A Key to Spiritual Maturity...For God So Loved...

What is a answer or the key to obtaining spiritual maturity? What will allow a person to cross from carnal (living from their human perspective) to a grounded or mature faith? Is it passion for the things of God? Is it disciplining oneself in the things of God? Is it daily dying to self?

It's Christmas time and I'm musing over so many wonderful Christmas classics. I was a music major when I started college and loved going daily to choir rehearsal. We performed Handel's Messiah during the Christmas season and it was a highlight of my college experience. I was somewhat ignorant to the fact that these amazingly beautiful songs were written by a man who was inspired by the Bible and the truth in the scriptures. Previous to college I had barely read any of the Bible. I had a knowledge based on what others told me the Scripture said.

I did know a few scriptures and one was "For God so loved the world that he gave is only Son that whoever would believe on Him would not perish and have everlasting or eternal life." (John 3:16) Many people on the planet know this verse of scripture and I think most who do know it take it for granted. But there is power in this--the gospel. It says in Romans 1 that "gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." Imagine for a moment if you had no knowledge of the Father's love toward you.

So if this truth--knowing of His love to send Jesus is so essential, why does it seem to be such a neglected subject in the Church? When was the last time we heard a sermon or a series preached in worship service about the Father's Love?

We hear about repenting and service and dedicating our lives to prayer. We have it preached many times a year about the importance of the Great Commission. All these subject are indeed important. But none of these subjects will penetrate and CHANGE or TRANSFORM the human heart.

Knowing or experiencing the Love of God is what will penetrate a heart. Knowing His Passion for you will bring you to life. Preaching it to others will ignite a zeal within you that cannot be quenched. All those other subject (all important) will not cause you to become intoxicated by His purpose for your life.

I challenge you this Christmas season to meditate and speak aloud "The Father loves me...He loves me...He sent His Son --my Savior--for me. He loves me and desires me." Speaking this aloud causes a fresh belief within your soul. It changes you...it will change you and bring you passion in your heart and soul.

Here is a new song I discovered that stirs the Gift within me. Beloved by Tenth Avenue North

And the Government Shall be Upon His Shoulder

Handel's Messiah is my favorite Christmas music and the song "For Unto Us a Child is Born" is top of the list in my opinion. The fluid harmony touches my heart in a profound way.... "And the government shall be upon His shoulders...." And then the list of the Names that we know Him by: Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace. There should be no doubt our God has plans to bless His people not curse.

But the phrase "and the government shall be upon His shoulders" does make one wonder the meaning. I used to thinking that Rome was cruel and the phrase meant that Jesus would be put to death by an actual government. That makes some sense... but it did not bring me hope. It was just an explanation.

The word dominion if you look it up in the original language is misrah which means "rule, dominion, government" This word misah is from a root word sarah which means "contend, have power, contend with, persist, exert oneself, persevere to persevere, contend with." So dominion shall be upon His shoulders.

His sacrifice conquered or took dominion over everything that appears to be a curse in my life.

I was worried this morning that some junk from my past would continue to follow me and my children for the rest of my life. It was heavy on my heart and I heard over and over the part of the song "And the government shall be upon His shoulders" So I looked up the word government...I will tell you it set me free. It did give me HOPE.

We have to accept as the truth that what Jesus did at the cross HAS given us ETERNAL life and that starts today. If it was meant just for heaven then it would be called life for tomorrow. But it's LIFE for NOW. If something looks like a curse in my life then I will just BELIEVE that my Savior carried that on His shoulders 2000 years ago and paid the price. I choose to believe that He already took care of it for me.

The scripture from Isaiah is prophecy about what our Messiah would accomplish...But we know He's already did it. All the promises of God are in HIM (Jesus) yes and Amen! Done! He said Himself from the Cross "It is finished". But will I choose to believe and receive or doubt and go without? I am not waiting for Him to save me from my ignorant mess....I've believing that what He did on the cross already delivered me and I am walking in a victorious life. He came to set the captives free and I declare I am free and so are my children! AMEN!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Psalms 37 Countering Worry and Fear

The beginning of this Psalm encourages us to not fret if people wrong us or if it seems like evil doers are getting ahead. To me fretting is a form of worry and can lead to feelings of anxiety. Anxiety robs the believer of the fullness of joy and living the way the Father intends for His People. Since I lived with severe anxiety for so many decades I want to know what the Word says about countering it.

There are seven verbs in the first few verses of Psalms 37 that help us to counter fretting. These actions should be building one upon the other with trusting or having confidence in our Heavenly Father as our firm foundation.

Trust: "batach" To have confidence in our LORD which should lead us to doing good. The trusting or confidence is in the character of our LORD. This doing good would be the same as a healthy plant producing fruit. The plant does not set out to work doing good but produces based in how the plant is rooted. This trusting should also lead us to dwelling where God intends for us and being fed properly. Isn't that what we all need, to feel established and satisfied?

Delight: "anag" To be delicate or to be pampered in the LORD which leads to Him giving us our desires. Delight also means to enjoy. It has an intimate quality like a husband and wife enjoying the company of each other. This word "gives" is the same as giving a gift or bestowing on someone a blessing. When you really enjoy the company of an other, it is a natural thing to desire to lavish them with gifts.

Commit: "galal" To roll away or roll together your ways to the LORD. This implies that you both have the same goals or plans. If two people have the same purpose they will not be countering what one another is saying or doing. Agree with God! Agree with Him that the relationship you both have is based on your trust in what Jesus accomplished for you through His sacrifice. If you are trying to work to please God and He is trying to show you that the price is already been paid for you then this will be counterproductive.

Rest: "damam" quietness, stillness, literally not speaking in the LORD and at the same time "wait patiently" or "chuwl" which is a word that means to dance or whirl about... one of the definitions is "to be born" like it's a struggle to get out of the womb. There are seasons when stuff is flying at you and it seems like speaking to it would be the best defense but this part of the structure (strong tower) of defeating anxiety is to just zip the lip and use your energy to see whatever it is that the LORD is birthing in your life.

Cease "raphah" from anger: which means to sink or slack. Forsake "azab" wrath....abandon venomous poison. There will be days you would love to be angry until you see 100% deliverance from whatever might be causing you to feel fretful. But this encourages us to just not attempt to fix it our self. Abandon poisonous stuff that would keep us bound to the situation.

The remainder of the Psalm is about knowing that God will deliver us out of our troubles and that evil will not win. Well, guess what?!!! I have really Good News for you. In 2 Corinthians 1 Paul explains that all the promises of God (all the Bible) are in Him (our Savior Jesus) yes and Amen! Jesus made it clear from the cross that what He accomplished by His sacrifice is a finished work. We don't have to wait for God to deliver us from evil or send healing or any other answer to prayer because Jesus did everything necessary for life and godliness. (2Peter 1:3)

As New Testament saints, we don't wait for Him to do anything more, but believe what He has already done. Believe and receive.

Is Happiness a Choice?

Is happiness a choice? I will say, yes. If everything in our life is going along fairly smoothly and we hit a bump in the road, like a flat tire or an unexpected bill then, yes--Most of us can choose to be happy. Some of us have walked with the Lord long enough to know that He will carry us through these days of trouble.

But what if a person struggles with depression? Is it fair to say happiness is choice? A person with debilitating depression lives day to day with a feeling of physically carrying a burden on their body. They really do feel like they are wearing a lead blanket.

