I John 3 - "Love Take Me Over"

I woke up to these words going through my mind...

Love, take these words that I'm speaking
Love, take these thoughts that I'm thinking
Love, take me over
Love, fill up all of my space and
Love, stand right here in my place
Love, hear this prayer that I'm praying
Love, take me, love, take me over
Love, take me over

This is exactly how I desire to live life. I want God's love to ooze out of me in a way that people will know who I live for. The only way people will begin to understand His love is to see others living it. What does this type of life look like It is one of total devotion to God. One of thinking of Him the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. Sometimes even during the night. It is a life of giving of oneself and thinking of others before yourself. It is a life that is blessed no matter what the circumstances. Such a life is filled with peace and joy no matter what is happening in life. It is not a life that is always easy to live but it is a life that is necessary as one walks in obedience to will. I am grateful that I am able to not only hear His voice but walk in obedience to it. I am also grateful God never gave up on me. He used people to love on me when I walked away from Him. He continued to use His Word to draw me closer even during my rebellious stage. Praise His Holy Name. There have been so many times when I've heard people say things like, "I can't go to church because the roof will fall in if I do." That is nonsense the enemy is trying to get people to think. God does not turn anyone away. He is always ready with open arms to take someone in. Going to church does not make a believer but it helps on the road to believing. When we go to church, we are surrounded by other believers who support us. We can learn how to draw nearer to God when we go to church. We also will be surprised at how good we feel after taking the step of going. God desires for us to not just believe in Him but to live with Him. He desires for us to know we are His children that He greatly loves. He also desires us to live in His presence so we not only hear His voice but we will walk in obedience to what He tells us. I John 3:8 tells us not to just talk about loving people but to show His love through our actions. In verse 16 it reads, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (KJV). Jesus did not tell us to love just certain people but to love all. We need to follow His example of walking the walk and not just talking the talk. As we do, more of Him will live in us.

Dear Jesus,

I desire more of You and less of me. I want Your love to ooze out of me in such a way You will be seen and heard. I know the only way for this to happen is for me to die to self to allow You full control. Father, cleanse me so You can fill me. Become every aspect of my being. I pray for Your love to take over every thought, every word, every action, and every attitude that comes from me today. Lord, give me more of You and less of me. May Your supernatural strength be mine today physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and most of all spiritually. I was told not long ago that it was wrong to ask for favor from You financially but I disagree. I am asking for Your favor in a couple situations that we are trusting You with. I am asking for Your will. If what we are thinking is not that, then give us wisdom. Father, once again I ask for Your peace for so many people going through tough days. Ellen; Amy; Darlene; Dot; Little Richie; Phil; Jennifer Brake; Norma; Dale; Scott; Mike; Sheryl; Roberta; Lisa; Debbie; Roxanne; Christina; and many others. May You be their strength. Thank You for being The One to Always Love Me. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 1 - "Even If"

Yesterday's afternoon activity with the boys was about keeping God as our focus. We played a game to get them thinking about the 'center' of things. Afterward we talked about how to keep God in the center of our life and how it enables us to keep our focus on Him. I knew time was drawing near for their Grandma to leave this earth so I talked with them about how God always answers our prayers but not always the way we want. He always answers them the best way for all and in His time. I hope they thought about that a few hours later when they were told she had died. This morning He brought the words to "Even If" to my mind...

