WAITING AND WANTING

There is a passage in Matthew that  tells of a situation when faith failed to rescue a child that suffered from demonic seizures.  Now, Jesus had just returned from an extraordinary experience at the top of a mountain where God had arranged for Him to be visited by the spirits of Moses and Elijah.  Peter, James and John had witnessed this great event, also. But the remaining disciples who had  tried their best and yet could not help the helpless child, were devastated at their failure as they waited at the foot of the mountain for Jesus.  Only Jesus could help this little  one.

Jesus told them later that they had lacked faith, that with the smallest amount of faith one can move mountains.

This begs the question, Did the disciples who had waited at the foot of the mountain have no faith?  And for those of us who are here today, and call ourselves followers of Christ, do we not have faith, either?

What does having faith look like?  What does it feel like? Do I have faith that God is who He says He is? I believe I do. Do I believe I have enough faith to heal the sick?  I don't think so. I haven't seen any true healings in the past in which I was given trusted participation.  Does one need exceptional faith for healing?  Or for helping another to see God and believe in God? Does absolute faith feel or look different than ordinary faith?

Does one need to wait upon Jesus' presence as the disciples did at the bottom of the hill?  Do you have to first believe that Jesus is already present?  If you need to receive special power, will God let you know when you have received it? 

I have many questions about faith and faith's ability to heal and help and hold the knowledge of God out to the un-faithful.  How does  one receive this faith?  Doesn't one still have to wait upon the Lord in order to receive it?  Or is believing God's power is in you already all there is to it?

I need some answers, God!  I am still learning, Lord! Yet, I ask your forgiveness for my doubtful attitude.

If any of you out there can lend me some light on this subject, I would greatly appreciate it!

Your friend, Jo

MY BASENESS; YOUR BEAUTY

If you don't like confessions, you may not want to read this blog, for I have a confession to make. Yes, my God wants my world of readers, no matter how small or large, to know how I really think lots of times.

We were in church on Sunday singing away, happy to be there greeting friends and worshiping with them. In the midst of one of the songs as we stood clapping, I smiled and thought how much others could see  and know that I loved Jesus.  There I was, thinking I was worshiping Jesus when in reality I was worshiping myself!  Oh, lame person that I am!

So, I bowed my head without a song on my lips and told Jesus how sorry I was.  And even today, I am sorry that I have so much ego that I lost sight of what church is all about.

Today, when reading my assignments for journaling, I came across a couple of verses that spoke to my sorrow, Ps.139:4 and Matt. 16:19.  They read, "You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence."  and "Now, I'm going to tell you who you are, really are!" ( David spoke the first line and Jesus the second to His disciples.)


How  base I am!  How full of human traits!  God has been working a long time to change me  into a person full of Him, and yet I cannot quit myself of the me, me, me that continues to plague me.  Yet, I am what I am, and Jesus knows what I am and has forgiven.  Yet, I wish for all of us still on this earth that we might have less of us and more of Him and have it start with me.

What a blessing to have a Lord that loves me just as I am!  What a blessing to have His forgiveness and His love and beauty!

(You know?  It's hard to write about Jesus Christ without exclamation points!)

Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Jo

ALL WE HAVE.....

The huge crowd had followed Jesus and His Disciples most of the day, and now they were hungry!  And they were tired as they had listened to Jesus' preaching all afternoon, and the sun had been hot.  It was a long distance to a town, yet no one wanted to leave the Teacher.

The Disciples cried out in concern,  "All we have are fives loaves of bread and two fish! What shall we do?"  And Jesus said, "Feed them!"   And they did.

"All we have...."  The Disciples could not see how these thousands of villagers could possible be fed with the little bit of food that was found. No one had come prepared to feed themselves, let alone so many more.  But Jesus said, "Feed them!"  And they did.

God takes all we have from each one of us and uses it. If given willingly, He can use those gifts for His miracles.  Miracles still happen; yes, they do and maybe on this very day!  I have no doubt of this.  I believe that each one of us can be part of a miracle  if we give all we have  in skill or capability for God's use.

We may never see the miracles God does.  We may never be able to prove there was a miracle.!  Yet, by faith, we can believe that a miracle has occurred or will occur and be thankful.