Is it fair to just tell this person, who may be a Christian that happiness is choice? If they had cancer, would way say "praise God you can choose to be happy"? No, most realize how very insensitive that would be.

What about sin? Is sin a choice? Again, I will answer yes. If we are faced with a choice in our life to lie or cheat on our taxes then I would say, YES that is a choice. But what about the person who is bound by sin? What about the person who craves to commit a sexual sin or is driven by greed? Even if that person is a Christian they may feel completely helpless to their fleshly desires.

When it gets right down to it, if a person--Christian or non-believer-- is bound by sin or sickness it is them same result. They will not see freedom just by choosing to be free.

What will bring freedom, you may ask? Freedom comes only one way. Healing comes only one way. Believing in the finished, complete and perfect sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. He came to earth as a baby -- 100% man and 100% God to die a death meant for a sinner. He became our substitute for sin. He took all the wrath that was due to humankind so that we could have His Righteousness.

Many accept the fact that we need Jesus to save us from our sin, but how many are trying to do good works to try to please God enough so He will heal or deliver them completely out of their sinful lifestyle?

I did this for decades. I thought if I prayed enough, or served enough or gave enough of my time or money then it would get me ticket for my healing. I was jumping through hoops trying to prove my love and dedication to my God when the only thing He desired was for me to BELIEVE that Jesus already did everything for me.

It's not by might nor power but by My Spirit says the Lord...this mountain of sin or sickness or lack shall be removed. As New Testament BELIEVERS it's not obey and be blessed but BELIEVE and RECEIVE!

If It's Not Good News, It's Not Jesus

I had a dream about five years ago and it is only recently that I understand it. It was somewhat disturbing at the time I had the dream probably due to the constant struggle of depression and the anxiety disorder that pummeled my mind daily.

I dreamed I was running from something or someone. I was unfamiliar with where I was at. I eventually realized I was in a maze of some sort. The people I saw were people I knew but no one would talk to me. It was like I was a stranger to them. I would ask them a question about how to get out of the maze and they all looked at me like that was a stupid question to ask. Some looked at me in disgust and acted like they were afraid to get too close. I began to feel a lot of shame and felt like people were pointing and whispering all the while I felt like something or someone would soon "catch" me if I didn't keep moving.

The dream was one of those bottomless pits of uncertainty. I felt anxious and confused. I am the type of person who prefers to plan my route and this was one uncertain turn after another.

I finally got to a clearing. It was like a round courtyard. There were several other openings that came from the same maze that I had just tried to escape. In the center of the courtyard, up on a small platform was who I thought was Jesus. His back was to me so I was unsure it was really Him. So I ran to Him. I cried out His name as soon as I saw His face. BUT He was scowling at me. There was a look of contempt on His face. I wept bitter tears, kneeling in front of my savior... I felt hopelessness and began to feel a dark gloomy cloud was settling on my body.

My dear friend of many years appeared to me in the dream as I was weeping before this angry god. She told me to get up and this was NOT Jesus.

I awoke with extreme emotion.

I now know that if it is not Good News, it is not Jesus. That dream was a revelation from my Savior that He is not hard to find and not angry with me. He paid all the price so I could come boldly before the Throne of Grace. I'm set free by His love and He would never leave me, reject me or put my to shame. All my sin was removed from me as far as the east is from the west. I now realize I do not need to feel driven by someone or something and I am free to love and be loved.

Sin Management Never Set Me Free.

Someday when I get my hands on one of those model skeletons that are used in biology or anatomy/ physiology class, I am going to use it for an object lesson about our sin nature being dead. I will drag it out on to the stage, set it up in a chair and tell everyone I dragged in my sin nature here for all of them to see. I will remind them that I had to go dig it up from where Christ was buried. You know it says in Col 2:20 that we all died in Christ and we know that means our original sin nature we were born with due to being good 'ol Adam's descendants.

Then just for kicks I will demonstrate how we do our best to fix up our sinful nature due to a misunderstanding of what it means to live the Christian lifestyle. With all the dramatic flair I can muster up, I will put on a pretty hat to show that I'm renewing my old sin nature so that it will finally understand God's will. Then I will put on pretty scarf or maybe a colorful wrap to show that I need to be clothed in Christ. I'll put on some jewelry to show I'm trying my best to look good to others and to the Father so I can impress Him and maybe some of those blessings I hear about will come my direction. Then the icing on the cake would be some make-up to make my DEAD nature look good to others... See how silly this really is to try to fix our DEAD sin nature.

What does the word say about who we are now? If our sin nature died and was buried with Christ then what happened at our new birth?

It is clear in Roman 6 in the Message Bible about why we use baptism as a public act of our belief in what Christ has done for us.

"That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country.

Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection."

This passage in Romans 4 makes it clear that our New Nature is due to the fact that we BELIEVED that what Christ accomplished to changed us. We have no need to fix up our old dead sinful nature... leave it buried where it belongs.

So what do we do since we still see sin in our lives? We don't want to have sin in our lives since we know it bring painful circumstances and really does not glorify our Father in Heaven. If we don't fix our old sinful nature what do we do to allow the Spirit to live through us?

When I realized that knowing what the Word of God says about me being completely accepted and hidden in Christ and that I died with Him, was buried and rose again to a New Life in HIm. I don't try to fix up my old nature. It says in Romans 1 that grace or the Gospel is the power unto salvation to all who BELIEVE. You may know from previous posts here that salvation or soteria is not just a ticket to heaven but the benefits of our Savior residing inside of us. We are vessels of the Holy Spirit which is Christ's Spirit. We believed in what Christ did for us and that caused us to be saved.

So the same is true of this process that some call sanctification. Sin management NEVER set me free. I tried to beautify my old nature and it never worked. I was only set free by the renewing of my mind and having REVELATION of what Christ did for me. SAVED by GRACE and SANCTIFIED BY GRACE never by my fixing or managing my old nature.

2Peter 1:3 This is about KNOWING His nature and who we are IN CHRIST...

"Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust."

Excerpt chapt 15 Night Seasons

Chapter 15
~Night Seasons
“I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.”

We are now to the section in Psalm 16 that addresses ‘night seasons’. A ‘night season’ can be defined as a season of time where one can feel stuck in a pit of despair. There is no assignment of time to this season, but for some it can seem like a lifetime. My experience with a ‘night season’ cannot and should not be compared to another. I had the faithfulness of my husband by my side and many loving church family members, as well as my loving natural family members, to encourage me on in my relationship with Christ.


You know by now that the “Hedged in by God's Grace” Bible study was birthed out this very difficult season of my life. The winter of 2007 was a black hole of despondency. I was convinced this was a physical and emotional barrage from hell. I knew Satan wanted me to believe I was never going to have healing and never going to live a life of victory. I knew he was a liar but, honestly, there were days I could have given up and believed the lies over what I believed was contained in God's Word.


Medication was not working. Rest was not working. Praying and reading the Word was not working. I was basically crippled in my mind and body. Depression is not just about being sad. I knew I had nothing to feel sad about. A brain chemical imbalance robs your ability to think clearly and robs you of who you really are meant to be as a person. It is like wearing a lead blanket and walking in mud up to your knees all the while weeping for "no reason".


In the winter of 2007 a few weeks of prescribed medication did bring a modest balance to my brain chemicals. I could stay awake for most of the day, and at this point I could travel with my husband to church as well as undertake short shopping trips. This was an accomplishment considering my only other outings, for the most part, were to my doctor’s office.

