Today is National Day of Prayer!!!

Were you aware that today is National Day of Prayer ?!  In honor of this day I wanted to share  this Focus on the Family broadcast.

Prayer is so important for all of us!  It needs to be not just another spiritual discipline but a defining part of our relationship with God!

So...get a cup of coffee... sit back in a comfy seat...click on the link below and enjoy!!

 (Update: the original link I had submitted for this post had expired so I found one that works).

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/media/focus-on-the-family-minute/hanging-onto-god-through-prayer

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. ~Philippians 1:9
 

Rejoice or gloat?

Let us never forget the victims of 9/11 or those who have bravely fought for our great country. God bless America!

As I sit and contemplate the news of the past evening and morning I am wondering... are we missing the boat ?   Osama(or Usama) Bin Laden is dead. Wow...this is history in the making!   Justice has been served.   There is a flurry of news articles and personal commentary going on as I write this that saddens me just a bit.  Oh...don't get me wrong!  I believe that OBL was an evil man bent on the destruction and death of  all who opposed him and his regime. I'm thinking that any man who would use a woman as a human shield is not a man at all but a monster.  I believe that in his death there is a victory in one of the major battles in the war on terrorism.  But there is such a confusion in the responses to this news. 

Let me explain...

As I begin to read the things people are posting on facebook I see alot of rejoicing over the news of Bin Laden's death...then as I continue to read I see the rejoicing turn into gloating. Gloating, such as pictures of the Statue of Liberty holding forth, not the torch leading the way to  freedom, but the bloody head of  Osama Bin Laden...such as posts stating, "rot in hell".  Then I begin to see posts, I believe trying to counter the gloating, of scripture such as..."Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice." Proverbs 24:17.  Wise advise from the Word.  In responses to the posts of scripture such as this one, I see a conflict in the minds of those who want to rejoice but now feel guilty.  So how do we reconcile this verse with the fact that this is indeed a good thing that good has triumphed over evil and surely that is something to be happy about ? 

I believe we need to determine if we are indeed gloating or just rejoicing, then determine what it is we are rejoicing over.  Let's look at the definition of  gloating.   Dictionary.com defines it as, "to look at or think about with great or excessive, often smug or malicious, satisfaction."  No doubt after reading that we know there is no room in the heart of a true believer(Christian) for gloating.  Actually our hearts should be saddened Osama Bin Laden went to his death rejecting Jesus Christ.  It is a sad fact that he will spend his eternal destiny in hell.  Not my judgement, mind you, he chose that path when he rejected Jesus Christ.  God's word tells us that no man comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  Knowing that...I cannot rejoice over this man's death and eternal place of residence. 

I am still, however,  going to rejoice over the fact that another battle of good vs. evil has been won.  Another verse in Proverbs states: " ‎"When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers" Proverbs 21:15.  I find a bit of irony in the fact that the day Bin Laden was brought to justice was the very day Christians all over the world were celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  THAT was the final victory over the evil one...there will still be many battles to fight, but the war has already been won!  He has risen indeed and because of that I know that I will one day see Him face to face!

Rejoice or gloat?  Where do you stand?

The Windmill Farmer...seeds for thought???

I saw this video posted on another site and couldn't help but see the analogy to the way God is at work in our lives on a daily basis in a very real and very personal way.

 Take the time to watch the video and let me know what you think about it.



The Windmill Farmer from Joaquin Baldwin on Vimeo.

 Here's my take on the video:

God is in control. We plant the seeds and then need to step back and let God do His good work...we can't micromanage everything. Sometimes the worst possible things that happen(in our eyes), turn out to be the vehicle through which God can do His greatest work! So no matter what you may be going through...no matter how hard it may be, trust that God is in control and loves you beyond your wildest imagination.  

Romans 8:28 tells us that..." in all things God works  for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  Wow... "all things"..the good, the bad and the ugly!! God can do His good work through anything that fallen mankind, fallen nature, or the enemy throws His way!  He can and does take those things which are meant to do us harm and He works it out for our own good when we are living according to His word, His will, and His way! 