Even if the healing doesn’t come
And life falls apart
And dreams are still undone
You are God You are good
Forever faithful One
Even if the healing
Even if the healing doesn’t come

Children may not be able to comprehend but we adults can. God heals in different ways. Sometimes it is miraculously. Sometimes it is through doctors and medicine. Sometimes it is through death. In the Bible it speaks of death as glorification. When we leave this earth and are in heaven, we no longer have these decrepit bodies but are given new ones. We will have no more pain or suffering. Instead we will be brand new. That is comforting to think about when we lose a loved one who has been suffering. When we lose one due to an accident, we have to trust God in the reason they are no longer with us. No matter what, we must trust Him throughout the grieving process. My Daddy has been gone five and a half years yet I still grieve over him. I would never want him back here suffering with the cancer but I would love to have another morning phone call from him. I would love to hear "Sheila Babe" one more time. Knowing he was praying for me and hearing his encouraging words would be a blessing once again. He would always tell me when I was struggling with the MS, "Now, Sheila Babe, you need to rest but don't stay there. Don't give into it." He knew there is a fine line that must be walked with MS. You do have to rest but if you do too much resting it becomes difficult to get back into the swing of things. I'm grateful I have a fighting spirit as my Momma and Daddy. I'm most grateful I have God to guide me and encourage me. Another thing I'm grateful for is Doc who listened to God and brought us to South Carolina. What a blessing to know we are living in the center of God's will. We are touching lives we never would have had we not been obedient in our walk. At this moment we are here with a family during a very difficult time as they go through this death. With my friend being states away I felt hopeless until she said told me to love on 'her boys' until they were together. I can do that. Today I will love on them with an extra dose of God's love as they prepare to travel. This family has become family to us and for that I am grateful. I am still trying to get use to living in a military community. We have seen many who have moved on in their military life and that is hard. But the ones who God puts before us we enjoy loving on. I am grateful God healed me from the last MS exasperation so I can do what I am doing. I continue to pray for the MS to stay quiet and the cancer to stay gone so I can keep on keepin' on for Him. I've had many times of healing. Some through doctors and medicine and some instantaneously through a miracle. I am grateful for all of them. I know we all leave this earth at one time or another. I also know I want to be loving on people with His love when my time comes. 

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for this song this morning that reminded me of how You heal through different avenues. Thank You for the lesson You gave me yesterday for the boys. I pray it helped them last night. Father, I pray for the funeral preparations that are happening to be filled with Your presence. I pray for the Hunter family who are going through Ray's funeral later today to feel Your presence. I pray for Debbie and her family who are going through tough days with the loss of her husband and Darlene and her family with the loss of her father. So many deaths. Oh how I pray each one of their dear loved ones are with You in new bodies. Father, cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with Your love today. May people see/hear You instead of me. May I be who You desire me to be throughout this day. Thank You Jesus for being My Healer. Amen.

I Peter 5 - "Who You Say I Am"

Every time I woke up during the night these words were going through my mind...

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
In my Father’s house
There’s a place for me
I’m a child of God
Yes I am

At 3:22 the Lord had me praying for a friend who is living out what appears to be her mother's final days on this earth. He had me pray not only for physical needs but also emotional, mental and most of all spiritual needs. As I prayed this song continued to run through my mind. We never know when our time will be to leave this earth. We also never know when the Lord will return. But we can know one or the other will happen for all of us. We must be spiritually ready for that time. We must be 'prayed up' as the old timers use to say. We must know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are ready to meet our Maker. This takes accepting Him into our heart and living for Him. As we do, we draw deeper in our faith and our trust in Him will grow. No matter what comes our way, He will be our strength. One of the times God woke me to pray last night I began thinking about our study earlier in the evening. I love our Wednesday night group. I learn so much from it. It's like I am a sponge soaking it all in. I am so thankful for the teaching God gives Doc to present to us. He is so gifted. He also is so open to God's direction which magnifies his teaching. We have been studying end times and how it is getting closer. We are living on 'borrowed time.' It broke my heart to hear of some of the signs we are living in. Some I knew while others were new to me. As these signs occur, His time draws nearer. He desires for all to accept Him before He returns. How is that even possible if we, as believers, are not sharing Him? How can it happen if we keep His love to ourselves? What is it going to take for us to be bold in our witness? Oh my. These are some hard questions but they are ones we all need to answer. As I said, we never know when our time on this earth will be up or when the Lord will return. I want to be ready no matter what the day or time. I desire more people to be able to say the same thing. I am responsible for sharing Him with others. This falls under my responsibility for myself. I think of the words of I Peter 5 this morning that give direction to pastors on how to live. We are to be an example for others to follow. The best example I can be is to love people with Jesus' love which will bring them into relationship with Him. There are tough circumstances to work through but I must never give up. The more the enemy fights against me, the more I need to be empowered by God's strength. I stand upon I Peter 5:8-9...

