that the Lord is removing the dross, that which is not of Him and that is making me into a vessel that can be used for His glory. As I look back, I see the many doors and opportunities that the Lord has open so that I could share, exhort, lift up others.
The Lord wants us always to be ready for the Divine appointments that He sets up in our lives, that no matter where we are, the Lord will be able to open a door for you to have the opportunity, like Proverbial Wife, to have your own mini-convention with the Lord as share with those that you come into contact with.
Keep those Divine appointments and allow the Lord to open the doors of opportunity for you.
I trust that the things that I share daily are things that are encouraging you in your walk of faith, that it will cause you to pursue the Lord with your whole heart, with your whole being. That you will find strength to walk the path that you are on and that you will have many Divine appointments with the Lord!
Sitting here on the front porch this evening, listening to the sounds of the night, feeling the cool breeze of the wind and just observing the brightness of a full moon and how awesome it is.
I was sitting here wondering, Lord? What do I write, what do I share tonight, what is on your heart?
The thing that comes to mind tonight is how dependent I am on the Lord. How he has become a part of my life, that He sustains me and gives me the strength to walk beyond what I am able.
That He helps me to deal with the heart issues, with the memories that flood my soul and causes me to cry out why, even when I know why. There is a deep groaning within that cries out to my Father, knowing that as each thing is brought to the surface, that it will be expose and dealt with and then healing applied.
There is a cry within that wants to know the Lord face to face, that we can come into that place of truly knowing our Father, knowing Him now.
That is one of the main things that the Lord is impressing me with tonight, is that He truly wants us to know Him, now, in this present world, that we can walk in that which He has accomplished upon the cross. He is not afar, He is here now, ever present to listen as we come before Him.
He bids us to come, to break the bread of life with Him, let it become part of us, let Him write His word on your heart, on your mind, on your spirit. Dwell in the word, ponder and meditate on that which He shows you and let it become part of your walk here and now and allow the Lord to teach us to have a child like faith that simply believes what the Lord has spoken.
He bids us to come into His presence. He will draw you towards Him and reveal Himself to you. Draw close to the Lord and He will draw close to you!!
Sometimes it is in the simple things of the day that the Lord will reveal Himself to us. It is often times in ways that surprise us.
As the storm clouds rolled in, with the thunder, lighting and rain I shut down my computer and a number of other things and then realized how quiet things got. That even in the midst of the storm, there was a stillness, that it was soothing and calming.
The Lord made me realize that this calmness, this peace, this rest was a gift from Him. That I could just enjoy a time of sitting in His presence, sitting here on the porch, allowing the Spirit of the Lord to speak to my spirit and bring a calmness to my inner most being, to enjoy the Lord and allow Him to minister to me, as I minister to Him with a heart of worship, of praise, of adoration, for that which He was doing in my life and in my heart at this moment and time.
The Lord wants to know our heart and He wants that fellowship. To come and sit in His presence and allow Him to speak, to learn to be still and know that He is God.
Someday's, we just need to respond to the Lord when He woo’s us to that quiet time, that we learn to hear His voice and when He speaks to us in that still small voice, we say, here I am Lord.
It may take a few times, but we will learn to hear His voice, we will learn to be attune to Him so that even in the midst of the storms, we can hear that still small voice and say here I am Lord.
And when we do, He will speak to us, to our hearts, He will open His word and make Himself known.
I love the Psalms of David. I think I could dwell in the Book of the Psalms all the days of my life .
David, a man, with a heart after God, who stumbled, who made mistakes, who fell at times, but was quick to repent, to turn to God, to turn to His Father and ask forgiveness and to move on.
He was a man like us. I think that is why we as men and women, young and old can identify with Him because he was like us. He had times of fear, times of joy, times of doubt, times of praise and worship, times of falling on His face before the Creator of Heaven and Earth. He always turned back to God.
In Psalms 1:1-3 in the Amplified Bible David says blessed, happy, fortunate, enviable, prosperous is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly, following their advice. Rather he delights and desires the law, the word of God, he is one who walks in the ways of the Lord.
He goes on to say that we are to meditate on the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God, that we are to ponder (my favorite word) and study the word habitually, that we are to dwell in the word, in His presence, that the word becomes a reality in us, that in the word of the Lord we find freedom, understanding, knowledge.
That as we come to the Lord with an open heart, as we yield to the Spirit of the Lord, that He will reveal Himself to us, often times in simplicity so that we can apply the word of God to our lives. That it is our operating manual.
He goes on to say, that we shall be like trees, planted and tended by the streams of water, the presence of the Lord, that which will refresh us, will give us understanding, that our minds, our hearts, our soul and spirit will be refreshed by the water of the word.
As we spend that time with the Lord, as we ponder His word, it will bring forth fruit in due season, and it will be life to others as we share those things that the Lord has made real in our lives as we walk with Him, as we go through the trials of life, the dealings, as we mature little by little, we will be able to share with others that which has been made real in our life, not theory but the life changing power of the word of God.
His word will not fail, and we will be brought to maturity, but that comes by delighting ourselves in the Lord, in His Word and in His presence and learning to be real in the Lord and to share that reality with others.
Let us take time to delight in the Lord, to delight in His Word. Let us exhort, lift up and encourage one another, let us ponder what it means to know Him, to know the Lord, to come to a place of intimacy, of allowing the Lord to reveal Himself daily to us as we come into His presence.
Let His Word be as a seed planted by God and watered by the Holy Spirit, that it will come forth in power and strength and as a sweet fragrance in our lives, that will draw others to want to know what it is in us that gives us the strength to walk the path that we are on.
I am in the process of reading “The Pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer.
In Chapter Two, page 28, he makes the following remark concerning our gifts and talents. He says, “Our gifts and talents should also be turned over to Him. they should be recognized for what they are, God’s loan to us, and should never be considered in any sense our own. We have no more right to claim credit for special abilities than for blue eyes or strong muscles.” “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive" ( I Cor 4:7)
To realize that all we are and all that we ever will be, comes from the Hand of God. That the gifts and talents that He has given us are to be given back to Him, to allow Him to teach us to use what He has given us to bring glory to His name.
That if we sing, let us sing unto Him, let us raise our voices in praise, in worship, in adoration of the Most High, that no matter what kind of music we are into, that we are into it for Him and Him alone.