God, of course, can do a miracle without us.  Naturally, I believe that.  Don't you?  But, I think it's possible that God does miracles so those of us on this earth will believe in Him.  So, a couple of fish and five loaves of bread became enough food to feed thousands. Yet those fish and loaves are still talked about to this day!  So, just maybe, they are still making miracles!  Just maybe those loaves and fish are changing lives even at this moment!

So, what does it take to make a miracle?  Sometimes it takes all we have.  Sometimes it takes all we are willing to sacrifice. These things partnering with our Father who polishes the process by His Spirit, can make the hoped for miracle.

Yes, miracles still happen.  But, we new disciples must give "all we have."

And believe!

New Disciple, Jo

JESUS, THROUGH THICK AND THIN

Christians in the United States have more freedom as Christians than any other country in the world.  Certainly we have enemies. I guess Christians will always have enemies, but on the whole those who are not Christian tolerate us, even if they find us laughable.  They say, How can anyone believe in that old fairytale? Non-believers make gestures as if they are hanging on a cross, or make the sign of the cross across their chests, or piously bow their heads and fold their hands. Hurtful?  Yes.  But a Christian perseveres and prays that God will forgive "for they know not what they do."

Jesus probably knew in His heart that the day would come when His disciples would struggle with hate and violence.  And that is why he warned them.  Matthew 10:38,39 quotes Jesus saying, "If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me.  If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself.  But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me."

Peter, if you remember, for all his certainty for his loyalty, denied the Lord three times before morning on the night Jesus was betrayed.  How can we be assured we will not betray Him, too?

This quote of Jesus' may just be a safety net for us in these latter years. The latter days follow the Kingdom days and it is unknown to us when these days will occur.  For all we know we may be about there right now or very soon. We are told in the Revelation of John that Christians will be sorely threatened.  Satan will take control for awhile.  We will be asked to mark ourselves with a tattoo of sorts in order to buy bread and other necessities, and those that do not have the mark of Satan will be killed.  Yet, Jesus said,  "If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me." Oh, I so much want to go all the way with Jesus!

How can we ever know how we each would react under circumstances of hateful violence against God's people? We do not; we can only pray that should it come in our lifetime, our foreheads will be clear and unmarked and we will be so filled with the Spirit of our Lord Christ that His Spirit would be visible to all we meet!  Forgetting the consequences, we would be free of fear, knowing that we are God's now and always, and ready to meet with Him...no matter what!

Lord, I want to love and obey you, through thick and thin.  And I desire for your Spirit to be     visible  in me...always.  Amen     

Reader, do you feel this way, too?

Yours in peace or otherwise.......Jo

THIS IS KINGDOM COME!

"No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire.  This is Kingdome Come!" Jesus threw out these words at his questioners when they asked him why His disciples didn't fast. We are glad when we see Jesus still able to speak up to his aggressors in this way, and we find His words in Matthew 9:15.  Those outsiders sure did pick on him as they tried every advantage to ridicule Jesus.  But Jesus knew His time would come and was coming soon. The time for fasting would be soon about them, but at this time.....this time was a time of rejoicing, celebrating and praise.

This is Kingdom Come.  This, the word itself, tells us that this time, this set of circumstances, this feeling of peace in this very moment, THIS is Kingdom Come.

This...moment as I seek God and read His scripture.
This...moment when I bow to my Savior, Master and relinquish the right to myself.
This....expression of words that comes to my mind and heart.
This...peace, this time, this Life in God, this certainty that Your life is in me.
This...love I have for you, for your people, and even for those who do not believe.
This...all this and more I savor and enjoy.  Each moment with you, each prayer, each thought,       each Word, each person I see that carries your Spirit or needs your touch.

This is Kingdom Come.

Will I be different today because your Kingdom is Here? 

I hope so.  Love, Jo

MAY THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW HIM

The last few days after the Boston bombing, it appears to have had me dumb-struck.  As I felt numbed in horror, God kept hammering away at my senses and I began to write things down.  The day of the bombing, I read and wrote about Sam. 7:47, "The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel.  And everyone here will learn that God doesn't save by means of sword or spear.  The battle belongs to God!"

How often before and since this particular moment in time have we hoped that the whole earth would know there is an extraordinary God, a God of LOVE.  Not a God of hate nor vengeance, but a God of Love.  How could God not be loving when He gave His Son to die for our sinful natures?  And in turn He asks us to be loving, and not hateful, to one another.  But the battle does belong to God, and we, the people who have been harmed by hate and violence,  must just carry out His orders to love others, forgive ourselves and others, and repent for our own sin--a tall order when we have been hurt so badly.