Dear Jesus,
Thank You once again for the privilege to pray during the night. Thank You for bringing people to my mind the way You do. I was so blessed over the last couple of days to find out people I had prayed for when You brought them to my mind needed extra prayers due to the circumstances they were going through. Lord, it is not fun seeing people go through tough days but it is necessary for all of us so we will have the opportunity to draw closer in relationship to You. Father, I pray for a cleansing in my spirit so I can be Your hands and feet throughout this day. I pray for more of You and less of me. Lord, be with my friend and her family. I pray for each one of them to realize You are their strength. There are so many people going through tough days. I pray for each one of them to draw closer to You. Father, I also pray for more trust in You myself with a situation in our life. Thank You Jesus for being My Heavenly Father! Amen.

Psalm 33 - "Praise You In This Storm"

"Psalm 33. Read it. Ponder upon it. Live it." Those were the words given to me at 1:30 this morning. Before I could get up to do so I fell back asleep. God woke me up early this morning and the first thing I did was read this Psalm in different translations. I have so many thoughts going through my head about it. It's a Psalm of praise to God. The first eleven verses show what Matthew Henry describes as 'holy joy.' He describes it as "the heart and soul of praise" that those who live a righteous life experience. As we are thankful, we will receive more of the Lord's joy in our heart. Yesterday as I read of Billie's blood work results being better than last time I was thankful. I was also thankful when I read the tumor is responding to the chemo. On the other hand, I think of my friend whose mother is being made comfortable in what appears in her last days and a family who lost their husband/father/grandfather this week. How can they be joyful during such times? How can we not allow situations on this earth to take our joy from us? We can still be sad but yet still have His joy. We must never allow the enemy to steal our joy. I remember some dark times a few years back where I felt my joy was gone. Marlene gave me a little trinket that said 'joy' and told me to never allow the enemy to steal my joy. What a great reminder to have hanging in my kitchen. As we think of joy, we need to remember to keep Jesus, Others, Yourself as our mantra. When we put Jesus first, He will encourage us through tough days. He will be there to carry us when we feel like we can't carry on. Too many times the enemy will see an open door when we are going through tough days and push his way in. Jesus wants us to be strong in our faith and trust Him through the tough days. We can always look around and see someone worse off than we are. We need to praise Him through the storms of life. It is a shame so many people can't see how this is possible. Henry wrote:

What a pity it is that this earth, which is so full of the proofs and instances of God's goodness, should be so empty of his praises; and that of the multitudes who live upon his bounty, there are so few who live to his glory! 

It is necessary for His praises to flow from our lips to beat the enemy down. When we praise Him, the enemy gets mad. Sometimes it makes him come down harder on us. But when he does we have the opportunity to go deeper in our faith. Our 'faith thermometer' will go higher as we trust Him more. I love the last two verses of Psalm 33...

Yes! We must wait on Him during tough days. He knows what we need before we even need it. He will put people before us to encourage us when we feel like we can't go on. We need to dig our heels in deeper so our 'faith thermometer' will soar.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for the reminders of Psalm 33. Thank You for laying it on my heart to ponder upon these words. Father, there are so many people in my little world hurting due to tough days. I pray they will trust You through them. I started to pray the enemy out of their situations but then realized when he attacks, our faith can grow. It also can weaken but I pray against that with my friends. I pray for people to be with them today that will encourage them and for them to turn to You during their storm. Father, I also pray for the storms that come my way. Cleanse me so I can be filled with more of You. I know that is the only way to get through storms without losing my joy. Thank You Jesus for being The One Who Carries Me Through the Storms of Life. Amen.