We are called to live according to His purpose...how will we respond?  
What are you planting today?

Savor The Taste ...A lesson from fresh ground coffee

            I love coffee!!  A lot of people say they love coffee, but really, it's just the caffeine they are addicted to. Not so with me.  I really love the taste of pure, unadulterated coffee. No cream. No sugar. And definitely no "flavors"! I want nothing to get between these taste buds and that wonderful taste and aroma of black coffee.

In fact, once I savor my one-to-three cups of "fully leaded" coffee, I then switch to a good brand of caffeine-free just to continue enjoying the deliciousness of the coffee flavor.

Coffee is a very important part of getting my mornings off to a good start. So, pouring a hot, steaming cup of coffee is the first thing I do …that is, unless the Hubs leaves the house before letting the dogs out and getting them through their morning routine. In that case, of course, I have to take care of their needs first.  Once done...I pick out one of my favorite mugs and pour that first cup, just basking in the delicious aroma as I carry it up the stairs to my office ...to my big comfy chair, where I curl up with my coffee, reading glasses, and my Bible.

Now, at this point, I would love to say that nothing comes between me and the "pure unadulterated" quiet time I have with the Lord, with His word, and in prayer and meditation ...and some mornings that is absolutely true. However, my office can be a whirlwind of distraction with unfinished projects, to-do lists, books, books, and more books; just waiting to be tackled, checked off, and devoured (I am a voracious reader).  Not to mention the noise and flurry of whatever new "adventure" my puppy, Clair, is getting into.

So ...some mornings the distractions lead me away from my intended goal of spending time in the Word, listening for His voice, and praying to have "ears to hear and eyes to see" what the Lord has for me.  Instead, my ears and eyes are being bombarded with Clair bringing me some new “toy” she has just discovered from the bathroom trash can—and now the utterance, “Dear Lord,” is not exactly the beginning of a heartfelt prayer!

So I contemplate this morning...I absolutely love my morning quiet time, and I really do hate when I let distractions interrupt that time ...  but do I crave those times as I crave that first cup of coffee? 

Do I "wait in expectation" as David says in Psalm 5:3, to hear God's voice in answer to my prayers?  I don't want anything to dilute the pure taste of my coffee. Am I allowing the silly distractions of my mornings to dilute my time in the Word, in quiet contemplation…listening for His voice?

As I have stated before, I named this blog "Captive Heart" because that truly is my greatest desire ...to have a heart that is captivated by the grace and love of my Lord and Savior ...a heart that is not distracted by the busyness and noise of this world.

I want to savor all that God has for me ...to have eyes to see and ears to hear what He has in store for me this day and every day!   I want to be used by God in whatever way He chooses to bring love and healing to those He puts in my path. I want to hunger after His Word.  I want to say with the psalmist, "How sweet are your words to my taste".

So, with coffee in hand, I will continue to my office each morning with expectation.

How about you ...how do you begin your day?

For me ...to savor the pure undiluted/unadulterated time with my Lord ...ahhhh. ...now that hits the spot!! 

In the morning Lord, you hear my voice; 

in the morning I lay my requests before you 

and wait expectantly.  ~Psalm 5:3                                                                    

Morning Musings From My Patio…Another lesson

It is a gloriously beautiful morning!  I am sitting out on my back patio listening to the birds singing their little hearts away.  The promise of spring is in the air today. 

I can feel the anticipation of new growth and new beginnings as I sit here, taking it all in...the gentle cool breeze, the warmth of the intense Nevada sun, the trilling of the birds, and the sound of the water cascading down over the rocks of the waterfall in my backyard pond.

 As my eyes seek out each stump of dried old flowers and the still bare limbs of the trees and bushes, my mind begins the mental checklist of things that still need to be done to ready the gardens.Things like cleaning out the dead brush and sticks...it's so much easier to cut back the old growth that was left for winter protection before the new growth gets tangled up with it. 

My mind continues down the list...thinking of those things that will need to be done to make room for the new growth that has been laying dormant all winter and now is just waiting to burst forth with new tender shoots reaching up toward the sun.  I even think of the spring blooming Lilacs, whose buds actually formed late summer or fall and lie dormant until they are ready to burst open...it is important to prune  the flowers directly after they flower, if you wait too long you risk cutting off the already growing buds for next year. 

What a picture of spiritual renewal the Lord gives us through the season of Spring!  I think that I love that this is not a one-time occurence, but an event that needs to take place year after year in order for the plants to remain healthy. 

It's important to know exactly the best time for the pruning of each type of plant if you want to make room for healthy growth.  The plants are always ready to grow and flourish through the seasons, but the right conditions must be met in order for this to happen. When those conditions are not met, the plant can remain stunted and unhealthy; some won't produce the fruit they are meant to produce and some will even shrivel up and die off completely. 

The same is true in our own lives.  We need to allow God to cut back those things in our lives that are keeping us from producing the fruit of the Spirit.  Sometimes we need to choose to let go of things in our lives that we have been so desperately holding on to. We need to let go because they are  keeping us from growing and flourishing in our journey with God.

Yep! Spring is in the air! There are still so many things I  need to do in order to prepare the garden of my heart for the work that the Master Gardener has planned for me.  How about you?


                                             

A lesson from my puppy...

I have a puppy!  She is a chocolate lab and we named her Clair(that's short for Chocolate 'Eclair).  We've had her for a few months now and I have fallen in love with this bundle of love and joy!

From the moment Clair wakes up in the morning she is a boundless mass of energy.  She leaps from her kennel and bounds down the stairs with two barks, hits the tile floor sliding into the lazy boy and making the slippery turn to head into the kitchen in search of her morning breakfast. However, she is redirected to the back door to head out to her morning piddle...then back in and back to the food bowl.

After devouring her breakfast 

and sniffing out any tidbit of a morsel that may have escaped the confines of her food bowl, she then heads to the back door to be let back out to  finish her morning "business".

We are so proud that she has this routine down pat.  "What a good girl," we say to her as she comes back into the house...and it is from that moment on that the whole "good girl" persona seems to be "gone with the wind" as she rushes about looking for that which must be fully destroyed..uhm, I mean...explored.


Now puppies are a bit like toddlers, as they go about exploring  everything ends up in their mouths.  Clair has now become well acquainted with the words, "no", "quit", "put that down", and "spit it out...NOW", oh... and "that's my shoe, thank you for bringing it to me but I would rather you had left it in the spot by the door".

This morning it occurred to me, as I was yelling once again, "Clair...where are you and what are you into this time?",  that I am a bit like my puppy...and maybe you are too.  You see, Clair likes to please us and she is a very loving puppy, but she has a tendency to test every boundary that we put into place.  Some things she learns rather quickly, but others...we are still working on.
She is a work in progress.  Aren't we too a work in progress?

 God in His loving kindness has set boundaries for us.  He created us and knows what is best for us.  Some of those boundaries aren't really hard for us to abide by...I mean most of the Ten Commandments are easy to keep aren't they?  After all, I've never killed anyone.  But there are those things that I know God asks of me that I don't always follow through with.  How about you?

Like Clair has found...some of the bad things we do are well...just plain fun...but the end result is well...not fun.

Obedience is a hard lesson to learn.

When Clair is being obedient she is anxiously waiting at my feet either for her reward, a loving word, and a hug, or she is waiting for the next command.  When she is not being obedient, she is so busy getting into trouble she misses out on the reward and instead suffers the consequences of her actions.
Sound familiar?  I thought so too!!

I want to be known as one sitting at the feet of my Master, anxiously awaiting my reward, a loving embrace, and looking forward to the next command.

I want to have a heart that is captivated by His voice and His love!!

How about you?

"But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also." 

Matthew 6:33(AMP)

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Journey Newsletter link/November 2010

Check out the latest newsletter from Journey!!! 

Click on this link to view the newsletter: Journey Community Church Newsletter. November 2010