If we write, let us write to lift up the name of the Lord, to share the heart of God, to allow Him to use us in whatever genre He wants us to write, let us to it to the best of the abilities that the Lord has given us. Let us be the best in whatever He sets before us to do.
If we play instruments, again, let us do it as unto the Lord, no matter what kind of music it is, are we doing it as unto the Lord. Are we given Him the credit and the glory and the praise for the gifts and talents that He has given us?
We are not to bury the talents and the gifts. We are to give them back to Him, so that He can give it back to us, as we realize, that they are His in the first place. We are to give out of what has been given us.
In whatever gifts we are given, let us use them to the fullest. We are not all called to write, to sing, to play musical instruments. We might be carpenters, doctors, lawyers, a mother, a father, wherever we are and whatever we are doing, let us do it for the Lord, knowing that He will bring forth that which He has put within and that He will continue to work in you His purpose.
We are to dream dreams, to believe God and trust that which He has begun in us, He will finish, so press in and lay hold of those things that God has spoken to you. Allow faith to rise up within and believe. He knows the desires of your heart. He wants us to come to Him, to seek Him, to know Him and to be one with Him, so that He can develope the gifts and talents that He has planted within us.
We are all called to be His disciples, His ministers. He said we are a royal priesthood, a chosen generation, that we are to follow Him, to allow His gifts and His talents to be seen in us as He molds and shapes us into whatever instrument He wants us to be in His Hands. That we will be conformed to Him!
As I was rambling through blogland today, I stopped at one of my favorite reads, Mr. Standfast and his theme of The Spacious Place got me to thinking and also got me to think about that word ponder again.
Bob said at the end of his blog, in reference to the theme of The Spacious Place that recurs in Psalms 18, 31 and 118. He says, “ I ‘m going to be thinking about this for awhile. I ‘am going to to be blogging about it, about Life “outside ourselves” and about how the Kingdom of God is that spacious place.” As he says, this is for him an investigation, a pondering. He says come along with me, if you like and we will ponder together.
Being a good Texan, though a transplanted one, the word ponder caught my attention all over again and I plan to follow along with Bob and see where it goes, what insights the Lord might give us as we ponder His word together.
So just what does it mean to ponder? Back in May I looked up this word ponder and made some comments about it. It means to consider deeply, thoroughly, to weigh carefully with the mind, to meditate and to consider and not only that, but to apply the word to our heart, our mind, our spirit, allowing the Lord to write His word, His thoughts upon our hearts and giving us understanding as we seek to know Him even more through the study of His word.
So if you like, you are invited to join me as I join Bob in what seems like an adventure with the Lord, for there is nothing more the Lord loves to do, than to reveal Himself to us as we come into His word and into His presence, so that we can draw closer together in Him.
I want to thank Bob, Mr. Standfast for inviting us along.
Tonight we had special music at Junction First United Methodist Church with Rocky Ivy and his band “Change of Venue.” He is the music minister at Pedernales Fellowship in Austin, Texas!
It was truly awesome. There was such a sense of the presence of the Lord, of excitement the minute you walked into the sanctuary. It was truly amazing. There is such healing in worship and praise of the Lord. It works deep within your heart and your spirit and helps you to become focused on the Lord.
It was really neat to see so many people from various churches joined together for praise and worship of the Lord, of praising our Father and giving thanks for His awesomeness, for His presence in our midst.
Rocky sang a song that really touched my heart which basically says it is easy to sing in the choir but what about it when your in the fire. It is out of those fires, those times of trials, of dealings, of pruning that we go through, that we are shaped and molded in the character of the Lord. That the best is brought forth and the dross and that which is not of the Lord is removed.
So in the midst of the fire is the time for that sacrifice of praise, of worship, of lifting up the name of the Most High and in that time release is brought to us and we move closer to the Lord.
Rocky also shared another point at the beginning that it is good to get into the deep things of the Lord but that He is also calling us to come up higher, into His presence into fellowship with Him.
Let our hearts be set on the Lord. Let us look into the heart of God by lifting Him up and honoring Him with our lips. Let us sing praises, as David of old did, let us sing praises to the Most High, to Honor our Father daily with the first fruits of our lips, let the first thing that comes forth in the morning, and the last thing we say at night, be praises to Him!
What a difference it makes when you lay your head down and rest in the Lord. When you take your mind off all that is going on around you and simply rest in the Lord. To have Him give you that peace within that lets you know everything is alright, that it is well with your soul.
The last few days have really been times of turmoil in my spirit. There was a spiritual warfare raging within and the outcome was uncertain at times, at least that is what the enemy of my soul would have me to think.
But greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world, for the Lord gave me the strength to rise up in His Spirit and overcome the tactics of the enemy and do you want to know who He used to help me overcome?
You my friends, you!! By your comments, your prayers, your e-mails, your tags. The Lord spoke to me in so many different ways.
Is that not what the Body of Christ is all about? That we exhort, lift up, encourage one another in the Lord, not judging but listening. It is so amazing to know that we have this tool called the Internet.
That we can blog, share, write and encourage one another in the things of the Lord. That we can unite together as one with our love of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He that bonds us together.
That we can be real, that we can share with wisdom the need of prayer or encouragement. That we can laugh together, cry together and we can rejoice together. So thank you to my many friends who read Hill Country Thoughts and those that read the columns at CrossMap.
The things that you have shared have been like a cool glass of water, that was refreshing to the soul and brought healing from the Lord to my spirit and to my soul.
Keep writing, keep sharing and keep on keeping on with the Lord. Don’t ever think it does not matter what you share, for that may be the one word that is needed at that moment and the key that opens the heart of someone to our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the thought that comes to mind as I am sitting here on the front porch.
Why is it that we as men are afraid to admit we are afraid, that we feel alone, that we are scared and hurting within!
Is it because we want to put on that smile that says hey, I am ok, no problem, while inside we are like a volcano ready to spew forth at any moment!
We men want to be macho, the strong one but I am here to tell you, we can’t always be strong, there are times we really need to let go and cry, let it all go when we come into the presence of the Lord. To let him know we can’t handle it and that we need Him to take it over.
It is good to have a friend, someone you can talk to and in Lewis, I have found a friend that listens, lets me get it out of myself and take it to the Lord. He does not condemn me or put me down, but rather he prays with me and for me. I am truly thankful for his friendship and for his family.