There is one thing which gives me great joy.  Whether or not we are aware of it, God is at work.  Every moment of every day, God is working, and those who look for Him, or even look for the miracles He works, will certainly see Him. If they cannot see Him, more's the pity, because there are no coincidences.  There are only instances of God.

Lord, I pray, and will continue to pray all my life, that the world I see today in pain and sorrow because of the tragic bombing in Boston would reach out toward you, God, for comfort and healing.  Even those persons who cannot see you, perhaps they can question why this tragedy happened and find you are there in the midst of their poverty and pain.

Many people are praying for the persons involved who have been touched by death of a loved one or one terribly wounded.  And there are prayers for the witnesses, the helpers, and even for the perpetrators of this evil. Oh, how all of us need you, Lord, for your healing, your help, and your guidance. We even pray for your mystery and our trust in it.  May each one receive an answer to their prayer, Lord.  And to the hundreds of questions?  May they all lead to you and the answer be in you.

We thank you , Lord, for your mercy--once again!  And may this sadness and anger lead to a new beginning with you and hundreds of people, or thousands or ten-thousands. Yes, may the whole world know there is an extraordinary God in Israel- and beyond- available to the multitudes who, whether they know it or not are in preparation for the Heavenly Places and to be with You, forever.

Amen..............from Jo

WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO MINISTER:?

God's Word tells us, "We aren't making outrageous claims here.  We're sticking to the limits of what God has set for us.  But there can be no question that those limits reach to and include you." These words were written by Paul in his second letter to the Church in Corinth, Chapter 10, verses 13,14.

Paul assured the church of Corinth that he had a right to minister to them, either in person or by letter.  After all, Paul was personally selected for this work by the hand of God.  Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus and Paul was changed into Jesus' Apostle to the world.  And the world was changed, forever.

Changing the world is the hope of each and every person who loves Christ and is trying to be obedient to the call to go into the world and testify to the Message of God's Son, who was crucified for our sake, was  resurrected after 3 days, and now is at the right hand of the Father. This message must again change the world, the world in our day.

This is why I blog.  I blog in the hope that someone out there someday will call upon Christ.  I pray each sentence will be like a cannon blast to the heart of one who has turned away from Him.  Maybe he or she has been hurt by a church whose people have not all grown up yet. 

That could be most any church, for the church at large is filled with unholy people who are struggling to be holy, and not understanding that holiness belongs to God!  And we are only to follow Him the best we can, in the hope of finding holiness somewhere along the way, touching upon it at odd moments.  People in the church need forgiveness as well as needing to learn to forgive.  The church is also the place for people who think they are holy. For someone will come along and show them that they, too, need repentance before they find forgiveness.  Yes, the church is full of the people who need to be there. And many of us are meeting Jesus head-on!

So, Lord Jesus, I pray for all those who have turned to you for your loving kindness, direction for their lives, for your healing power in their lives, for those who are lost and don't know why, and for forgiveness for those who have yet to accept the forgiveness for which you died. 

For myself, I pray for your guidance for my words, knowing you are all I will ever need.

I am still......Your Jo

PRAISES FOR THE BLESSED GOD!

"Cornucopias of praise,, praises springing from the city like grass from the earth...blessed God, Israel's God, the one and only wonder-working God!  Blessed always his blazing glory!"
 (Ps. 72:16,18, THE MESSAGE)

What a wonder this would be, especially in these days.  Imagine the city--any city--all cities--expressing love for God by praising!  Think!  Praise after praise springing up from the concrete and blacktop like the earth's grass, green and thick.  The city whose sidewalks are stained and whose neighborhoods harbor gangs and trouble, this city is praising God!  There it is!  Praise for God's blazing glory!

If it were  only so! On any stated moment all battles would be forgotten, all traffic stopped, men, women and children halted in their work, their play and raised shouts of praise toward God Himself.  Yes...They would see God's blazing Glory.  Yes...What a wonder that would be!