In Psalms 16: 7, the word ‘reins’ speaks of our center parts (literally kidney or organ) from which our emotions spring forth. I think we might call this the soul, mind, will, and emotions. Other versions of the Bible call it the heart. So when your heart gives you counsel it is telling you something from a soulish or carnal perspective. Carnal is not necessarily an evil thought; it’s just a thought that is from a human perspective.


I don't know about you, but during certain times of my life, I've been pretty fickle in my heart. One day I'm whining and complaining and the next everything is sunny. So my heart is not reliable. The Word of God, however, is perfectly reliable. I do believe that we can train our heart to believe God's Word over our circumstances, but realistically we better not rely on our hearts during the difficult seasons of life. I am convinced that what the author of Psalms 16 is attempting to communicate is that we should not walk by sight but by faith when it comes to things of the heart. (2 Corinthians 5:7)


I recently looked more closely in the Strong’s Concordance at the last phrase in this verse and discovered that ‘night seasons’ (layil) means “gloom”. I looked up the root of this word and I was amazed. This root word means "staircase, winding stair, shaft or enclosed space with steps or ladder."

How many of us who have "fallen" into depression felt it was like being trapped in a deep, dark pit with a winding stairwell? I recall one friend calling it the “downward spiral” of life. I will attempt to share a very personal and scary event before I experienced healing manifested in my life.


In the early spring of 2007, after enduring a very long hard winter while unsuccessfully trying different medications to fight depression, it was then, in the middle of the night, I awoke screaming. This had never happened to me before and it was extremely frightening for both my husband and myself. Before the panic completely gripped me and I was left unable to physically speak, I pleaded for my husband to pray in the Spirit for me.


In my mind, I was being dragged down a deep, dark stairwell. I could not see the person dragging me, but could feel his grip. I could see it was a winding stairwell and I didn't understand the significance until I read the meaning of the word ‘night season’. I could hear my husband praying in the Spirit and then I heard the Holy Spirit say; "Now you are going to count the steps as you come up."


In my mind I could see the first step leading up from that evil pit. I could barely force my vocal cords to move, "one" but it was audible. "Two," while panic was still gripping me. "Three," and my speech was only a garble. I slowly counted the steps upward. My dear husband had no idea at the time why I would be counting. I’m sure it frightened him to his core.

By the time I got to seven or eight I knew I was going to be okay. I can’t remember how high I had to count, but I didn’t stop counting the steps until, in my mind, I reached the top of the stairwell. This seemed so real in my thinking, and if the Holy Spirit had not instructed me to come up those stairs, I'm certain I would have been hospitalized that night. Even after all these years, it still brings tears to my eyes as I try to relate this event to you.


My emotions desperately tried to dictate to me that night. Fear and torment thought it had won, but the counsel of the Holy Spirit made all the difference and I WILL BLESS HIS NAME!

Verse 8 of Psalms 16 is like a continuation of the thought in verse 7. ”I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” Before studying this verse in depth, I thought this word ‘set’ meant the same as when we set a book on a shelf or vase of flowers on a mantle. My understanding of it was that we would know just where the LORD would be when we needed Him.

This word ‘set’ or shavah, in fact, means to “agree with, or resemble”. It also means to set in place, like one would set the time on a clock or set in place a standard or belief. When we set the LORD before us we are setting a paradigm and we know that nothing can move that standard. We set our thermostats to our climate control devices in our home or car and know that it is secure. As the elements outside are raging heat or a fierce winter blast , our inside dwelling place is a perfect 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

We can purpose to ‘set’ the LORD, and what we know about His nature, as well as our inheritance, firmly in our heart (reins). We can feel confident that we are committed to adopt what we know is the truth and we will not be swayed by the circumstances around us or the raging storms that may barrage us in life. I call this “cementing the understanding” in your heart, so nothing can persuade you otherwise.

You may want to do a word study in your Bible on the Names of God in order to be more familiar with His character. By knowing the nature of God we can feel secure in our relationship with Him.

For I'm going to your house TODAY!!!

I'm so delighted with the grace message. Jesus comes in the middle of our messy lives and He changes us. No striving. No fixing ourselves up to be good enough. We are transformed not by our 'good works' but by His Spirit. I'm excited to be getting new revelation of Grace everyday.

I was thinking about Sunday School songs and how some of them might give us the wrong impression of Grace. Some songs might cause us to believe that we have to strive to be accepted and used of the Lord. We need to have it cemented in our hearts and minds that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8) and the same is true after we are born-again. We are not striving to get God's favor or approval but resting or accepting by faith that Jesus has paid the whole price for every messy thing in our lives.

I was thinking about the song "Zacchaeus was a Wee Little Man". You can listen here if you never had this song in your Sunday School growing up.

Take a minute and think about this account in the Gospels. Zacchaeus was a tax-collector. I'm not sure who was despised more in Jesus era, the tax-collectors or the prostitutes. But somehow Zacchaeus knew that Jesus must be the answer to the emptiness in his life. He didn't want to be spat upon by the crowds since he knew they hated him. He skulked in the shadows and since he was a short man, he climbed up a tree to try to see and possibly hear better as Jesus was walking and talking with the crowds of people.

Some must have been whispering, "Zacchaeus is up in the tree....why in the world would he think Jesus would want him hanging around...?"

He said, "Zacchaeus, come down from there! Today I am going to your house." That was outrageous! Jesus going to the house of such a sinner. He was probably considered the worst scoundrel in town. He was the worst of the worst and Jesus was going to his house for fellowship?

Zacheous didn't argue with Jesus. He didn't say, "Lord, give me a day to clean stuff up in my house". He must have had all types of messes around. He must have had sinfulness in every corner of his dwelling place.

He allowed the Lord in! He allowed the Lord to enter his messy dwelling. It says in Luke 19 "So he hurried and came down, and he received and welcomed Him joyfully." And Jesus didn't tell him to get anything ready or clean anything up. He was not expecting a perfect reception. Just that He wanted to be welcomed.

People were indignant! They could not understand why Jesus would fellowship with such a sinner. It says that Zacchaeus heard the people grumbling. He felt he must DO something. He said he would give half of his money to the poor and restore back 4 times what he stole from people. He was loved by Jesus and it changed him but keep in mind that he said this to appease the people who where grumbling.

I wonder what we say in response to what others think of us?

Look how Jesus responded: Today is salvation come to this household, since Zacchaeus too is a son of Abraham; For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Then Jesus tells a parable to cement this concept deep within the hearts of the people. You remember the one servant who hid his minas in the ground for fear that he would be punished by the King. This man expected punishment. His reward was punishment. Jesus was attempting to drive it home that people do not need to fear punishment from the Father. He sent His Son to seek and save the lost. He sent His Son to bring a fulfillment to the Law so that sin would no longer separate us from the Father. No more payment is expected.

Then Jesus says a very profound statement. "I tell you that to everyone who gets and has will more be given,(you get and have His grace) but from the man who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away. The indignant king ended by saying But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them--bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!" Jesus desired for us to know for certain that we are only saved by grace through faith. We can't do stuff to be made good enough for His righteousness.

I'm sure the people were shocked and I'm very certain that Zacchaeus' life was transformed by His grace.