You know it is hard, after thirty-one years to have the one you love, say, basically, I am tired. I don’t want to be married anymore. To find yourself all a sudden alone, the children and grand children gone and you come home to an empty place night after night and it reminds you of so many events in your life and you pretend it is no big deal, when it is!
I am not totally sure why I am sharing this personal aspect of my life today. Maybe someone who is reading needs to know it is normal to have these feelings, these fears but also to know that in spite of how all this looks the Lord will bring us to a place of rest and trust as we go through it and He will bring us into a safe harbor and we can anchor ourselves in Him this day and find the peace that we need in the midst of the storms of life.
So let it go, cry out to your Father and let Him reach out and touch your heart and apply is healing hand to your spirit!
I want to continue to share more with you today from Why Us? When Bad Things Happen to God’s People by Warren W. Wiersbe.
Today I am sharing from Chapter Eight: When Life Falls Apart, How Do You Pray?
He says, “ You see my friend,” I explained,"sometimes our faith delivers us from difficulties, and sometimes it delivers us in difficulties. Either way, God honors faith and He gets the glory. In fact, I’m inclined to believe God can get greater glory at times by giving grace to live with our suffering than power to escape it.”
Again He goes on to say: “If I pray to escape suffering, then I’m saying that suffering is my enemy and I must avoid it. But then I may be frustrating the plan of God. If I pray to endure suffering, I’m saying that suffering is my master. I’ll find myself in bondage when God has created me to be free. If suffering is not to be either my enemy or my master, what is my relationship to suffering? The answer God gave Paul is: Suffering must become your servant. In other words, if you pray to escape suffering, and God doesn’t answer, don’t pray simply to endure suffering, pray to enlist your suffering. Make it work for you, not against You.”
He goes on to share how we can enlist our suffering so that it works for us and not against us!
He shares that we must accept our suffering as God’s gift. A strange gift. But as he says acceptance is not resignation, giving up. Resignation is a passive attitude that borders on fatalism. Acceptance is active cooperation with God and it always includes gratitude.
He says we may not always be able to be thankful for what has happen, but we can be thankful in what has happen. It is an attitude of gratitude and acceptance that takes the poison out of suffering and keeps us from becoming bitter against God. This is an act of faith and it must come from the heart, asking Him to make us willing to be willing.
He goes on to say we must surrender what He has given us back to Him. That it is only when we see our experience as His gift to us that we can return it as our gift to Him. Putting it on the altar as an act of worship to the Glory of God. God can sanctify pain just as easy as He can sanctify service, if we will let Him.
Finally, we must listen for the message. The Apostle Paul prayed fervently three times but God did not answer him. Even when He is silent, He is suffering with us, and preparing us for His Special word. It finally came to the Apostle Paul, that God’s grace is sufficient, that His power is made perfect in our weakness. Paul learned how weak he was and how strong God is. He was able to enlist his suffering and make it work for him.
This has really been an awesome little book for which I am very grateful that the Lord had me to pick up and read at this point and time in my life because much of what has been shared confirms much of what the Lord has been revealing to me over the last couple of years and confirming by His Word.
It was the right word, at the right time in my life. The Lord chooses so many different ways to reveal himself if we will but let Him do so.
God has and is given me a whole new perspective on the issue of suffering and how we can turn it around for His glory and for us to be made stronger in our walk and relationship with the Lord.
I trust that what I have shared from this little book has been a blessing and an encouragement to you and helps you as you walk the path that you are on in life with the Lord.
I have to say that I look forward to the day that this present suffering will come to an end and that I can look up and say, “Thank you Father for being with me through all of this. Thank you for revealing yourself to me and may I reflect you to others so that they too will see that we are not a people without hope, but a people that are made strong in you!!
“For I know the plans I have for you.” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Here is what Warren W. Wiersbe has to say about this verse:
“The next time you are in a storm, or the battle, or you feel you are on trial, or going through travail, or suffering in the furnace, meditate on that promise.”
Here is what he says:
"God is thinking about you personally, and is planning for you in ways that you could never understand let alone imagine. Let Him have His way. Your future is secure if you are trusting Him.”
“If you wallow in self-pity, then the picture of pain will become mirrors, and all you will see is yourself.”
“But if you trust Jesus Christ and commit yourself to Him, the pictures will become windows through which you will see God and the vast horizons of blessings He is preparing for you. Which will it be? Mirrors or Windows?”
Page 73, Why Us? When Bad Things Happen To God’s People by Warren W. Wiersbe.
What an awesome insight and what a blessing this little book has been to me. It has given me a better understanding of some of what has been going on in my life and points me to the Word of God.
Some of the comments that he made where that God has not promised to make us comfortable, but has determined to make us conformable, that as we go through the fire, through the furnace, the dross is removed and we are made pliable and moldable in His hands.
That the battles of life are not easy but God has given us the equipment to succeed, that each victory prepares us for the next battle which will cause us to grow. That we will need patience, that harvest does not come over night, there is planting first and in time the harvest will come.
That the time of travail will be a birthing process, that todays sufferings can mean tomorrows glory. That we need to know that in the mist of the storms, the Lord will speak to us and that we need to to yield to the pruning knife of the Lord, so that which is not of Him can be removed and we will come forth with much better fruit.
What has really been awesome about this book that was written in 1984 is how much that it confirm things to me that the Lord has been speaking to me over the last couple of years.
That out of all of what I have been going through, or what you have been going through in your life is to help us to conform to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and enables us to walk in the fullness of all that the Lord has for us, that which He has accomplished on the cross.
How awesome it is to know that His plans for us are to prosper, not to harm us but to give us a hope and a future.
I was sitting on the porch this morning waiting for my friend Lewis to show up for our daily prayer time.
When he showed up and we began to pray I glanced at my oil lamp on the desk and noticed as the sun begin to rise and the sunlight hit the lamp and reflected through the oil like a beam and gave off a reflection of the sun.
I began to meditate on that and think about it and it got me to thinking, what am I reflecting, what is showing forth from me today, what light am I giving off, am I reflecting the Son. Like a beam of light, am I reflecting the image of the Lord Jesus this day. Is what I am reflecting drawing others, are they seeing the joy that comes from having fellowship with the Lord?
Are they seeing the Lord in our everyday lives as we go about the things that are sit before us. Are they seeing that as we walk this path, with it's trials, it's situations, are they seeing that we are focused on the Lord?
Our daily walk with the Lord is so very important. It is a day by day relationship with Him. He gives us the strength for each day, to walk.
Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is yet to arrive, today is the day that we must walk with the Lord and draw our strength from Him and know that He is our sufficiency.
Let us be focused, let us allow that beam of light, that life of Christ be manifested in us, so that others might see Him.
Let us reflect the reality of the Lord! Let us reflect the Son!!
It has been a few days since I have had what I call porch time where I just come out and sit on the porch at my desk with the oil lamp burning, all the lights out, no TV, no radio, no computer, just me, my desk, my lamp and the Lord.
To just relax, sit back and just be still and let the quietness pour over me like a gentle breeze and feeling the presence of the Lord, not saying a thing, just sitting in silence so that the Lord might minister spirit to spirit. It is during this time of coming into quietness that we are revived, restored, refreshed and renewed.
It is a time of submitting the inner man to the Lord, To allow the Holy Spirit to work within us. That is so awesome. We have a tendency as humans to work from the outside in. We are more concerned about the outward appearance while the Lord works on the inside out and it is reflected in our walk and relationship with the Lord.
Take time out no matter how busy you are so that you can be revived in the Lord so that you will be able to do the tasks that are set before you to do.
It is good to rest. It is good for your relationship with the Lord and it is good for your relationship with others. Relax in the Lord, it is ok, take a deep breath and bless the Lord with your whole being.
Find your strength this day in the presence of the Lord!! Take porch time!
Today has been one of those days that makes you wonder if it really is worth it?
I should have known that it was going to be that kind of day after I shared at the Men's Bible Class on the radio. It really was tremendous with a real presence of the Lord.
I was wondering how long the path I am on is going to last? When will it come to completion? When well I know if I had passed the test? Is it a test? How will I know if I have succeeded in this walk?
It has been a day that the enemy turned me against myself. He brought in fear, doubt, failure, made me feel unworthy, not being much of a man, telling me, “who are you fooling and why don’t you give up, just finish it and get some rest. Don’t you know it is all beyond hope, give it up Paul, just give it up, it is not worth it!”
But I can’t give up, I cannot let the enemy of my soul have the victory. I can’t let him have any sway over my heart, over my mind or my spirit.
There is something within me that cries out, “ I will not give up, I will not fail, I will stand and I will be strong because of that which has been accomplished on the cross, I will not fail because the Lord’s word is true and amen and that which He has promised He will finish.
Even if I cannot see it with the natural eye at the moment. My Father, will bring me through and like David of old, I need to declare, “Bless the Lord O My Soul and All that is within me bless the Lord” and then stand on the word of the Lord and the promises that He has made.
The enemy meant to use this day to destroy me but our God had other plans and He has drawn me closer to Him and He bid me come and dwell under His wings and to dwell in His presence and find the strength that I need in Him and to draw close to Him in the midst of intense battle, for He will comfort us and strengthen us so that we can walk one day at a time with Him.
Are you wondering, are you in the midst of a battle, are you overwhelmed? Then draw close to the Lord, speak to yourself, even as David did, encourage yourself in the Lord and refocus and center on the Lord and His word and believe, that which the enemy is using against you, will be turned against Him and you will have victory in the Lord!
What does communion mean to you? What part does it play in your life, in your walk with the Lord?
For most of us when we think of communion we think of it as that once a month time that we break the bread and drink the wine in remembrance of the Lord when in reality , communion is something that should be part of our daily walk with the Lord.
In the early church, it is said that they daily broke bread and drank the wine in celebration of that which the Lord accomplished on the cross!
There is also that spiritual communion that we have each day when we come into the presence of the Lord, as we pray and seek Him, then we partake of that fellowship with our Lord and Savior and we become one with the Lord, united as one with Him by the Holy Spirit.
Is that not awesome!! Why we as a church, as the body of Christ have settled for less than the best is really beyond me. Our Lord is the Lord of the here and now. Daily we have the honor of coming into His presence.
We need to take the Lord at His word. He said that we are to be one with Him as He is one with the Father, that we can have that fellowship now that will enable us to stand and be strong in the power and the might of the Lord. It is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me and in you!
We are to allow the new life that we have in Christ to be manifested in our daily walk. Is that not awesome to think about? We serve a risen Lord, that is alive and sits at the right hand of the Father and bids us to come and be one with them, to fellowship with them.
That Jesus has made a way for us to have communion with them now, to truly know them through the word, through the spirit and in fellowship daily.
May the Lord give us eyes to see, ears to hear and a mouth to speak of the awesomeness of our God. May we truly declare He is Lord of Lords, King of Kings!
One of the things that the enemy of our soul likes to do, is to try and convince us that it really doesn’t matter. All that your doing in the scheme of things does not change one thing one bit, so why even bother to do what you are doing?
The fact of the matter is, because the enemy is going out of his way to convince me of that, is the fact that I know I am doing what God has called me to do in these latter years of my life and that I am beginning to see things fall into order, into rank in my life and there is a joy and a pleasure that comes from sharing from the heart.
It is not a matter of how many visits I am getting or how many comments, it is simply the joy of sharing and being real with my faith. The comments, the visits are a by product and a blessing because I know that when I share something, that even if it reaches only one person, then it is worth it.
I know I say this often and will continue to say so, that there has not been a day, that I have not been blessed, encouraged or exhorted in my walk with the Lord because of something that someone shared or said that was the right word at the right moment at the right time and what the Lord wanted me to hear.
The one thing that I promised the Lord was that I would be real, I would share that which He has made real in my life, warts and all, with the wisdom of the Lord I trust, but that I would share that which is bringing changes in my life and hopefully what I share will help others.
So yes, it matters what we say, what we share will effect others. The choice that we have to make is, do we want to build up or tear down. Let us build up one another in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us write that which will help and encourage others, that will enable them to see the reality of the Lord.
In giving of what the Lord has given us, we are blessed and strengthen in our faith. Know that the things you write, the things you share each day may be the one word, that one thought that someone needs to hear.
So keep on writing, keep on sharing and don’t back away and don’t let the enemy convince you that it doesn’t matter!
Are you contagious? Do you have something that others want or do they flee with they see you coming?
Do they see in you the rest, the peace, the comfort that comes from knowing the Lord or do you reflect the attitude to them that if that is what a Christian is, then thanks, but no thanks, I am much better the way that I am!
Sad to say, most Christians, including myself have been so heavenly minded at times that I have been no earthly good.