Imagine, too, God's tears...maybe on His cheek.  Would He raise His mighty hands in forgiveness and welcome?  What a moment that would be!  Could it ever be?  Do you think it might be something like the day that Christ died on the Cross?  God received profound Love  from His Son that day. But  praises from his newest children might bring Him a little Love, as well. We can hope.  Yes. God might shed a tear of gratitude that His Glory and Love was seen and received by His newest children.

Yes!  Praise for the blessed God!

Lord God, May we see that day come when all cities will praise You in grand unison and we would see and know forever your "blazing Glory!"

Happy waiting,  Jo

MUCH GIVEN; MUCH EXPECTED?

The Apostle Paul was concerned with the people of Jerusalem who were dying of hunger and wanted the new Christians of Europe to dig into their  pockets to help feed them. 2 Cor. 8:15 written by Paul, saying, "Nothing left over to the one with the most; nothing lacking to the one with the least." This reminded the church of an earlier reading from Exodus 16:18 which says: "Every one had just enough.  Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough."

Paul used these nearly same expressions to encourage the Corinthian Church to share their plenty with the hungry of Jerusalem.

Do either of these sound just a little familiar?

The United States has a president that many dislike. (I read Facebook!) Disliked or not, our president is familiar with the Bible and seems to have some trust in what it says. President Obama has been actively seeking a raise in taxes to help to alleviate the discrepancies made in our economy primarily by the cost of wars over so many years without taxes being raised to pay for them.

Somehow, the tax burden we're being asked to bear doesn't seem so ludicrous when it's compared to the Biblical interpretation of feeding the hungry.  Goodness knows, there are a lot of new subscribers to the many food banks we have going at least in our city.  Homeless and near homeless, sick of mind and sick at heart, jobless and job-not-so-great.  All of this and perhaps more in the future as our population grows and grows, surely this tells us we need to look around over our shoulders, under our feet, and behind us, in fact everywhere and take it in.  People are  in need.  Some, perhaps, are in want--yes, I agree.  But most just need, need, need.  This is our world today.  People, most people have real need.

How can we not respond?  I for one like the President's plan.  What would it take?  Would it just take extra, our fun funds that we so carefully save for a vacation? Or some of what we have saved for retirement?  I don't know.  Is it worth a sacrifice to get our country back to a normal economy?  I hope so.

Who knows how this will all turn out?  I don't.  But I hope there is a way to try. And God's way surely must be a good way!  After all, it is His world and He did found this country!

Just sayin',

Jo

ONE MAN DIED FOR EVERYONE!

"One man died for everyone.  That puts everyone in the same boat.  He included everyone in His death so that everyone could also be included in His life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own."  This statement, made in the book of 2 Corinthians,  is truth personified.  I, as a person perfectly imperfect, know of its truth.  Christ died for all men and for each person, individually.  Therefore, each person is qualified to be included in knowing and  carrying the life of Christ within him or herself; the resurrection of Christ after His burial personifying the new life available to us.  AND this new life carries the Spirit of our Lord.  We, then, live in the very Life of Jesus Christ and He in us. Simply put, God in us.

Sound like magic?  a trick of some sort?  mysterious? a great, big, fat lie? No, there is no lie or magic. Hard as it is to fathom, this Word is the absolute Truth as only God can perceive it. (Truth from God deserves a capital T, otherwise truth can wear a small t.) God is the only one who can perceive this Truth and the only one who can help us to find Truth.  God's Truth is to be respected, loved, worn in our hearts and minds, and fought for.  His Truth is everything!

For this reason, those who have accepted this Truth, have been asked to be a speaker for this Truth, a witness by their actions of this Truth, and a person who carries the Lord within his or her heart. And why not?  This man died  for me. He died that I might live. He died that the whole world might not die in self and vanities.

The world is like a finishing school for the next life.  It is a costly school, but perhaps by serving God here we will be better adapted to the next world when we die. (These are my thoughts; the Word of God does NOT suggest this!) The next world.....?  I dream of a life as shown in the Book of Revelation, but I expect we each shall know it some day in one way or the other.  I hope to see God in the next life, and I hope He will be glad to see me.

Don't forget that One Man who died for each of us!  He is pertinent to all that is good.

Keep smiling!  God is watching! Jo

LIGHT UP THE DARKNESS

Why should anyone believe me about Christ living in His people?  Who am  I?  I'm nobody.  No credentials, no certificate of learning, certainly nothing that will qualify me as an expert in God and Godliness.  I am not even an expert at typing on this...........................computer.

I am not Paul, or Peter.  I am a whistler in the wind trying to get the wind to carry this message to someone out there who will believe the little bit I have to say.  I hope someone will give God a trial period, at least.  I pray someone will connect to something that is said, or seen, or experienced in some way.  I pray that experience will reveal the One who died on a cross so that someone may be filled with Christ's Spirit. Would that He who lives within  might become the Person who really lives and loves and serves His Father, but has the face of you or me, pursing the lips to whistle in the wind as we try and catch the attention of someone out there somewhere in the world.

These thoughts are my hopes , but mostly, my prayer.  Oh, how I pray that it will be--someone somewhere praying for Christ to come into his or her life.  This requires a great amount of trust, trust that the Father is saying, "Come  here, my daughter.  You are precious to me.  I place my Spirit in you, that you may reveal me to others.  Thank you for being One with me and with my Son.  All you are will reveal me to others.  Believe it!  Trust it!  You are mine. It is my work you are doing.  I need you to be in the world to testify about my world. When you see me someday I will know you well, just as you will know me."

So trust is the secret word. Trust that I am a Child of God.  Trust that I appear before others in love, caring for them when there is a need, and therefore revealing His Presence to them.  If they do not see His Presence, it is because they do not bother to consider what they see as Truth. Continue to pray that Christ will be revealed, and that person will acknowledge Him.

Let there be light, O Lord!

If others only look at me, they might miss the brightness!  Jo

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE LIVING SPIRIT

Paul must have loved the church in Corinth a whole lot!  His second letter is quite filled with good greetings and commendations to them.  He tells them, "Your very lives are a letter anyone can read by just looking at you.  Christ Himself wrote it--not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled in stone, but carved into human lives!"

What would you give to have someone say that about you?  I suppose that is what Christians dream of everywhere.  And  hoping God's Spirit is doing His work in each of us that we might have Jesus and His ways carved right into our souls.  Oh, to be marked in this way by the Spirit of God!

Lord Jesus, grant that my spirit greets, cherishes, and is gracious to your Holy Spirit, that my life might be a testimony for the world to see and know your Life, your Spirit, and your World! Yours is the Government of the Living Spirit, a government of your people and for your people.

I am pledged to you forever.

Jo

POUR ON THE LOVE!

Today you get a twofer!  Both Jerry, my husband (as you know), and I wrote about similar things in our journals, and we both thought it might be worth sharing with the world!  2 Corinthians 2:7,8 reads in THE MESSAGE, "Now is the time to forgive this man and help him back on his feet.  If all you do is pour on the guilt, you could very well drown him in it. My counsel now is to pour on the love."

Several years ago a similar incident occurred in our old church.  An unhappy wife encouraged a good friend's husband and the two ended up together with the other two people bereft. Those who knew both couples were scandalized.  How could a thing like this happen?  Now what do we do?

The guilty man was in a small group which customarily prayed for each other and held each other accountable. All good friends, they hurt for each person involved and prayed to know what best to do.  After their soul searching, they forgave their group member and held him close.  Their group never stopped praying for all involved in the situation and for one another.

This was hard for us, my husband and I,  but we came to learn that not forgiving two didn't help the two who had been hurt by their mates.  Paul, in the above verse, is right.  Hard as it may be, we must forgive the two who have fallen, even while we also must give love and understanding to those who remain the hurt spouses.

Only God's love can combat the pain to people who have been hurt by lack of faithfulness in marriage.  We can only try.  Sometimes our "help" only magnifies their pain.

Today, Jerry read 2 Cor.:17 which says:  "We are not peddlers of God's word like so many imposters; but in Christ we speak as  persons of sincerity sent from God and standing in his presence." Jerry felt that Paul is beseeching us to interact with others by coming from a position of love and sincerity.  Our purpose is to build up the Body of Christ in which we are placed with Paul's kind of absolute love and sincerity.

Jerry and I are each grateful to God for this teaching and other things we learn every day.  We pray that incidents of hurt will happen rarely, but in this world we do find these incidents.  We both, together and separately, pray that God will direct us in all instances to His kind of love which includes forgiveness and that love will be wrapped in sincerity and understanding, and not rebuke.

This world is a glass house.  Who would dare throw a stone?

With sincerity and love,  Jo