Excerpt: Hedged in by God's Grace P. 70-73

At an early age, I knew I was saved by God's grace and would make it to Heaven based on what Jesus accomplished, but I had the mentality that I had to do something to gain God's favor. I somehow got it twisted in my mind that I was legitimized by my actions. I thought I had to pray just so and read just so many chapters in the Bible or accomplish just so many acts of service before God would even glance my direction. This dissatisfying way of life was emotionally and physically exhausting. It was like two steps forward and ten steps back.

This mindset was what prevented me from living the life that God had intended for me. Rather than knowing I was justified by Christ, I thought I had to be just so good. I had a very limited view of God's grace. Grace is defined as unmerited favor.

Most Believers do not argue the concept of "saved by grace", but when someone is already born-again, we tell them they must be perfectly clean and stay that way for God to ever see fit to use them for His purposes. We can never be perfect enough or clean enough by our own merit.

It delighted me to discover that, for the Believer our lives do not have to mirror the disappointing board game of "Chutes and Ladders" with a mentality that we go two steps forward and then ten steps back. It is extremely satisfying to know that God is NOT waiting to push me down the chutes of despair when I make less-than holy choices. I am so thankful to have the perception that God wants us going from glory to glory and not up ladder and down chutes. (2Cor 3:18)

I know I now have a healthier view of who I am in Christ and I am reminded from Psalm 16:3 "As for the godly, (the saints) who are in the land, they are the excellent, the noble and the glorious in whom is all my delight."

Every Valley is Exalted -Every Mountain Made Low Isaiah 40

For a little over a year the Lord has been encouraging me to be more vulnerable around my brothers and sisters in Christ. At first I was thinking..."show people my weaknesses...yikes! I have been working for 25 years to hide my faults and you want me to show them off?" But this persisted for a long season so I decided it was time to trust that this really was a good thing for me or at the very least it would be a blessing to others.

So I've been out there allowing others to see my weaknesses. If someone asks me how I'm doing I don't give the standard, "I'm just fine...I'm blessed and highly favored..." I would tell them. "God is doing a good work but I have days where I'm just a mess." This would often open a door for others to share with me about how they feel overwhelmed and not able to walk out this thing we call the "Christian Life".

I was set free in my thinking recently by a video I watched by Bill Johnson that stated that it is not by accident that we cannot "do" the Christian life. It's actually impossible for us to do this thing we call being a Christian. It says in the Bible that we would do greater works than Jesus... hmm... that will make your brain cells wilt if you think on that for too long. It's impossible, right?

Well, it's not impossible if we are weak and He is strong through us.

Several weeks ago, I heard the Father say to go buy an accompaniment track from the Christian Book store. Then I called our worship leader and I was put on the schedule to sing in our worship service. There was a few weeks between the purchase of the CD and me actually singing... In the meantime...

We had some circumstance arise that were very difficult and disturbing. I will admit, it was a trial that caused me to feel fear in the pit of my gut. It's too personal to state the details but indeed it was the roar of the enemy to try to get me to retreat. I felt condemned in my heart that I had even caused this difficult thing to fall upon our family.

So the day comes that I'm going to sing. I will tell you that it was not a pretty picture. I had shed more tears that week than I thought were humanly possible. I could not sing the song in practice without choking up and weeping. The song the Father chose for me was "Call on Jesus" by Nicole C. Mullen. That morning before I sang, my husband and I had a terrible fight... I was irrational and acting like a wee baby in Christ rather than a strong woman of God that many see... or I've allow them to see...

So I'm sitting on the end of my bed, weeping and still in my p.j.s and I'm supposed to be walking out the door to sing. I tell my husband to please call the worship leader and make some excuse.... but just after he tried to call, I heard the Father say, "If you will go and sing, I will show everyone in the room what MY GRACE looks like..." So, I choose to believe what the Father tells me and I throw on some clothes and drive to church.

I stood before my church family, with a tear stained face, shaking like I had never shook before. I told them I was up there as a vulnerable sister. I told them I had cried all week due to a difficult situation and a mountain was laughing at me all the way to the Church building. I told them I wanted them to do something that morning. I told them that if they had a mountain laughing at them as well, that they were to write the name of that mountain on a little piece of paper and along with me stand with their foot on the paper as a sign of their faith.

I sang the lyrics,

"When I call on Jesus,
All things are possible
I can mount on wings like eagles' and soar
When I call on Jesus,
Mountains are gonna fall
'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call"

The presence of God was amazing! And I felt like a battle was won in the spiritual realm that day. The gates of hell did not prevail. The mountain was still standing at that point but certainly the foundation was cracked. Indeed, the molecules of that mountain were disturbed since only a few weeks later a VICTORY was brought to us.

I could do nothing to affect my circumstances. I could do nothing to cause the victory. It was out of my hands but that mountain fell. It crumbled and it was so obviously the work of God.

Zech 4 Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the LORD of hosts.
‘ Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

God is Not in the Business of Fixing Junk: He's in the Business of Restoration

I had been chewing on it for several months before I felt brave enough to make this my status update on Facebook:

"God's not trying to fix the old me...nope... the old me died. He made me a NEW CREATION IN CHRIST. So I will discontinue trying to fix a corpse."

It's only been a few months since I have discovered that God is not interested in fixing my old nature. I knew the Word of God says that we are a New Creation in Christ Jesus, but some how missed the part that God is not interested in behavior modification.


He does not want to fix the stuff in my life or your life that is broken. At least not fix the old sinful natural man born of Adam's seed. I was re-born of the Last Adam (Jesus) so I am reborn of incorruptible seed. We just have to have it revealed to us who we really are.


I knew that the Word says we are overcomers in Christ and that no weapon formed against us shall ever prosper, but it seems for so many things in my life that I was not overcoming and not prospering. I knew 3 John 1;2 that says, "Beloved I pray that you would be prospering and be in health just as your soul is prospering" but I would think this was something I did to make my soul prosper. I would sincerely ask God to purge me of the weak or bad character flaws that kept me from living a victorious life. I would ask God to show me how to overcome that junk that remained in my life. I was asking God to fix my old sinful nature.


This is good to want to change. It's good to want to live a more holy life and be a better example of a Christian. I would even see some change at times in my life to overcome some really yucky, unholy, shameful junk that seems to stick to me like slime. I would seem to change and even proclaim a victory but then the same junk would just keep creeping back in my life and I would be right back at square one.


Why is this? It's seems pretty simple to me now. God is in the business of restoration. He does not want to fix the old junk you (your sinful nature) Nope! He is using a process that is called sanctification (1 Thes 5:23) that does not fix the old nature but reveals the New Creation to your mind. If we can understand in our soul or mind about who we are IN CHRIST then we will start living it. However, I have proven the opposite to be true in my life. If see myself as junk that needs to be fixed then I will continue to identify myself as broken junk never able to do the job I was designed to accomplish.


When I really got a hold of the truth that I was crucified with Christ, then buried with him, that qualified my old sinful nature as DEAD!!! I died! My old yucky, sinful, unholy person died and also was buried. I did not know that I was not to dig it up and ask God to fix it. Sounds rather silly now. I'm a brand New Creation. I was qualified to partake of the divine nature (Col 1:12). God had to do this because His Holy Spirit could not dwell in an unholy habitation. That's why the Holy Spirit only visited the Old Testament believers. They were not redeemed by Christ so they could house or be the tabernacle of the Most High God. Hallelujah! That we can have His Spirit dwell within us.