I had all the right religious words, all the right phrases, I would never complain and when asked I would put on my most religious face and say, everything is ok, when I was in such turmoil in my life and I was afraid to admit that I needed help, you know, after all I am a Christian.
But over the last couple of years I would say the Lord has allowed me to have a real wake up call in my life and I am learning to know Him all over again, to truly get to know Him as my Lord and Savior and learn to spend time with Him, in the word, in prayer and in His presence.
I learned to let the Lord know what was going on in my life [He already knows :P ] but He likes it when we come to talk to Him and then listen.
And I think one of the things that the Lord has been teaching me, is that He wants us as Christians to live our life in Him in the world, to be real, not to put on our “religious faces” but to allow Him to use us where we are, that others will see in us the Living Christ and sense His presence and want to have that same peace and rest in their lives and that they see that we are living in the real world, dealing with real problems.
That our life will line up with the words that we speak and the life that we live, and that we are what we say we are!
Again, are you contagious or do others flee when they see you?
There are a lot of changes taken place at my church. We are in the process of building a family life center and also remodeling the Sunday School building and office. So you can imagine, the theme for today. Caution - Christians under construction :)
Last Sunday after service we had an opportunity to go into the old building and see the progress that is being made and it is real awesome to see. To see the inside gutted and removed with just the framework there now, walls torn down, new one’s being built, to see the new construction taken place and realize that it would be completely reshaped inside, though on the outside you don’t really see the changes until you take the time to look at the work that has been done.
And that is what we are, a work in progress as we walk with the Lord, allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work that is needed within.
Being under construction can be painful because there are some areas we don’t want to be changed and we say, “ I like this just like it is, thank you very much, leave it alone.” But we know that it has to be changed and remodeled so that we are built on a more solid and firmer foundation that will enable us to walk the path that we are on in life. That we can walk in the ways of the Lord and live in the real world.
When you go into the old building you begin to see it take on changes and realize what a difference there will be when it is finished and it will be used to its fullest and likewise, when the Lord is finished with us, we will be a new vessel, a new creation in His hands fulfilling His plans for us and we shall show forth the handy worked of the Lord and the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Let us accept the remodeling and construction that is taking place spiritually within us. Let the dealings, the testing and the trials do the work that is needed, that all that is not of the Lord will be removed and that which is left, will bring honor and glory to the Lord and we will walk in the newness of life and we shall be like that lamp, full of oil, and shining forth that presence of the Lord, that will draw others to the Lord and that they will see we are real people living in a real world, serving a living God and that we truly can walk in the ways of the Lord here and now.
Remember we all are works under construction and that the Lord will perfect that which concerns us!
“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. (Isa 40:31 Amp)
What an awesome verse. It is one that we read quite often but how often do we take the time to slow down and really read it. To give it time to sink in to our heart, our mind or thoughts?
I happened to be listening to Joyce Meyers this morning and she made some comments on this particular verse, reading from the Amplified Bible, the word change is used and that word is really awesome. That in waiting on the Lord, that coming into His presence, we will be changed. Each time that we take time to just wait upon Him, we are allowing Him to bring the change that is needed in our lives and in that change we are renewed, restored and given the strength to walk in the Lord.
Each day we need to tap into the Lord. We need to be recharged. Our spiritual tanks need to be refilled and that comes from the time spent waiting on the Lord. Another thing that Joyce Meyers said, is that we will be changed, not maybe, or might be but that we will be changed, We cannot help but be changed when we are waiting on the Lord and we are in His presence.
We are to have an expectation, a hope, knowing that the Lord will give us the strength to walk in Him in this present world. We are to put our trust in the Lord, we are to be about the things that the Lord has set before us to do.
In waiting on the Lord we are renewed, restored and revived and made strong in our faith. We are to mount up with the wings of an eagle and to allow the winds of life that come our way to lift us higher and closer to the Lord in our relationship with Him. That our communion with the Lord will become stronger and we will be brought into a new intimacy of knowing our Father as we wait on Him.
Indeed let us wait on the lord. Let us be changed daily as we come into His presence and wait on Him. Let us be renewed, restored and revived in Him.
Just looking out the window here at Isaacks as I'm enjoying a fresh cup of coffee and wondering about the term first love and what it means in our walk with the Lord?
When we came to the lord we were born again and we were given a new life, a new beginning. We were excited, we sensed a newness, we began to see with new eyes, we rejoiced in our hearts and we were telling everyone and anyone who would listen about what the Lord had done in our life but somewhere down the road we sort of became complacent, we became “Christian-ized” and we fell into a rut, into a routine and it was not long before we became what we called “normal Christians” when that is the last thing that our Father wants us to be.
He does not want us to be weird but He does want us to be excited, to rejoice in Him and to realize that He has given us a new life to live here and now, not somewhere down the road after twenty or thirty years. He wants us to know Him now.
To know Him in the fullness of His power, His authority and to walk in His strength now, not in the sweet bye and bye. Today is the day that the Lord has made. It is the day that we are to walk and rejoice in Him. Even in the midst of the battles, we can rejoice in Him because of what He has done and is doing in us.
Many of us have lost that first love experience of the Lord, we have lost that joy and excitement, we somehow have let our communi- cation with the Lord become less and less and then we wonder what is going on.
It is so easy to take things for granted, especially in our relationship with the Lord and with others. We want to grow and mature in the things of the Lord but we don’t want to spend the time to get to know Him, to be still and listen and allow Him to speak to us.
It is the same with others, we don’t take time to be silent and listen, to see where they are coming from, to find out their feelings, their hurts and their desires, so that we will know how to pray for them and they for us.
The Lord wants us to be in love with Him! To realize how much He loves us and the price that He paid for that Love for us on the cross, so that we can walk in the fullness of all that the Lord has for us.
One of the things that the Lord is teaching me is that we can walk in all that He has given us now. That we can walk in the power and the might of the Holy Spirit.
That I no longer have to be in bondage to the things that once held me down but that I can be free to express and share that which He has given me.
That out of all that I have gone through, it has made me stronger and all that you have gone through will make you stronger, not weaker and make us more dependent on the Lord. That in serving Him, we are made free and we can walk in the strength of the Lord.
The one thing I hope to share here today is the fact that we can really walk in the ways of the Lord now. That we can have freedom. That we can enjoy life to the fullest in Him.
That we were created to have fellowship with our Father and that we can enjoy those things that He has given us.
