A Sweet Smelling Savor

 The Lord has really been drawing me to him this week. I knew that this week I wouldn't simply be observing Shabbat and that he was literally calling me to "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy". I normally read the Bible and pray...I worship too, (although I could definitely do it more )but God was asking for something specific of me this week. On Saturday's I may read my bible, pray etc. but it has sort of become "my day". I watch what I want to watch, a movie or shows. I may drive by the water or whatever else I choose to do for the day. Today was different. I knew I needed to study to see what God was telling me and I knew that if I watched t.v. it should be a Christian movie. I started watching more wholesome tv a while ago, older shows like "Highway to Heaven", "Touched by an Angel" or the "Flying Nun" but I watch secular tv as well. The addition of wholesome shows alone has made a difference on days when my senses have been overloaded by worldly stimuli. On those days watching one of those shows is just what I need. They are entertaining with decent content; "good clean fun" as the older people use to say. Considering how hard my week was, surrendering control of my day and not #treating myself was a sacrifice but that is exactly what God wanted...a sacrifice. When we worship in the midst of challenge it produces a sweet smelling fragrance that ascends to the throne room of heaven. God sent confirmation today by way of an air freshener sent by a ministry I am connected with. The fragrance was so strong I smelled it through the envelope. I smelled it as soon as I opened the door to my P.O. Box. I was watching a recording of Chuck Pierce today and he said he heard God say "river bed" and that he was reading Joshua 3. In Joshua Chapter 3 the children of Israel cross over the Jordan as if it were dry land. The text says that the Jordan normally was overflowing during that time; the time of harvest. I looked up river beds on Youtube and I found a video where a river bed was bone dry and then suddenly it was overtaken by a rushing river. That reminded me of me at times; of times that I have felt dry and barren and then God called me into his presence and filled me again with his spirit causing the rivers of my spirit to live and move..."in him I live move and have my being". No matter what is going on around us or in our lives if we lift up our eyes, focus on the Lord, and worship he will come in and overtake us with the living, restoring, reviving waters of his spirit. Enjoy the REST of your day.

Jeremiah 17:

19 Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

21 Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

Psalm 24:

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Joshua 3

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lordof all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan

John 7

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Green Pastures

 Up until a few months ago I thought that what was growing in my yard was weeds. I like to mow and do the up keep of my yard myself, but I often got annoyed because what I once thought were weeds would spring up and make the yard look like it needed to be cut before it really did. One day my brother came over and I was complaining about the "weeds" in my yard and he said "that's grass seed". That blew my mind... immediately I thought of how my not recognizing what I had in my own front yard could be likened to so many other things, like: how people don't recognize the value of something or someone; how the thing (or person) you need or want is right in front of you and you don't recognize it (I had been contemplating buying grass seed);or how the grass may look greener on the other side but if you just cultivated what you had there would be no comparison. Welp, I will be taking the bagger off my mower and I look forward to greener days.

Psalm 23:2

He taketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leaders me beside the still waters.

Oh, the Glory of Your Presence

 

Yom Kippur (Wash Me Clean Allow Me In)

At the Cross

 

Hope in God

 

Praise God....This Battle is the Lord's #2020#Coronavirus#We Still Win!

2020... I could stop right there (but I won't). This has been the strangest time in my life. If someone would have told me I would not have believed them. Movie after movie about outbreaks and pandemics...we knew they were coming but somehow we still managed to convince ourselves that it wouldn't be in our lifetime. I have to pause and insert some humor here because it has been a heavy year...people are dying that have never died before! Sorry, I had to. I have lost family members, friends of friends etc. some from the virus, some from other illnesses, and some just left like they said within themselves "enough of this" and crossed on over into eternity. I thank God for his peace; the peace that surpasses understanding.  I thank him for the resilience that he placed down on the inside of us. Saved and unsaved alike have been functioning and carrying on; I thank God for that and I acknowledge his hand in it. I acknowledge that his peace and spirit is keeping us all. As we approach the end of 2020 my worship and praise is being renewed! I must praise him. I have reflected in the past on how miraculous life itself is. Everyday there is so much that could happen but God organizes the chaos of life and we live to see another day; thank you Lord. I thank God for my family, the other people in my life, I thank him for you. We have truly been hidden in him during this season and as the elders say "he has kept us from dangers seen and unseen". He has fought our battles and protected us...thank you Lord for keeping me; thank you Lord for keeping us. Today as I reflect on some of the things that have been going on I am grateful that God is... I came across something someone had written a while back that made me see Isaiah 6:1 differently. Isaiah 6 mentions the train of God; it says it fills the temple. The study stated that Kings of Old wore elaborate robes to signify their conquests and greatness. The longer the robe the more conquests they had. After every conquest the triumphant king would cut off a portion of the defeated king's robe and have it sewn to the train of his robe. Our God's train is so long that it fills the entire temple; aren't you glad he goes before us? Aren't you glad he fights our battles? 2021 is nearing, I am going to be a one woman cheer squad! Praising my savior as he leads us to victory.Won't you join me?

2 Chronicles 20:

1 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.

15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.

22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lordset ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

Isaiah 6 

 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lordsitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

The Good Shephard (Rest)

 

Be Blessed!

 

Finish Well!

 

Galations 5:7 

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth?

Rejection is a powerful spirit but the good news is God is more powerful. I have been in situations where I have known the truth but someone spoke something over me (against me) that bypassed my reasoning, bypassed things that God had spoken to me, bypassed things I knew, and connected to the stronghold of rejection. Rejection is something that has to be dealt with. You can be loved by The Savior of the world, The Creator of  All Things but still walk around in a state of defeat because rejection won't let you accept his love which is the very thing that will heal and deliver you. Rejection keeps reminding us that we are not worthy,  but the beauty is that no one is, but God loves us just the same. God loves us! we are accepted in the heavenlies; there is no greater honor. If you are dealing with rejection stop for a moment to pray; ask God to break the spirit of rejection off of you, ask him to to show you how it entered in and then renounce it in the name of Jesus; and decree that the door of rejection in your life is closed and the doors to God's love, acceptance and favor are open. Take another moment to think on ways God has shown you that he loves you personally. Whether it was through someone doing something  nice for you, an unexpected blessing, a word of encouragement etc...think and meditate on the love God has shown you and know that you are loved, you are accepted, and you are called.

I love you with the love of Christ. Amen.

Phillipians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.