If I believe I am a sinner that is saved by grace then I continue to identify with being a sinful creature. But I I know that I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:21) then I start to identify myself with God's righteousness inside of my new nature. God needed me transformed into a holy vessel because a Holy God cannot live inside of an unholy habitation.


The moment I was born-again I was made holy and righteous because of His grace toward me. It is unmerited favor of course. I did nothing to deserve such a gift and in the same manner I can do nothing to deserve God continuing to work in me to transform my inward nature to my outward life. This is God's business. I can only cooperate by choosing to believe that this process is taking place.


So my new motto: "Nice people do nice things but changed people change a culture." Since I now recognize that I'm a New Creation and not some piece of junk that God is trying to fix up. It is a truth that is setting me free!

The irony of laboring to enter His rest.

It’s Labor Day here in the USA. It’s our holiday to honor the extremely hard-working folks who go to work to make this country great. It’s about celebrating the many generations of people who decided they could get ahead if they would just do their best. They knew their efforts would be rewarded as they labored to make their lives better and the lives of their families. Those of us who know God, know that He has blessed our nation but working hard is one of those factors of how He blessed us. Working is noble and I am proud of the people in this country that work hard and make it what it is today.

From our Christian perspective, I was thinking about our laboring. I used to approach serving God from a standpoint of fear of being punished or missing out on a blessing if I didn’t do the work that I thought was required of me. I even thought of prayer as one of those works that would please God and get the attention of my Father in Heaven. This process of a works mentality was very exhausting and kept me bound to some very destructive habits in my spiritual life.

I had a notion that serving God meant I did things like praying, giving, fasting, reading my bible, working in the church building, as well as committing to projects that my pastor and the other leaders of the church were promoting. These were all good things. They were all healthy things IF I had a proper perspective and appropriate mindset. I did not. I thought DO these things equaled blessing.

No we are blessed because we HAVE the blessing. The blessing is the Spirit of Christ dwelling on the inside. Eph 1:13-14 In Him you also who have heard the Word of Truth, the glad tidings (Gospel) of your salvation, and have believed in and adhered to and relied on Him, were stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit. That [Spirit] is the guarantee of our inheritance [the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage], in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring [complete] possession of it--to the praise of His glory.

We are co-laborers with Christ. That does not mean we work along side of Christ. Nope. It means He works in us and through us as we are IN CHRIST JESUS.

You and I are actually dead. The old man died when I became born-again. This is very important to realize if we are to understand what it means to rest in the finished work of Christ or the Cross.

Jesus did all the work. He labored so I could rest. I have to laugh at the irony in Hebrews chapter 4. We are told to labor to enter into His rest. Well, I guess that makes sense. It’s my natural mindset to try to work to make God happy. I asked Him to even work on me to perfect me, which is contrary to the Good News. God is not trying to fix my old nature.

He made me a NEW CREATION in Christ Jesus. So I need to stop trying to fix that corpse. So as a Christian brother reminded me recently, we labor to rid ourselves of the erroneous beliefs. This takes time and is a process. Hallelujah! We can labor to enter His Rest.

I need to continue to grow in the knowledge that I am not that old corpse but a brand New Creation and no longer from the seed of the first Adam but from the Seed of the Last Adam. Wow! Take a minute and wrap your mind around that. I am --and you are --now born of incorruptible SEED.

So if you are still thinking you need to work for God to be blessed, take some time and ask the Holy Spirit to show you this process of resting in the finished work of Christ. I promise you He will be faithful and begin a good work in you that will change your Christian walk from a chore to a daily Sabbath Rest.

Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush

I must admit it is still hard for me to be transparent and allow people to see how I walk through this thing we call "Life." I finished my book on 8/16 and submitted to my publisher. It was a huge joy the whole time I was writing it and although at time tedious to read and re-read my work it felt like I was being encouraged over and over by the very teaching I wanted to bring to others. So it was a huge shock and disappointment for me to awake exactly one week later feeling like a load of bricks was on my chest.

Of course I prayed and took my authority over this attack. After a few days, I was still not feeling well and my blood pressure was still very high, I went to see my doctor. No surprises there that he said to continue to take my prescribed medication to keep my blood pressure in a healthy range. But still a couple weeks later with controlled blood pressure, I was feeling extreme fatigue and aches in my body.

Of course the enemy tried to lie to me and tell me that depression was upon me again along with all the symptoms of pain, fatigue, anxiety and the whole dung pile. Well, I knew that was a lie. God does not heal us to see us go back under the same oppression but honestly, I felt like I was missing a key to healing. What I was missing was THE Key to walking in the strength of the Lord.

A few days ago, I was having a delightful conversation with a dear friend who was telling me about how God delivered her from a besetting sin. She shared with me the account in 2 Samuel 5 where David went up against the Philistines in the place that is called Baalperazim ( Breakthrough). David was also instructed to listen for the sound in the tops of the mulberry trees.

My dear friend's testimony of God's goodness and grace to change her from the inside out was like a drink of fresh water in my season of discouragement. I was a bit afraid she took it the wrong way when I laughed aloud with joy when she said this account made her think of the song "Here We Go'Round the Mulberry Bush". Her whit and desire to share how God brought her through was inspirational. I thought it's true, these strongholds of sin or sickness are like the song "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush"

So as we look at this account we see that David's army destroyed the enemy, but they left a bunch of junk laying around. It says in verse 21 that they were to burn it but this word in the Hebrew is nasa' and it means to lift, bear up, carry, take [1) to lift, lift up2) to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure3) to take, take away, carry off, forgive.] So this junk just sat around--it doesn't say if they used it. Maybe it just lay on the ground getting rusty, but if the word does not mean they actually got rid of it.

If the junk stayed with the Israelite army, could one say it's like mixing the truth with the lies left over from before our breakthrough took place?

The next few verses explain that David's enemy is getting very numerous and congregating in the Valley of Rephaim which is the same word we get the name of God "The Lord our Healer" (rapha' ) So the enemy invaded and grew numerous in the Valley of Healing. Talk about making me pay attention to this story! At that point, I was struggling with the issue of healing again. I was feeling an urgency in my spirit to rid myself of some lies that were left over from after my breakthrough! It was no coincidence that my friend asked me to have coffee with her and told me her testimony and how this scripture played a big part in her deliverance.

So David was instructed to go the long way around and then wait to hear the sound in the tops of the mulberry trees. This word for sound is qowl and it is the same word used to describe the voice of God when Adam and Eve were hiding in the garden after their original sin. I hope this has your attention as well. Adam and Eve's original sin was not believing God.

They chose to believe the serpent and went after stuff that they already had in their possession. They believed they lacked something they already had.

Go to Genesis chapter 3 and see the serpent temped them to 1: "to take the fruit because they saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and 2) that it was delightful to look at, and 3) a tree to be desired in order to make one wise". They already had all of this in their intimate relationship with God. I too have been guilty of going after stuff that I already possess. I too, was feeling like I was lacking something and needed to go after something. Once again the Lord revealed to me, it was a perceived lack.

So let's sum up this account in 2 Samuel 5: 20-25

*Victory in the place of Breakthrough
*David's army does not burn the junk left over by the Philistines
*The Philistines overtake the Valley of Healing
*David is told to go the long way around and wait until he hears the 'sound' in the top of the Mulberry trees which is the same root word for God's voice.
*David once again is victorious over the Philistines and destroys the enemy in the Valley of Healing.