I Peter 1 - "You Say"

The Lord woke me up at 1:30 and had me praying for a half hour for the lost. My heart breaks to see people who were raised in Christian homes walking without the Lord. I can't begin to imagine how their parents must feel. I know of situations where home life was not as it seemed so they are blaming God. There are also situations where parents seemed 'too strict' and it pushed children to rebel as they became adults. There are also situations I know of where the parents were not walking the walk of faith as the children were growing up so they have no experience with it. No matter what the situation is, my heart breaks to see people not living with God. Why do people choose the ways of the world over God's way? A lot of times it is because they have never been taught God's way. That is why it is so important for those walking with God to share Him. It is crucial we show others His love through our words, actions, and attitude. It is so important for people to see us living for Him and not in the ways of the world. When one accepts Him into their heart, they receive initial sanctification. They are 'set apart' as His child. They know He will be with them no matter is going on in life. As they grow in their faith, they will desire to have Him be in control of every aspect of their life. They will not only hear His voice but they will listen and walk in obedience. No longer will it be their will to follow but it will be His will. At that point, they will be entirely sanctified. A life such as this is one where His peace and His strength is realized in a whole new way. I am grateful for such a life. There is no better place to live than in His presence 24/7. It is there where I found my faith growing deeper. As I was praying, the Lord brought these words to my mind from the song "You Say"...

You say I am loved
When I can't feel a thing
You say I am strong
When I think I am weak
You say I am held
When I am falling short
When I don't belong
You say I am Yours
And I believe
I believe
What You say of me
I believe 

Yes! The world tries to keep us living their ways by telling us lies. They tell us we are not good enough or we won't be happy without this or that if we turn to Jesus. We are to told we need to be the one in charge of our life. They tell us life with God won't be any fun. All of these things are lies from the enemy. He does not want us to follow God. He desires to keep us under his control. God lifts us up by encouraging us with His words. He encourages us by the words of others. I love this song that shows no matter what comes our way, He is there to uplift us. We just have to believe in Him, what He says, and what He gives others to say to us. The more we believe, the deeper our faith will go, and the more we will trust Him. Taking the first step in this belief is necessary if we want to live as He desires. He wants all to walk in a life of holiness where we seek His will instead of our own. It means dying to self so He can live in and through us. The second part of I Peter 1 shows we need to walk in obedience so we will be ready for Jesus' return. Taking the step of accepting Jesus into our heart is the beginning of a new life. He works in us to make changes in our daily habits. He will draw us closer in relationship with Him until we get to the point of living as He desires as we allow Him. 

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for waking me to pray for those who are not walking with You. Thank You for bringing different situations to my mind to pray for specifically. Father, cleanse me today so You will be seen and heard through my words, actions, and attitude. I pray for Your supernatural strength as my physical body is so tired. Lord, be greater than whatever is put before me throughout this day. Thank You Jesus for being My 24/7! Amen.

James 1:2-4 - "Blessings"

God woke me at 3:30 to pray for a dear lady. Ellen had surgery a week or so ago to have cancer removed. There were some complications that put her in ICU with a ventilator to help her breathe. The vent has finally been taken off but the last I heard she is still in ICU. Ellen has had some tough things to deal with in life but praise God she knows Him and relies on His strength. After praying for her, God reminded me there are many going through tough days that are not in relationship with Him. Some 'know' Him yet do not really 'know' Him. They know of Him yet have either not taken the step to allow Him into their heart or they have taken that step yet refuse to take the step of allowing Him to have complete control over their lives. When He has not been given free reign in our life, we are not empowered by the Holy Spirit to have His strength to get through tough situations. When we are not empowered by the Holy Spirit, we cannot receive His peace to the fullest capacity available. His peace is what allows 'tough' days to be 'livable' days. His peace comes when we get to the end of ourselves. God reminded me this morning of how one who lives in His empowerment sees life differently. Those who live in this manner can see 'tough' days as "Blessings" as they live in His strength and in His peace.

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near 
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

Yes! Life can be very hard, especially when dealing with situations that seem like they will not end. We pray and sometimes God chooses to not answer us right away. Sometimes the answer He gives is not the one we desire. But we must remember that He knows best. He will give us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. It takes trusting and having faith in Him. It takes being patient and digging our heels in a little deeper as we seek His will. I have been praying for a few years for a situation. I have not seen an answer yet. I continue to pray for wisdom on what to do in this situation. Sometimes I begin to think I have missed something God has told me yet I refuse to give up. I know God has a plan and I also know there is a reason for this situation not being resolved. I believe it is something I need to learn or there is something I need to have a greater faith in that is causing resolution to not happen. My heart breaks yet I must not give up. God loves me and desires me to feel His love and the love of others. I know that in my heart but sometimes the hurt is so deep that the enemy tries to blind me from God. I refuse to allow that to happen. I will not give up praying. I will not allow the enemy an open door. I will stand in faith that God will heal this relationship.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for loving me so greatly that You answer my prayers. Sometimes they are answered in ways I have not prayed for. Sometimes You answer them in timing that is not what I desire. But You always answer them and that is what is so special in our relationship. Father, cleanse me so You can fill me with more of You. I desire to take my faith deeper today in a whole new way. I pray You will open doors for me to share You with others. I pray for Ellen today to see improvement in her physical body. May You be her strength not only physically but also emotionally, mentally, financially, and most of all spiritually. I pray peace over her and her family throughout these tough days. Thank You Jesus for the encouragement You gave me yesterday in many ways. May Your encouragement continue in the days ahead. Thank You for being My Source of Hope! Amen.

II Timothy 4 - "His Strength Is Perfect"

Saturday nights...praying for pastors...God is so good! I love how He wakes me specifically to pray for pastors on Saturday nights. Although He must have known how tired I was because He only woke me twice last night to pray. He directed my prayers to pray for pastors who are 'leading their sheep astray.' Some are doing it through their preaching and some are doing it through the way they themselves are living. This morning He reminded me of Paul's final words to Timothy in II Timothy 4. In this chapter Paul encourages Timothy to keep on preaching the Gospel as God directs. He speaks of people desiring pastors to preach what they want to hear instead of what the Lord gives them. Unfortunately, some pastors are doing this. In turn, this could lead people away from God instead of leading them to Him. It is sad to hear stories of churches that are doing a lot of activities yet are not seeing spiritual growth in the people. It breaks my heart to see/hear pastors who are allowing worldly activities to be a part of not only people in leadership of their church but also in their own lives. Paul directs Timothy in verse five to, "...keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." That last part is loaded with responsibility as pastors are responsible for not only preaching the Good News but also setting the right example of how to live Christ-like. Pastors will be hit hard by the enemy to tear their ministry apart. Verses seventeen and eighteen show how God stood by Paul throughout attacks by the enemy and He will stand by all who stand with Him. Throughout the night the Lord had me pray for pastors to realize who their enemy is and to stand in His strength to not allow their enemy any open doors into their life. He had me pray for strength in their physical, emotional, mental, financial beings but most importantly in their spiritual being. He also had me pray for those with a pastor to pray for them.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You once again for the privilege to pray for pastors. Thank You for bringing II Timothy 4 before me. Father, I pray all pastors will get to the end of themselves so You can truly work in and through them in the manner You so desire. I pray a cleansing in my soul so You can use me as You desire. More of You and less of me is my prayer. May people see/hear You instead of me throughout this day. I'm physically tired but I pray that does not cloud over my spiritual being. May I not miss any opportunity You put before me throughout this day. Thank You Jesus for being My Strength. Amen.