To use our talents and gifts for the Lord. Whatever gifts or callings that the Lord has given us, let us use it to bring glory and honor to Him.
Let us fall in love with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ all over, let us rekindle that flame, let the Holy Spirit breathe on that ember within your heart so that it will blaze up and consume you and allow the Christ within to come forth and draw others to Him.
Those have become my most favorite words as I take time to ramble through blogland and I begin to read the various blogs and see a theme that unites them.
As I was reading Mr.Standfast on Perspective. It really blessed me to see how the Lord continue the thread of thought on perspective at his blog and rather than quote it all here I would suggest that you go and read his post today.
The quotes from Henri Nouwen and Jack Hayford will give you a whole different perspective on suffering. I could identify with most of what was being said. So thank you Bob for an amazing post.
Our perspective on things is very important. How we see things effect how we will react in a situation, wither we run to the Lord, for guidance, wisdom and strength to walk this path or if we run and give up.
Through the Lord we can take these times of testing, of sorrow and we can turn them into tools that bring glory to the Lord and strength to us. That we can have the joy of the Lord even in the midst of the battles of life.
I like what Bob also said: "Springs in the desert, but desert between the springs. I think real maturity in the Lord involves keeping both of these truth in mind. That there will certainly be dark times, but that joy comes in the morning. There will be valleys of shadow, but keep walking because God is with you, an ever-present help, to protect and comfort." We indeed are to keep walking because the Lord is with us to bring us through.
How we react, how we use what we have gone through in our life is what is important. Will we use what we have gone through to minister to others or will we allow the root of bitterness to rise up within us and not only destroy us but those around us.
Let us use what we have gone through. The battles, the tests, the trials, the mountain tops and the valleys, let us turn those things around with the Lord's help and and bring glory to the Lord.
Earlier today I was at one of our local restaurants, the Sunshine Cafe and Bakery here in Junction. I had just finished lunch and was enjoying a fresh cup of coffee and I started thinking about my children and my grand children and how blessed I am.
Our children are a blessing and a heritage and a real learning experience too. I have learned a lot through them over the years. I am truly proud of them and what the Lord is doing in their lives.
Our oldest daughter Gloria and her husband Sheridan are in Virginia where she works as a nurse and Sheridan works in security.
Our son Joshua, age 22 and our daughter Elise, age 19 are both with Youth With A Mission in Colorado Springs. Our son just left on a mission trip to Mexico.
Both Joshua and Elise have been to Thailand with Youth With A Mission and it is awesome to see how the Lord is using them as He did with our oldest daughter who was involved with Teen Missions. She had been to Hungary, the Bahamas and Honduras. Elise has also been to Sweden, and to China twice. All the time the Lord provided them the support that they needed for these mission trips.
As a father I am very proud of my children and it gives me great pleasure to talk about them, to say, this is my son, or these are my daughters and boy do I have super grandchildren.
The one thing that they all have in common is their love of the Lord and a heart to serve Him. There is no greater gift that we can give our children, then a life that is centered and focused on Him.
And it is the same with the Lord. He takes pride in His children, when they are walking in Him. Reflecting that Father/Son/Daughter relationship with Him, showing forth the character of our Father. We are a heritage of the Lord.
Rejoice in our children, rejoice in that which the Lord is doing in their lives. Reflect to them the character of God. Let them see in us what it means to be a son or a daughter of the Lord.
I have been reading some of the things that I have been sharing lately and it is funny how you can go back and read and say, "did I really shared that?"
I was remembering how things were when this present journey that I am on began and where I am at present in my life and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. As I have shared, I am not the same as I was when this all started.
I am presently pressing into the things that the Lord is setting before me to do and knowing that He which has begun a work in me will finish it and bring it into His purpose.
In looking back on what has been happening in my life, I am beginning to see a lot of things that the Lord has done in and through it. Not all pleasant but I think because of it, it is why things are progressing as they are in my life. That the spiritual warfare, the battles, the attacks of the enemy were real, and He was out to destroy me and to have me give up and just pack it in.
There were many times that I wanted to just role over and literally die and say Lord, take me out of this, I am tired, I don't have anyone who gives a hoot and why bother anymore, nothing is going to come of this, and who would read this stuff anyway and beside there are others that can do a much better job.
When we are going through the battles of life, we come under an extreme amount of attack of the enemy in the spiritual realm and physical realm and it is during these times that we are ripe for attack. The enemy of our soul knows that this is most likely the time he will have success destroying us and I know that he came very close to doing that to me but instead all of this has driven me into the Lord's arms and made me more dependent on Him.
He has given me many friends who have pushed me on, who encouraged me, even when I didn't think I could take it anymore, they are there, to pray with me, encourage me and lift me up.
He has given me many new friends through Hill Country Thoughts and for that I am so very thankful and blessed. The comments and thoughts that are shared with me are like a cool glass of water that is soothing to my soul, to my spirit and for that I am very thankful.
At this point and time in my life, the Lord has become my all and all. I come home to a house that is empty of all that I loved and I have to remember that the Lord is with me. He is my comforter, my strength, when I go to sleep He is with me, when I wake up He is with me, when I eat He is with me.
I have invited the Lord to fill my home with His presence, to become a place where we can visit, talk and share, a place where I can worship, where I can be honest with my Lord, were I can cry and laugh and know that He is listening and a place where I can learn to be still and know that He is Lord and that I would be able to share with others the reality of all that He is doing.
When you are under attack, it is important to realize this, that the Lord is with us, that we are never alone and that He is with us where ever we go and that our dependency is on Him and that He will not fail us or leave us. He indeed will comfort us and bring us into the fulness of His purpose for our lives.
I know that He will create in us a new hunger for Him and a desire to know Him more intimately, to be in His word and in His presence.
“When you and I hurt deeply, what we really need is not an explanation from God but a revelation of God. We need to see how great God is: we need to recover our lost perspective on life. Things get out of proportion when we are suffering, and it takes a vision of something bigger than ourselves to get lifes dimension adjusted again.” Page 51, "Why Us? When Bad Things Happen to God’s People" by Warren W. Wiersbe.
What a blessing this book has been to me. I have been so blessed by all that I have read so far. There is much that I can identify with over these last two years and I agree with Warren, what we need is a revelation of God and I can say that all through the times of the suffering that I went through, that the Lord constantly would reveal himself in so many ways.