Are you getting excited to hear what God told me next?

I told you I was asking God for an understanding of truth to know if I was holding onto some false believe about healing and lacking some truth concerning walking in divine health. I was asking God and expecting Him to reveal to me a truth that I had previously missed KNOWING that this would bring healing to my body.

The following is what a Facebook friend posted on His wall within moments of my healing:

If a son shall ask for bread (of grace) of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone (of the law)? Luke11: 11~ Beloved, we are to feed this generation with the pure bread of grace, without the stone of the law! Did Jesus say feed my sheep, or discipline my sheep? Jesus said, feed my sheep, not beat my sheep with the law!"

"Beloved, in the old covenant under the law, you would have to be willing and obedient to eat the good of the land! But in the new covenant of grace the word "obedient" has been "replaced" with the word "believe!" So when you read the old covenant, read it with grace eyes like this: If ye be willing to believe, you shall eat the good of the land! Isaiah 1: 19 When we believe right we will be blessed!"~Rudy Rodriguez

THIS was the sound in the top of the mulberry trees--THIS was the sound of the voice of God. I needed to put away my notion that obedience is the way God will use me. I need to trust that Jesus did everything--including obedience to obtain everything for life and godliness. I need to rest in the finished work of the Cross for everything including obedience. I have to trust that submitting to God's way --grace-- will cause me to walk in obedience.

The Old Covenant was obey and be blessed. The New Covenant is BELIEVE you are blessed.

The Horse and His Boy...Do you know who you are?

Do we know who we are?

I love the Chronicles of Narnia and believe that Mr. Lewis did an excellent job in writing a fictitious depiction of our relationship with Christ (the Lion named Aslan) and who we are as the Church. My favorite story from this series is The Horse and His Boy.

Like the beginning of many great tales, the protagonist is a baby who was separated from his birth parents and raised by a cruel, fisherman who treated Shasta like a slave. Shasta overhears his supposed father is willing to sell him to a man on his way to another land. Shasta is so poorly treated by this fisherman, whom he thought was his father, he declines to think this might be for his best and says aloud that he will go peacefully with this new master.

This causes the potential master’s horse to speak up and declare this master to be even more cruel than the man posing as Shasta’s father. This talking horse is from Narnia explains they should together runaway to his homeland where they could both be free from slavery. This horse named Bree explains that many animals talk in the land of Narnia and along the way they meet another talking horse, Hwin, and her newly emancipated rider named Arivis. Together they venture toward Narnia but there are lions that cause them veer off course and go into an unknown land.

I’ve read this story more than a few times and must admit I weep when I get to the parts of the story where it seems hopeless for Shasta. He grew up believing he was the son of a cruel fisherman and was made to feel like less than human. Shasta had to learn who he really was. He had to endure many hardships along the path until he discovered his true identity as an heir to the throne of his original homeland. If he had even a hint of knowledge of the amount of people that cared about him and wished him the best, he would not have felt so discouraged.

If he had known that he possessed the authority in the land to send away his enemies, he would not have felt so helpless in the face of danger. If he had known is true identity then Shasta would have stood tall and brave. It still would have been a difficult journey but the knowledge of what he had waiting for him, a kingdom, would have given him hope to press on.

Who are you? The Word of God says you are a royal priest. You are a joint heir with Christ. You are seated with Christ in heavenly places. You are blessed and favored of the Most High God. You are accepted. You are the righteousness of God in Christ.

Maybe somehow the enemy of your soul has convinced you that you are a slave to sin and a dishonorable subject of the kingdom. Maybe this enemy has taken advantage of you and told you are unworthy because of your sin. You think this is true because your true birthright has been hidden from you. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus came and paid the price for you to have life and have it more abundantly. Your sins have not only been forgiven, but removed as far as the east is from the west and you are now righteous in God’s sight because Jesus donned you with this robe of righteousness. You do not have to jump through a series of religious hoops to get God to accept you. You do not have to prove your worth. Being in Christ means that Jesus is all you need. He paid the price. I like the saying: Jesus plus nothing.

Just like Shasta, you are royalty and once you are aware of who you really are in Christ, then I will send my condolences to your enemy cause he is through with bullying the sons of God.

Season of Seeking Excerpt "Hedged in by God's Grace"

"You have Jesus in your heart so how can you be depressed when His joy lives on the inside of you?” All truth, but none of the statements of that nature penetrated my heart. My heart hurt, my body felt sick, and just getting out of bed was an extreme effort.

In retrospect, I had a stronghold in my mind and believed that if God wanted me well then he would just “poof” make me well. Therefore, I continued to be ill and depressed, all the while believing I was waiting on God to come to me and heal me.

My idea of faith was that God could heal me, and even wanted to heal me but would do so in His own time. In the back of my mind, I believed I was being taught some type of lesson to purge me of sin. I was convinced that this purging would eventually come to an end, and I would be holy and healed.

This cycle of sickness, depression, anxiety, and physical pain continued even through giving birth to two beautiful, healthy daughters. For most of that time, because of my ignorance to the truth in God’s Word, the enemy of my soul was able to pummel me into submitting to his lies. One of those lies was that I was convinced that I was nothing more than a second-class citizen of Heaven who lacked the faith to receive my healing.

When I heard preaching or teaching on healing, the ravenous birds of the evil realm would come and steal the seed that God desired to be sown in my heart. (Luke 8) Deep down, I believed there was hope, but wondered if I would exist this way for the rest of my life. I continued to do all the things I believed were right to gain my healing. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12

I did have one tool of spiritual warfare of which I was not ignorant. I was a worshiper. I poured my heart into worship. I sincerely sought God with my whole heart, mind and strength. In the same manner as when I started college, I began to pursue my relationship with God just like I pursued my career in the music profession.

Worshiping God did cause my spiritual eyes, at times, to have a peek into the heart of the Father. This act of worship was the very key to giving me the strength and hope I needed for this very long season, until I could understand how to receive healing by faith in the finished work of Christ. I am grateful for my spiritual mentors encouraging me to “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100:4)

I was passionate for God! I cried out to Him day and night and believed someday I would get my healing that I had read about in my Bible. But, the Word of God does not say that we perish for a lack of passion, or a lack of love, or a lack of worship, does it? It says in Hosea 4: 6, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” I was lacking knowledge and an understanding of the truth in God’s Word that would set me free.

Excerpt from Chapter 6 "Hedged in by God's Grace"

Near the end of November that year, at 2 o’clock in the morning, I stood by my kitchen sink, weeping once more. I hesitantly decided to ask the Lord if I could start the medication again. After I prayed by my kitchen sink, I didn’t hear Him answer. I purposed to ask Him again, as I glanced toward the cabinet where the medication was stored. This time, I heard him answer, “Yes, but then the medication gets the glory.”

I got angry! Not at God, but at the devil. I recognized this as an attack from Satan. The enemy was pushing my buttons, trying to see if I would give in. He was trying to see if he could cross my boundaries and get me to walk right back into that prison of depression and sickness. You see, this time was different; the tears were not accompanied by any of the other symptoms. I was not sad, not achy with the chronic pain, and not confused. I was tired, but that was from the constant weeping. I had the fear of an anxiety attack looming over me, but never anything that could not be controlled with a simple prayer and a deep cleansing breath. I heard in my mind, “This is a test, only a test, brought to you by your local lying devil.”