As I look back over the last two years I can see how the Lord was with me. Through the chemotherapy and radiation treatments. As I would go through the treatments I would have opportunity to encourage, lift up and exhort others who were walking this path. From the tech’s to the patients, there was not a time that I was not able to share something and to let them know how much I appreciated them and the talents that the Lord had given the technicians or to encourage my fellow patients and be encouraged by them.
During the stay at the hotel in San Antonio, for a little more than three months, the Lord would open the doors so that I could share with others. Often when I would go to dinner, someone would always join me or the Lord would open a door of conversation and I would be able to encourage them if they were taken treatments or if they were family members I would encourage them and let them know that I would be praying for them and the family member that was receiving treatment.
The Lord will use us even during the times of suffering and pain if we allow Him too. He would have me take the focus off myself and to focus on others and in doing that, in blessing others, it blessed me also. I was able to share out of what has been real in my life and not just mere theory.
It would be in the simple things that the Lord would use me. Healing comes to us as we give out of what has been given us. To have the treasure of the Lord within us and not to share Him, we deny that treasure which is so precious. Let our life reflect the reality of that treasure, of Christ within.
There were days that were rougher than others but those are the days that we have to draw even closer to the Lord, knowing that the Lord will meet us. It is an act of Faith.
When you and I hurt, let us give out of what has been given us. Let us share that reality with others and in sharing we too will reap the healing, the peace, the rest, and the presence of the Lord.
Let us share about the greatness of our God. Let us have a vision of the awesomeness of our God and to realize that we can come into the presence of the creator of Heaven and Earth and He will bring things into perspective, so that we can see with His eyes!
"What seems to be the problem? What’s bothering you?"
"Well, I am trying to come up with what to share today, you know, some insight that you have given me, some revelation, some wisdom!"
"Everyday you have been giving me thoughts and ideas and insights and it seems like today, that I have drawn a blank, zip, nothing!"
"Paul!"
"Yes Lord!"
"How much time did you spend with me today? I don’t mean on your face before me or in prayer but how much time have you given me with your thoughts, with your mind, did you stop to listen when I was trying to get your attention, you know, that still small voice?"
"Lord, that was you?"
"Yes!! "
"You mean that very small voice that I heard in my heart was you trying to get my attention? But you know that I have had a lot of things on my mind, and that I was so busy trying to figure them out and what to do"
"Oh, I didn't take time to slow down and listen like I normally do, I got it all backwards today!"
"You sure did!"
"I missed the boat?"
"Yes! "
"Father, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to get so busy with things, that I missed you. Teach me to be still Lord, to allow your Holy Spirit to bring a calmness to my soul, that the activities and the things of the day would recede so that I can hear your voice."
"Father, thank you for taking time to speak to my heart and for revealing yourself to me."
What a beautiful morning to be sitting here on the front porch just listening to the sounds of the the night, all the lights are out, oil lamp lit, a clear sky and a cool breeze. It is a little after one in the morning as I am writing this!
It amazes me how even in the little things that the Lord cares. I am sitting here at the little desk that I now have on the front porch. I have a nice chair to sit in but wanted something that I could put my oil lamp on, a place to sit and write and be able to watch the sun rise in the mornings or at night to watch the moon come up from behind the hills which is one of the most breath taking things that you can see from my porch.
Yesterday as I was heading home from Isaacks Resturant I went home a different way and as I made the turn, I noticed a business had some furniture sitting out front with a sign that said my favorite word - Free!! :)
Yep, you guessed it, there was a small desk, just the right size for the porch, plenty of space for the oil lamp and for writing and it even had a little cabinet that I could store some of my books and writing gear.
So now I can get out of my study/office and sit on the porch and write.
As I was sitting at the desk looking at the oil lamp the thought that came to mind was the need of making sure that it was always full, plenty of oil and to make sure that the wick was trimmed so that it gave of the best light possible.
What the Lord was showing me was our need of always being full of the Holy Spirit, with the presence, with the oil of the Lord, that life giving power, that enables us to shine forth and reveal the Lord. That others would see the reality of Christ within that enables us to navigate the path of life that we each are on.
The triming of the wick is like the things that we go through, sort of like the pruning process, but in this case a bright, steadier light that allows others to see the reality of Christ within.
It always amazes me how the Lord takes the simple things around us to reveal himself, even as He did in the word. It is often in the simplicity of things around us that the Lord will reveal Himself to us.
Who would of thought sitting here at the desk, looking at an oil lamp, that it would draw me closer in my walk with the Lord.
So keep your lamp filled with the oil, the presence of the Lord and allow the wick to be trimmed and shaped so that His light will shine forth through you this day!
“The fact that we know God as our Father and Jesus Christ as our Savior doesn’t exempt us from the normal burdens of life, or from those special trials that surprise us at times.”
The above quote comes from “Why Us? When Bad Things Happen to God’s People!” by Warren W. Wiersbe. It is a small book, only 196 pages but already this book published in 1984, has had an impact on me and I have only just begun reading it.
What was amazing was that this book was on a table at church with a bunch of books to be given away. Considering what has been going on in my life for the last couple of years, the title caught my attention! For those of you who are interested you need to read the previous posts.
I am sure I will have other thoughts to share over the next few days as I continue to read but what caught my attention was the above statement at the beginning.
Some how we as Christians think we should be exempt from the battles of life, from the burdens and those trials that come our way. In my case, the battle with cancer, chemo and radiation treatments, two major surgeries and a divorce. Going through cancer was a piece of cake as compared to going through the divorce.
There were days I wanted to give up and say God, why me? Why this pain, Why this suffering, why this hurt, the tearing apart of my inner most being?
Yet in the midst of this turmoil, the Lord was working in me, reshaping me and exposing a lot that needed to be changed in my life and as I quote in the side panel “Suffering will either be your master or your servant, depending on how you handle the crisis of life. After all, a crisis doesn’t make a person, it reveals what a person is made of.”
For me it drew me closer to God. It showed me my need of learning to know Him more through prayer, through the word and through the things that I have gone through. The difference is that I have chosen to allow God to rule in all of this.
I could have given up, packed it in and just disappeared but God had other plans.
Over the last year and a half I have gone through various levels in my relationship with God. Each time was like stepping up another level in Him. I am not the same Paul that I was in February 2003, I am not the same Paul that I was six months ago or even a month ago. Even my friends and my children will tell you that I am not the same. I made a 180 degree turn in the Lord and now those things that I hoped for are becoming a reality.