Right there in the middle of my kitchen, I did something I had never done before. I commanded the devil to take his hands off my mind and my body. I commanded my brain chemicals to line up with what the Word of God said about me. I had been repeating scripture to myself for months, which said I was not cursed but blessed.

I was convinced I had the mind of Christ, as well as not having a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind. I believed I was a conqueror in Christ Jesus, and I was seated with Christ in Heavenly places. I came to realize I had a foundational belief that Satan did not have the right to rob me of my health or sound mind. (1Corinthians 2; 2Timothy 1:7; Romans 8:37; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 2:6)

In less than a few minutes, the tears suddenly dammed up. The weeping had ceased. I felt a sense of being empowered with the knowledge that the attack was over and I had caused it to happen by my God-given authority in Jesus’ Name. I felt a rush of peace and joy, as well as a feeling of complete health in my body and mind.

I had discovered, in a somewhat serendipitous moment, that I could speak to my mind and body as well as the enemy, to get some pretty powerful results. I know God’s Spirit led me into this truth. but honestly, I didn’t know I had it in me to command my body back into a position of perfect health and harmony.

My soul was flooded with peace and hope. Even though it was almost December, I felt like spring had come to my heart. I was walking in a new dimension of living. I was convinced I could control of my mind and body because I knew what the Word of God said about me being set free by the power of the sacrifice of Christ.

I still had a lot to learn, but I had the basic pieces to the puzzle at this point in time. I knew the truth that is stated in Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”

Excerpt from Chapter 3 "Hedged in by God's Grace"

Chapter 3 excerpt:

This cycle of sickness, depression, anxiety, and physical pain continued even though giving birth to two beautiful, healthy daughters. Unfortunately, this devastating cycle persisted until I was in my late thirties. To compound this issue, I found that the worst part was feeling that I was cheating my children out of a mother that could really enjoy them. I did get to a point where I felt forced, for my children’s sake, to seek serious medical attention. The various medications prescribed did help somewhat by reducing the pain, depression and anxiety. However, the medication was never able to give me that total relief I was so desperately desired.

For most of that time, because of my ignorance to the truth in God’s Word, the enemy of my soul was able to pummel me into submitting to his lies. One of those lies was that I was convinced that I was nothing more than a second-class citizen of Heaven who lacked the faith to receive my healing.

When I heard preaching or teaching on healing, the ravenous birds of the evil realm would come and steal the seed that God desired to be sown in my heart. (Luke 8) Deep down, I believed there was hope, but wondered if I would exist this way the rest of my life. I continued to do all the things I believed were right to gain my healing.“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12

I did have one tool of warfare of which I was not ignorant. I was a worshiper. I poured my heart into worship. I sincerely sought God with my whole heart, mind and strength. In the same manner as when I started college, I began to pursue my relationship with God just like I pursued my career in the music profession.

Worshiping God did cause my spiritual eyes, at times, to have a peek into the heart of the Father. This act of worship was the very key to giving me the strength and hope I needed for this very long season, until I could understand how to receive healing by faith in the finished work of Christ. I am grateful for my spiritual mentors encouraging me to “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100:4)

I was passionate for God! I cried out to Him day and night and believed someday I would get my healing that I had read about in my Bible. But, the Word of God does not say that we perish for a lack of passion, or a lack of love, or a lack of worship, does it? It says in Hosea 4: 6, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” I was lacking knowledge and the truth in God’s Word that would set me free.

Poured into your lap

I was driving back from getting groceries yesterday. It's 40 minute drive and I love to sing and pray in the Spirit.

I was thinking about how blessed I feel and that even though our income has not changed that much in the past few years, we seem to have more. But not just money. Our family has more peace, more joy, more grace toward one another. We don't seem to strive like we used to when we hit a rough patch. So I asked the Lord, "Why is it that we just seem more blessed?"

He brought the scripture in Luke 6 that says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

I was thinking, we have not given that much more in the monetary sense. So, I kept pressing into what the Lord meant by this scripture.

He said, "You receive into your lap. This word bosom is the key to understanding."

I started to think about a lap and really the only time we "have" a lap is when we are resting. I got pretty excited and then asked the Lord if that was what He meant. I felt Him smile because He knew that I understood.

We are blessed more and more as it is poured into our lap because we are resting and focusing on the finished work of salvation that Jesus provided. He did the work; we get to reap the benefits.

Hallelujah!

Blood, sweat and tears~Why does it say our sorrows will be multiplied?

So why does it say in Psalm 16: 4 that their sorrows shall be multiplied?

I mentioned in Galatians 3:13, it states we bring a curse upon ourselves when we try to mix law and grace. In Psalms 16:4 it explains that if we offer our own blood or as the expression goes “our blood, sweat and tears,” (our own works of righteousness) then it is logical to conclude that we are not focusing on the perfect, completed sacrifice of Jesus. Instead, we put an emphasis on our own “good” works to please the Father. Focusing on our own works is what leads to sorrows. God set this spiritual principle in motion and we can choose to disagree and continue to think we need to do something for God’s favor, but the spiritual precept is no respecter of persons.

Isaiah 64:6 explains our righteousness is as filthy rags. When we focus on our works it’s like an insult to God sending His Son. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right unto a man but in the end it leads to destruction.” I thought it was a good thing, a right thing, to work to get God’s approval. We need to get a deeper revelation that we can go boldly to the throne of grace. (Hebrews 4:16) Jesus paid it all. We need to focus on the finished work of Christ. If we have a mindset or an old wineskin as Jesus called it, then we will continue to focus on our works or lack of works and we will not have the confidence to go to Father God for what Christ died for. Jesus said “It is finished” but we seem to think we still need to do something.

I know this destructive mentality of believing I had to do something to gain God's favor is most of the reason I was so exhausted for so many years. Paul had some pretty strong language to express the truth he knew to the Galatians Christians. These Believers were twisting the gospel and telling the gentile Christians that they needed to be circumcised (or trust in the Law of Moses) before they could become baptized as believers in Christ. I found myself doing the same thing when I knew I was saved by grace but felt the need to do “good” deeds to gain God’s favor. This performance driven, religion-based way of life only brings death to our spiritual growth.

The Two Boxes

This is a little outside the norm for my style of writing but this so encouraged me tonight so I have to share it with all of you.

I was worshiping with other believers tonight and the focus of the worship shifted from a praise to a time of intimacy and seeking the secret things of God's heart. So I just simply asked the Father if he has a secret to share with me.

He showed me two boxes.

The first was a plain, brown wooden box. It has a lid with a hinge. Nothing special just a box.

The second box was all decked out in jewels, overlaid with gold. It reminded me of something royal that you would only get to see in a museum guarded by security or in the palace of a King or Queen.

The Lord told me to lift up the lid from the second box and release the contents.

I opened the fancy box and it was glorious. There was flashes of lightning and a colorful fireworks display. I sensed that it represented the presence of God and out of it came all the benefits of heaven including healing and all types of restoration. It was a marvelous show. It was everything you would expect from such a marvelous looking vessel.

Then he told me to lift the lid of the plain box. I did and I was pretty surprised that the very same show of wonderful, colorful lights and effect of awe and wonder flowed from the plain, brown unattractive box. Out of this simple, plain box came a representation of God's glory and power.

The Lord showed me that it is our perception of the outward of the believer in Christ that hinders our understanding of what is truly inside. We look at ourselves or sometimes others as plain, simple or uncharismatic. Or we look at our flaws or weaknesses and tell ourselves those flaws disqualify us from having God work in and through us. We make excuses that we aren't good speakers or have fancy words for prayer.