When I began Hill Country Thoughts I never thought it would have the impact that it is having, that it is becoming what the Lord want’s it to be. I would have never thought that I would have become one of the featured writers for Crossmap.com. That is a story in itself and confirmation to me.
What look like defeat has been turned into victory. What the enemy meant to use to destroy me has done the opposite and driven me even closer to my Heavenly Father and is making me stronger and He is fulfilling His promises to me!
Make no mistake, there are days I really battle the thoughts the enemy throws my way to try to convince me why not give it all up but I know better. I know that my Father’s plans for me are good and out of all of this, He will be lifted up and exalted and that I will be all that the Lord has called me to be in Him.
That I will be an instrument in His Hands to write the thoughts that He puts in my heart to share!
Today is a day that we celebrate the freedoms that we have in our land. Freedoms hard fought for.
A day that we need to give thanks for those who have died and who fought for our country and for those who continue to serve in all branches of the military service. Let us remember to lift them up in prayer.
It is also a good day to give thanks to our Lord who also has given us freedom, given us new life and new beginnings when we came to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have much to be thankful for. Let us give thanks to the Lord for that which He has done and is doing in our lives and in our nation.
Let freedom ring in our nation and let freedom ring in our hearts as we acknowledge the greatness of God in our lives and our nation.
May we as a nation turn our hearts back to God and redeem back that which others have tried to take from us!!
As I was on the computer earlier today, I was wondering what the Lord would have me to share. The thought that came to my mind was "As I write this day may I be the pen of God that writes His heart thoughts to His children.”
That thought has really stuck in my mind all day and had me wondering how important it is to be in tune with the Lord. To be in His word, to be in His presence and to cultivate a relationship with Him that is so needed in this day and time. To learn to hear His heart beat.
Believe me, there are days that I have woken up and said, “Lord, why bother, what’s the use, who cares. I have known the Lord a long time, you would think that I would have gotten over those kind of attitudes, but it just shows, that there is still a lot of work to be done in me yet. The Lord has made a lot of changes and I know there are more to come.
We all have things that we are going through in our lives. During those times that we fail, that we fall on our face and feel like we are a complete failure, those are the times that the Lord can work on us. Those are the times that our heart is exposed and reveals those things that need His touch.
The pruning process is not easy as the Lord removes those things that are not of Him. He will mold us and shape us into instruments to be used in His hands for His glory. He loves us and is a caring Father. He is a patient Father and as we come to him when we make mistakes, when we stumble or fall, and we ask forgiveness, He will pick us up, forgive us and we move on even closer to Him.
We learn to hear the heart of God by spending time with Him. By coming into His presence while sitting on the porch, sitting at the kitchen table or sitting in your favorite chair, it does not matter to our Father. He just wants us to come and spend time with Him.
As a child rest’s it head on the breast of their mother or father and listens to the heart beat, so does our Father want us to rest in Him and hear is heart and know that we are in His hands.
So come and give your weary hearts to your Heavenly Father.
You just never know how the Lord’s going to speak to you!
I was reading this morning from “Streams In The Dessert” by L.B. Cowman. I was catching up on my daily reading. What utterly amazed me as I was reading was how the devotional totally lined up with what has been going on in my walk with the Lord the last three days.
It was as if Mrs. Cowman had been watching me and had written those thoughts for me. Yet this book was published in 1925 but the thoughts she shared were as if she wrote them today and the thoughts are as real now as when they were written and they spoke volumes to me and brought peace to my heart, to my soul and to my spirit.
The devotional for June 30th talked about the still small voice of the Lord, that as we learn to be still and quiet, as we allow all of the other things that are cluttering our mind become silent and as we think on Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.”
That as we focus on Him, the distractions , the events of the day, the worries and frets will begin to fade away, then we will begin to hear that gentle whisper of the Lord that will speak to the depth of our being, with tenderness, power and comfort and we can stop struggling and listen to His heartbeat.
On July 1st, a day that I was asking the Lord a lot of questions, wondering if I was doing what He wanted me to do. Was I where He wanted me to be, is Hill Country Thoughts what God wanted me to do, knowing that it was but still battling the attacks of the enemy on my mind, my spirit and my soul.
In the devotional for this day, I was reminded that God brings forth everything according to His timing and that which He speaks, He will accomplish. The Lord reminded me that which He has begun in me He will finish.
That brought such a peace and comfort to me, that even in the midst of the battles of life, in the daily struggles, that I can know the peace of God, knowing that His timing and fulfillment of things are perfect which brings me to today’s devotional.
“When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.” Proverbs 4:12. That the Lord would build bridges of faith under our feet as we travel this path. That we live by faith, not by sight. That we are to press on, that we need to keep moving forward.
That no matter if the barrier is a river, a mountain or a gate, we must continue to move forward in faith, for the river will dry up, the mountain will be moved and the gate will be open as we move forward in the faith that He has given us, to be unflinching and confident in the Lord. We are to press on, move forward, knowing that He goes before us.
I have said all of this to say, you just never know how the Lord will speak to you or how He will confirm something.The Lord will speak through His word, through a devotional written a long time ago. As I have often said, He may speak through a note, through a letter, though a post or e-mail.
Many times I will be reading various Blogs and I come away with an awareness of the Lord's presence and amazed how He used something they shared, a thought, a view, a hope or something that was on their mind or heart for that day and it was the very thing that I needed to hear and the Lord had that person post that thought that day, at that time, when I really needed a confirmation to my heart.
We just never know if what we share or say, will be the one thing that another person needs to hear, that will touch their heart, will bless them, encourage them and let them know that their heavenly Father is listening and that He truly cares for them and loves them, and that He uses us to share His heart with others.
You just never know who you will touch today!
Till later,
Paul
Hill Country Thoughts Paul E. Dawn Jr.
Kennesaw, Georgia
Think on This:
“As we spend that time with the Lord, as we ponder His word, it will bring forth fruit in due season, and it will be life to others as we share those things that the Lord has made real in our lives as we walk with Him, as we go through the trials of life, the dealings, as we mature little by little, we will be able to share with others that which has been made real in our life, not theory but the life changing power of the word" - Paul
Words Aloft
Let my words soar on the
rising currents of your spirit
Let my words be powered by the
heart of your inspiration
Let my words lead others on the
incredible journey to your heart
Let my words reflect the vastness
of your Mercy, new every morning!