The vessel or container is just that--a container for the divine. When God looks at us he does not see the outside. He looks at the heart of the believer. He sees us as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22) God knows it is the contents our renewed spirit through Christ that make the difference. But both the plain box and the fancy box had the same power on the inside.

"...this mystery Christ in us the hope of glory!" Col 1: 27

Do I Need Special Faith to be Healed?

I went many, many years hoping God would heal me and deliver me out of my pain and depression. I had this idea in my head that when I prayed and did everything necessary to get His favor then I would be instantly healed. I went on this way hoping and waiting for healing for over a decade.

When a minister came to our church in Spring of 2007 and asked the question: Does it take special faith to get healed? He instantly explained that if you have enough faith to be saved then you have enough faith to be healed. I had to chew on that. I knew that I was saved through grace but what did faith have to do with it? I just asked Jesus to be my Savior. So I had to find out what the word salvation really means.

From the Strong Concordance the meaning of the word SOZO from the Greek:
Saved--sozo
to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction one (from injury or peril)

to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health

1) to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue

b) to save in the technical biblical sense

1) negatively

a) to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment

b) to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance

Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (sozo).

So asking Jesus to save me means more now. Notice the definition includes healing. Therefore my understanding of what it means to be saved changed. In my mind it used to mean saved from eternal damnation and saved to go to heaven. My understanding of what salvation includes had to expand before I could receive healing.

I marveled for years when I read in the gospels how Jesus acknowledged certain individuals for their faith and Jesus told them that their faith made them well. I hungered and longed to have that type of faith. I wanted to be like the woman with the issue of blood and just know that if I reached out and touched Jesus that I would be made whole. I reached and reached and never seemed to achieve that level of faith.

But do we need special faith? I don't think so now. Faith is faith.

Hebrews 12:1 says that NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for (I was sure hoping )and the evidence of things not yet seen. To me that seemed like "special" faith. But it's the same for salvation. I believed in a moment in time that Jesus paid the price for my sin (I didn't know back then that he paid for my healing ) I had hope that I was saved. I knew in my heart that when I died that I would be saved from hell. I knew also that the Holy Spirit came to dwell on the inside of me although at age eleven I had no idea what that meant. But I had faith with a 100% certainty that I was saved.

So now I'm convinced that this measure of faith is what allows us to receive our healing. I just know or believe that Jesus took all the wrath of all my sin --past, present and future sin-- and he became the curse so I would not have to endure or put up with any of the curse. It seems pretty simple now that I don't have to have a special faith. Faith is faith. I believe that Jesus paid it all so I could have all the benefits of heaven. If He paid it all, I don't have to pay anything. I just believe.

Now if sickness does try to attack, I just tell sickness that Jesus paid the price for that. It's simple. I don't work it up. I don't pray harder or fast or do anything to achieve a special feeling of faith for healing.

About a year ago I awoke and walked out to the kitchen to start my morning routine. And from down deep inside of me I heard this from my spirit. "I just don't expect to get sick..." That was an odd thought from first thing in the morning. But I agreed with myself and said aloud.. "Yeah, I really don't expect to get sick." Wow! It really is that simple. Just like I don't expect to sin (since I know that Jesus took care of that on Calvary) I don't expect to get sick.

Now I did get sick once since then. I burned the inside of my mouth and throat with really hot food. Because of this burn, I must have allowed bacteria into my body via this open wound. I was in a great deal of pain in my lymph nodes and on top of that my mouth and throat were raging with pain. Rather than just telling my body to line up with God's Word, I reached for the telephone and called the doctor. I didn't feel even a little bit guilty since I knew that I would be healed either by God instantly or by antibiotics. I was in serious pain from the burn and the swollen glands.

So four days go by and the antibiotics are NOT helping. I'm up almost around the clock in serious pain from the burn and the glands alternating ibuprofen and Tylenol. I hear in my head that I probably caused myself some nerve damage and that is why the pain is so severe. I'm starting to doubt faith for healing. At 2am after many days of pain from the burn and glands that I am holding and putting heat on I feel something on the inside of my spirit rise up.

"Jesus paid for this! Jesus accomplished everything I need for life and godliness." I just whispered, that I receive by faith in Jesus' Name my complete healing. Instantly I had relief from pain and for the first time in a week I could rest. I didn't need the pain meds in the morning. I was healed!

I told the Lord that it was silly that I didn't just do that from the day I got burned. But the Holy Spirit said the wisdom I gained and the understanding that it is not "special" faith that healed me just plain ol' faith in what Jesus did that healed me.

Established My Heart for Healing

Psalms 27:13&14
What, what would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living!¹⁴Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

Yes, we need to cultivate hope and faith to stand firm until we see the completed manifestation of the Lord's healing or deliverance.

I haven't shared lately about my particular experience for healing. I wanted to believe for healing for many, many years but each and every time I wanted to discontinue medication for depression and severe anxiety, I would feel my mind short circuit and I was back on the medication in a matter of days.

In the Spring of 08 a man named Cecil Paxton came to our church and taught on healing and I'm so glad I went. You see, I didn't know how to stand on the Word of God to have my heart established for healing.

God's children are perishing for a lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6)

I may have been taught previously how to hold on to healing but it didn't penetrate my heart. I needed to personalize the Word of God for me. See, I was still at a point where I believed that if and when God wanted me healed, He would just zap his power my direction and healing would be obvious. I'm not saying that God can't heal this way but for me he wanted me to discover the principles in His Word so I could appropriate healing as my own at any time --any where.

This is how I looked at faith:

I thought faith was like money in a bank. I had to wait until God put the funds into my account. I felt I had to be holy enough to acquire these funds and then with His permission use these funds. It was a works-based faith and I felt I was barely above a negative balance in my account. If I did good then some favor from God was deposited. If I messed up then my account was debited. It was an exhausting way to perceive the ways of God.

Now I know that Jesus did everything we need for life and godliness (2Peter 1:3) and he has qualified me to be a partaker of all the benefits of heaven. (Colossians 1:12) I have a joint checking account with Jesus. Everything he has belongs to me. That's what a covenant means. What's mine is his and what's his is mine. Cool, since I don't really have anything except my whole heart to give him and that's all he desires anyway.

When the devil came along and tried to steal my healing, I just told him that Jesus acquired that healing for me and he had no right to take it from me. I knew by then that Jesus had given me authority in His Name and the powers and principalities had to bow to God's Word. I felt the attack. It was real but I also knew that I WOULD SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD. Jesus became the curse so I would not have to experience any of the curse. Really good trade off for me.

Here is a list of some of the benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven. (just a few)

Eternal life--starting the day you are His child John 3:16
No condemnation Romans 8:1
New Creation in Christ--old things have passed away 2Corinthians 5:17
Salvation--meaning saved from evil here. This definition also includes healing and peace Romans 10:9
Heavenly perspective--seated with Christ in heavenly places Ephesians 2:6
Overcome evil--died with Christ arose to new life-- 2Tim 2:11
Intimacy with God--veil torn to invite us to come boldly before the Throne of Grace Matt 27:51 & Hebrews 4:6
A purpose with a hope and good future Jer 29:11

All the promises of God are in HIM yes and amen. (2Corinthians 1:20) Read and digest your Bible so you can know the benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven.