“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” (Psalm 91:14 NIV)
Coming across this chapter in the book of Psalms, we can find many treasures within it that are worth storing in our hearts. It covers everything from dwelling in the shelter of the Most High to Him being our refuge and fortress, someone we can trust, as it reassures us that because we love the Lord, He will rescue and protect us for acknowledging His name.
How wonderful to think that because we love the Lord, He promises to look after and save us for simply accepting His name. The Amplified Bible version reads, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, Because he knows and understands My name (has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness – trusts and relies on Me knowing I will never forsake him, no, never).”
Amen? Amen! All we need to do is set our love upon the Lord while trusting and relying on Him, knowing that He will never forsake us, no, never! Boy if that doesn’t get our spiritual blood boiling it should have. As nice as it sounds, it certainly doesn’t give us the right to go venturing out on our own, but it’s a comfort to know that the Lord is there, protecting us during those times we need it the most. A security that follows us wherever we go, unlike the protection we get from our parents, the police, or others that has a limit to its use.
For myself over the years, I’ve always known that I have kept my guardian angel plenty busy, probably even more times than I could even imagine. One time in particular was when I decided to venture out on my own in the darkness of the night. It was in the midst of that darkness that I got to experience firsthand what it was like to have God’s loving protection surround me. My husband and I had just had an argument and I made the decision to walk to my parents’ home a mile away, to cool off and think, after he left for the store. The things I experienced, the protective shield I saw and felt over me could have only come from the Lord himself, as I safely made my voyage down the dark remote country road, across the cattle fields to my parents’ house and back home again.
Often we try to argue the point that if He is so loving and protective, “Why did he allow my cousin to be killed in a senseless car accident at such a young age?” and so forth. “Where was his protection then?” Soon Satan finds us here, caught in a weak moment, and puts doubt and questions in our hearts where trust and faith need to be. We might never understand everything God does, looking past His protective shield, but that’s where trust jumps in as we read about in Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (NIV).
It’s as straightforward as that. It’s not enough to just acknowledge His name. Many people do that on a daily basis, but it’s all done in vain; they incorrectly use His name. As Christians, it’s important that we don’t mistreat the name of the Lord, by failing to show forth our faith in the One Who is worthy of it.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You, Lord, that once the protective hands of those surrounding us have been jerked away, we find Your arms still around us, as Your protective shield remains firmly in place, protecting us not only from danger but also from Satan’s tricks and traps, and from ourselves and the things we often do in our senseless adventures in the darkness of the world. May we always lean on Your Name that is above all names forever and ever! Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Showing posts with label Devotion-Scripture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Devotion-Scripture. Show all posts
Monday, June 11, 2007
A New Set of Keys
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32 NIV)
Whether they open the door to a new car, home or office, what a pleasure it can be to receive a new set of keys. Christ here in Luke 12 had just handed over a new set of keys to all who were listening and paying attention. He told them the Father was pleased to give them the Kingdom. Whoa, back the truck up here. Did He say, “The Kingdom?” Yes, you heard right: the Kingdom, keys to a gated community handed to us with the access to the lock readily available.
The time had come to reveal this gift to us. “Here they are,” He says. “Don’t be afraid. Your Father is pleased to give you this.” How we receive this gift is now in our hands; we can be overjoyed or we can hand the keys back and tell Him, “No thanks, I don’t want it.”
Years ago when our daughter turned 16, we had a surprise birthday party where we gave her the keys to her first car. The last thing on her mind was not accepting her new set of keys by saying, “No, thanks. I don’t want the responsibility of having the keys to a car.” As expected, without hesitation she took the keys and the responsibility that came with them. We need to do the same with what our Heavenly Father has to offer us.
In Matthew 16:19, we read where Peter also was given the keys to the Kingdom. After giving Jesus the correct answer about who exactly Christ was, Jesus told him he was “part of the rock” that He was going to build His Church upon. Next, He informs him that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven; that was a similar statement to what He said to them in Luke 12 about seeking His Kingdom first, even if it took selling all they had in order to store for themselves treasures in Heaven.
The door or the gate is Jesus, and we hold the ability to open that right of entry or close it in our faces – all by the choices we make and our attitudes toward this newfound treasure. The door handle with the lock in it is on our side. We might try similar openings to attempt to get into Heaven; but like trying to get into a car in a parking lot, though a car might look like ours, the keys won’t work unless it is truly the right car.
Praise the Lord, we have the right entrance, the right key to get in” Jesus Christ. Instead of foolishly tossing Him aside, getting caught on the outside looking in, let us take Him up on His offer and swing wide the door that will lead us on a journey that beats all journeys – to that custom-made destination resort called Heaven.
Dear Heavenly Father, thanks so much for trusting us with our own set of keys. Like the key we might get from work that says, “Do NOT duplicate,” Your key cannot be duplicated, either. Yet it is something everyone has access to in order for all to be saved. Praise You, Father God, for not wanting any of us to perish. May we share that similar belief as we take the responsibility that comes with our new set of keys. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Whether they open the door to a new car, home or office, what a pleasure it can be to receive a new set of keys. Christ here in Luke 12 had just handed over a new set of keys to all who were listening and paying attention. He told them the Father was pleased to give them the Kingdom. Whoa, back the truck up here. Did He say, “The Kingdom?” Yes, you heard right: the Kingdom, keys to a gated community handed to us with the access to the lock readily available.
The time had come to reveal this gift to us. “Here they are,” He says. “Don’t be afraid. Your Father is pleased to give you this.” How we receive this gift is now in our hands; we can be overjoyed or we can hand the keys back and tell Him, “No thanks, I don’t want it.”
Years ago when our daughter turned 16, we had a surprise birthday party where we gave her the keys to her first car. The last thing on her mind was not accepting her new set of keys by saying, “No, thanks. I don’t want the responsibility of having the keys to a car.” As expected, without hesitation she took the keys and the responsibility that came with them. We need to do the same with what our Heavenly Father has to offer us.
In Matthew 16:19, we read where Peter also was given the keys to the Kingdom. After giving Jesus the correct answer about who exactly Christ was, Jesus told him he was “part of the rock” that He was going to build His Church upon. Next, He informs him that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven; that was a similar statement to what He said to them in Luke 12 about seeking His Kingdom first, even if it took selling all they had in order to store for themselves treasures in Heaven.
The door or the gate is Jesus, and we hold the ability to open that right of entry or close it in our faces – all by the choices we make and our attitudes toward this newfound treasure. The door handle with the lock in it is on our side. We might try similar openings to attempt to get into Heaven; but like trying to get into a car in a parking lot, though a car might look like ours, the keys won’t work unless it is truly the right car.
Praise the Lord, we have the right entrance, the right key to get in” Jesus Christ. Instead of foolishly tossing Him aside, getting caught on the outside looking in, let us take Him up on His offer and swing wide the door that will lead us on a journey that beats all journeys – to that custom-made destination resort called Heaven.
Dear Heavenly Father, thanks so much for trusting us with our own set of keys. Like the key we might get from work that says, “Do NOT duplicate,” Your key cannot be duplicated, either. Yet it is something everyone has access to in order for all to be saved. Praise You, Father God, for not wanting any of us to perish. May we share that similar belief as we take the responsibility that comes with our new set of keys. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Bring to Me
Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Matthew 17:17,18 (NKJV)
One day while reading the story of the young boy who was cured of his seizures in Matthew 17:14-21 I noticed the beginning of tears forming in my eyes ready to race down my cheeks following the pull of gravity. Taking the time to pinpoint the source of those tears I began to reflect back on the day the Lord showed me, His daughter, the same mercy that He showed that young boy. A story of an epileptic girl that was cured 17 years ago in a hospital operating room in Portland Oregon from a seizure disorder that started when I was 20 years old. A story that will never make it’s way to the Bible like the young epileptic boy did but a story that made its way into my heart.
Five years prior to my actual cure I had gone to the state of Washington in hopes of being cured of 12 years of uncontrolled seizures. After several days of testing I was turned away similar to that of the epileptic boy when he tried going to the disciples first, who due to their lack of faith were unable to help the boy.
In my situation it wasn’t a lack of faith that turned me away from being cured but a testing of my faith that was to take place first before the final victory. The testing done in the Washington hospital had solved the mystery of what the cause of my seizures was. It was the scar tissue left over from the brain surgery I had when I was in Jr High that resulted from a head injury on a school bus. Brain waves were hitting the scar tissue sending them off in wrong directions bringing on the seizures.
The next news they told me wasn’t so pleasant to hear. They said 90% of my seizures were stressed caused and only 10 % were epileptic, therefore the surgery would not benefit me and I was denied this chance to be cured. Their best recommendation was that I find a psychiatrist to take care of that 90%. To me at that moment it sounded like they were the ones that needed the psychiatrist! However, if what they were telling me was true about the 90% of my seizures being stressed caused I knew I needed to take it to the Lord and I did.
I decided to use the seizures to work for me instead of against me as I treated them as a tattletale for what was bothering me deep down inside. Whenever I had a seizure it was them telling me to pay attention to whatever it was I needed to deal with. After each seizure I would pray to the Lord in an attempt to figure out just what it was that triggered the spell keeping a journal of surrounding circumstances and events. In order to ward off any seizures in the future from happening the source of where they were coming from was a puzzle I had to solve. Where they were going to end was a choice I had to make on a daily basis.
Before long I found myself going to the Lord prior to a seizure even coming. With practice I became skilled at recognizing situations and attitudes or thoughts that triggered these stress seizures in my life in order to tackle them before they tackled me. Thus with faith and prayer, mixed with trust and determination the Lord and I began together a journey that took me through the next 5 years of my life.
Unknown to me where this voyage of willpower was taking me, God knew the direction we were heading together as He soon revealed to me. One day when I went to my neurologist to report on my latest seizure activities he looked at me and said, “Enough was enough, Karen. I’m sending you to another epileptic facility in Portland Oregon.” At last, after more testing and further evaluation it was found that the stress seizures were now gone and my surgery date was set for June 13, 1990.
What seemed to take a lot of faith, to Christ was only a mustard seed, making what appeared like the impossible possible. It was a lesson well learnt, worth the 5 years delay in my cure that was soon to come. Had I been unsuccessful in conquering my stress seizures Jesus would have said to me what He did to the disciples, “How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?”
But no, faith first had cured the stress seizures that were controlling 90% of my life. Finally, I heard the words that the man heard that day when Christ said, “Bring the boy here to me.” The words He used in Portland when He said, “Bring Karen to me.”
One by one as the years pass by after my healing I think of the cure, the victory, and the process it all took to get where I am today. The cards I had received back then are now replaced with the card God has given me to read in the form of the Bible that He signed Himself when Christ died for me on the cross. A card I open to read daily the words He wrote for me so long ago. Totally different than a card purchased in the store that needs picked out according to the occasion, the Lord’s expression of love covers every circumstance in my life.
The flowers I now am given come in God’s artwork as I’m able to walk outside amongst them at any time without supervision in order to marvel over their beauty. Flowers that to this day still bloom every spring just for me. My gift, my gift is the ability to play with my four grandchildren without having to worry about having a seizure. The gift of being able to hold them ever since they were newborn babies without someone watching over me to make sure I didn’t have a seizure and hurt them.
My gift is being able to hold their hands in the shower to make sure they don’t slip instead of them holding mine in case of a spell. The gift of being able to use my shower time as an appointment time with God to pray for my grandchildren instead of one spent in fear. Lifting them one by one, placing them upon God’s lap, for Him to watch over as He has watched over me. That they will forever hold His hand, the very hand that cured their grandmother through the hands of a surgeon, through the hands of her own faith and trust.
My gift is my family, husband, daughter, friends, church and even total strangers who each and everyone were there for me to hold my hand before, during or after many seizures. Watching over me, escorting me places, hugging me when needed. There beside me willing to even change my clothes whenever I wet my pants during a seizure and so much more. My gift is my ability to now drive to a job that I went to college for just months before my seizures began. My gift is my Lord, which said that day, “Bring Karen to me” who had more faith in me that I had in myself.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:1,6 (NIV)
Believing is a must
Faith is a must
“He said to her (the bleeding woman),
“Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Mark 5:24-34 (NIV)
Closing thought: Whether medical or spiritual, curable or not we need to bring it all to the Lord for the healing that needs to take place in our lives. The outcome may not be one of total cure but it will be an ending that can be glorious as we learn to rely, trust, and believe in the One who can do the impossible. Remembering always that we do have our part to do as we obediently learn to follow God with our best foot forward that will take us where we need to be in Christ. Christ saying “Bring to me,” is an invitation open to all. Don’t ignore it.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
One day while reading the story of the young boy who was cured of his seizures in Matthew 17:14-21 I noticed the beginning of tears forming in my eyes ready to race down my cheeks following the pull of gravity. Taking the time to pinpoint the source of those tears I began to reflect back on the day the Lord showed me, His daughter, the same mercy that He showed that young boy. A story of an epileptic girl that was cured 17 years ago in a hospital operating room in Portland Oregon from a seizure disorder that started when I was 20 years old. A story that will never make it’s way to the Bible like the young epileptic boy did but a story that made its way into my heart.
Five years prior to my actual cure I had gone to the state of Washington in hopes of being cured of 12 years of uncontrolled seizures. After several days of testing I was turned away similar to that of the epileptic boy when he tried going to the disciples first, who due to their lack of faith were unable to help the boy.
In my situation it wasn’t a lack of faith that turned me away from being cured but a testing of my faith that was to take place first before the final victory. The testing done in the Washington hospital had solved the mystery of what the cause of my seizures was. It was the scar tissue left over from the brain surgery I had when I was in Jr High that resulted from a head injury on a school bus. Brain waves were hitting the scar tissue sending them off in wrong directions bringing on the seizures.
The next news they told me wasn’t so pleasant to hear. They said 90% of my seizures were stressed caused and only 10 % were epileptic, therefore the surgery would not benefit me and I was denied this chance to be cured. Their best recommendation was that I find a psychiatrist to take care of that 90%. To me at that moment it sounded like they were the ones that needed the psychiatrist! However, if what they were telling me was true about the 90% of my seizures being stressed caused I knew I needed to take it to the Lord and I did.
I decided to use the seizures to work for me instead of against me as I treated them as a tattletale for what was bothering me deep down inside. Whenever I had a seizure it was them telling me to pay attention to whatever it was I needed to deal with. After each seizure I would pray to the Lord in an attempt to figure out just what it was that triggered the spell keeping a journal of surrounding circumstances and events. In order to ward off any seizures in the future from happening the source of where they were coming from was a puzzle I had to solve. Where they were going to end was a choice I had to make on a daily basis.
Before long I found myself going to the Lord prior to a seizure even coming. With practice I became skilled at recognizing situations and attitudes or thoughts that triggered these stress seizures in my life in order to tackle them before they tackled me. Thus with faith and prayer, mixed with trust and determination the Lord and I began together a journey that took me through the next 5 years of my life.
Unknown to me where this voyage of willpower was taking me, God knew the direction we were heading together as He soon revealed to me. One day when I went to my neurologist to report on my latest seizure activities he looked at me and said, “Enough was enough, Karen. I’m sending you to another epileptic facility in Portland Oregon.” At last, after more testing and further evaluation it was found that the stress seizures were now gone and my surgery date was set for June 13, 1990.
What seemed to take a lot of faith, to Christ was only a mustard seed, making what appeared like the impossible possible. It was a lesson well learnt, worth the 5 years delay in my cure that was soon to come. Had I been unsuccessful in conquering my stress seizures Jesus would have said to me what He did to the disciples, “How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?”
But no, faith first had cured the stress seizures that were controlling 90% of my life. Finally, I heard the words that the man heard that day when Christ said, “Bring the boy here to me.” The words He used in Portland when He said, “Bring Karen to me.”
One by one as the years pass by after my healing I think of the cure, the victory, and the process it all took to get where I am today. The cards I had received back then are now replaced with the card God has given me to read in the form of the Bible that He signed Himself when Christ died for me on the cross. A card I open to read daily the words He wrote for me so long ago. Totally different than a card purchased in the store that needs picked out according to the occasion, the Lord’s expression of love covers every circumstance in my life.
The flowers I now am given come in God’s artwork as I’m able to walk outside amongst them at any time without supervision in order to marvel over their beauty. Flowers that to this day still bloom every spring just for me. My gift, my gift is the ability to play with my four grandchildren without having to worry about having a seizure. The gift of being able to hold them ever since they were newborn babies without someone watching over me to make sure I didn’t have a seizure and hurt them.
My gift is being able to hold their hands in the shower to make sure they don’t slip instead of them holding mine in case of a spell. The gift of being able to use my shower time as an appointment time with God to pray for my grandchildren instead of one spent in fear. Lifting them one by one, placing them upon God’s lap, for Him to watch over as He has watched over me. That they will forever hold His hand, the very hand that cured their grandmother through the hands of a surgeon, through the hands of her own faith and trust.
My gift is my family, husband, daughter, friends, church and even total strangers who each and everyone were there for me to hold my hand before, during or after many seizures. Watching over me, escorting me places, hugging me when needed. There beside me willing to even change my clothes whenever I wet my pants during a seizure and so much more. My gift is my ability to now drive to a job that I went to college for just months before my seizures began. My gift is my Lord, which said that day, “Bring Karen to me” who had more faith in me that I had in myself.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:1,6 (NIV)
Believing is a must
Faith is a must
“He said to her (the bleeding woman),
“Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Mark 5:24-34 (NIV)
Closing thought: Whether medical or spiritual, curable or not we need to bring it all to the Lord for the healing that needs to take place in our lives. The outcome may not be one of total cure but it will be an ending that can be glorious as we learn to rely, trust, and believe in the One who can do the impossible. Remembering always that we do have our part to do as we obediently learn to follow God with our best foot forward that will take us where we need to be in Christ. Christ saying “Bring to me,” is an invitation open to all. Don’t ignore it.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Cruise Control
“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)
Paul here was telling people who had accepted Christ into their lives to set their minds on the things they needed to be thinking about which were of course--“things above.” After all, their lives were now hidden with Christ in God. Although good solid advice it's often difficult to carry out as the mind is the battlefield where Satan likes to play the most.
As nice as it would be to set our minds on cruise control heading straight for heaven, the road in life doesn’t permit that to happen. For every curve we come to in life, every bump along the way caused by earthly things such as divorce, financial difficulties, fear, failure, addictions, etc our minds go off cruise control and it begins to wonder. Then the choice becomes ours to get it up to speed once more in order to set it on the things Christ would want us mediating on.
Using the advice Paul gave in Romans 12:2 regarding renewing our minds daily, it can be done and done right. Taking control over our mind and not handing the reins over to Satan to manage is our decision. Years ago when I learned that 90% of my seizures were stressed cause I was given that alternative. Focus on the things above that brought peace or the things of earth that brought stress into my life resulting in seizures.
It’s never a battle that is easily won but one that comes with victory if we stick with it long enough. Leaning on the Lord for the strength and wisdom to carry it through. A day to day battle that by no means ends but one with a conclusion that far outweighs the struggle it took to get there.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you Lord for the good influence You have to offer in our battle with the mind. We have a choice to make on where we want our minds or thinking to go. Help us to make the correct decision to concentrate on the things above such as Your love, guidance, grace, mercy, peace here on earth in our hearts, and so much more. Forgive us for the times we allow a crack in our thinking where Satan sets up camp long enough to get us off, to where it takes determination and right choices to get us back to where we need to be. As much as it would be nice if You controlled our minds that’s not going to happen until we take the responsibility of making it happen. May we do it wisely in decisions that lead us to life eternal with You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett@ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Paul here was telling people who had accepted Christ into their lives to set their minds on the things they needed to be thinking about which were of course--“things above.” After all, their lives were now hidden with Christ in God. Although good solid advice it's often difficult to carry out as the mind is the battlefield where Satan likes to play the most.
As nice as it would be to set our minds on cruise control heading straight for heaven, the road in life doesn’t permit that to happen. For every curve we come to in life, every bump along the way caused by earthly things such as divorce, financial difficulties, fear, failure, addictions, etc our minds go off cruise control and it begins to wonder. Then the choice becomes ours to get it up to speed once more in order to set it on the things Christ would want us mediating on.
Using the advice Paul gave in Romans 12:2 regarding renewing our minds daily, it can be done and done right. Taking control over our mind and not handing the reins over to Satan to manage is our decision. Years ago when I learned that 90% of my seizures were stressed cause I was given that alternative. Focus on the things above that brought peace or the things of earth that brought stress into my life resulting in seizures.
It’s never a battle that is easily won but one that comes with victory if we stick with it long enough. Leaning on the Lord for the strength and wisdom to carry it through. A day to day battle that by no means ends but one with a conclusion that far outweighs the struggle it took to get there.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you Lord for the good influence You have to offer in our battle with the mind. We have a choice to make on where we want our minds or thinking to go. Help us to make the correct decision to concentrate on the things above such as Your love, guidance, grace, mercy, peace here on earth in our hearts, and so much more. Forgive us for the times we allow a crack in our thinking where Satan sets up camp long enough to get us off, to where it takes determination and right choices to get us back to where we need to be. As much as it would be nice if You controlled our minds that’s not going to happen until we take the responsibility of making it happen. May we do it wisely in decisions that lead us to life eternal with You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett@ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Wise or A Fool, Which is it Going to Be?
“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good.” Psalm 13:1 (NKJV)
Not too many people take kindly to being called a fool but often it’s the truth as we carry out unwise acts or thoughts. According to this verse one of those things we can do to make ourselves look like an idiot is to say in our hearts that there is no God. Sadly enough there are people out there who would rather burn in hell than believe in God. Some day they will get their wish, not because God sent them there but because they chose to go out of foolishness. The choice is ours that comes with a consequence that will last for all eternity. Wise or a fool which is it going to be?
Dear Heavenly Father praise you Lord that there is a God and You are it. Help us Lord to make that choice not only in our hearts but in our actions as well to show more and more people the road to eternity with You. A good road to travel that is not as complicated as we try to make it out to be. A path with a great destination making the journey worth the rough terrain often traveled to get there. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Not too many people take kindly to being called a fool but often it’s the truth as we carry out unwise acts or thoughts. According to this verse one of those things we can do to make ourselves look like an idiot is to say in our hearts that there is no God. Sadly enough there are people out there who would rather burn in hell than believe in God. Some day they will get their wish, not because God sent them there but because they chose to go out of foolishness. The choice is ours that comes with a consequence that will last for all eternity. Wise or a fool which is it going to be?
Dear Heavenly Father praise you Lord that there is a God and You are it. Help us Lord to make that choice not only in our hearts but in our actions as well to show more and more people the road to eternity with You. A good road to travel that is not as complicated as we try to make it out to be. A path with a great destination making the journey worth the rough terrain often traveled to get there. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Go Until We Get There
"I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1,2 (NKJV)
What a blessing it is to be able to lift up our eyes and get a grand view of the mountains. Better than that is the opportunity to get to drive into them as my husband and I have done for years in a family tradition. One that started with our daughter and has now carried over to our grandchildren.
Frequent trips taken and adventured through the hillside terrain of rough and dirty roads just to see who would win the award for spotting the first deer or yell at the first cattle guard to see everyone raise their feet. Stopping at favorite locations such as the 100 year old school house while exploring new areas and taking on the challenge of trying to see where the juniper trees of the High Desert ends and the pine trees of the high mountains begin.
Every trip showing the true exquisiteness of God’s artwork that from my home looked like nothing but large mounds of purplish blue dirt with nothing to offer, only seen as unique when capped with the winter snow. An error easily corrected by simply drawing closer to them to see what God has to reveal turning the blue piles of nothing into something with form, color, and attractiveness.
A thing not only full of color but life as well as seen in the eloquence of the deer or elk jumping over downed trees, chipmunks and squirrels scrambling up tall timbers, crickets and frogs singing in harmony, as birds take flight to pass over it all as if to keep an eye on God’s artwork below. Each and everything pointing towards the Creator of it all, God himself, as His fingerprints show up on every item. The writer of the Psalm knew this in his heart as he put it to paper the thought about where his help came from.
To often in our lives we make the mistake of not knowing where our true help comes from, we turn to all sorts of false aid that never seem to do the trick. Alcohol, drugs, sex, money, recreation, hobbies or such used in a wrong manner to supply help to our souls when our answers are in the mountains. Not in the trees or the animals themselves, or the atmosphere of peace you find there but in the Creator of the heaven and earth itself, God. Who better qualified to supply that help needed and assist in the aid sought!
Frequently in our lives the distance between God and us can be just like that of the mountain. From far away God appears to be just a big Godhead in the sky with very little form or color. However as we draw closer to Him, His true beauty begins to stand out in the forms of the attractiveness of His love, the warmth of His companionship, and value of His mercy and grace.
Things that cannot be seen from a distance soon change as we draw nearer to the Lord in a gradual process no different than driving slowly up into the mountains. A trip worth taking that will eventually get you there if you keep moving forward in the right direction. It's important that we don't let the narrow, rough dirty roads in life slow us down in our journey to get closer to God.
Just like any travel adventure we must come prepared. In the car we always make sure we have a spare tire, extra food, knowledge of where we are going and the determination to go until we get there. Our journey to draw closer to God needs to be done in the same way, throwing in any extra spiritual food we can obtain from His Word. While tucking away additional strength as well as the determination needed to set out on our expedition.
Approaching our journey with the attitude of “I’m going to go until I get there.” Not allowing anything to stop us from reaching that point where we are so close to God that He is no longer a distant Godhead in the sky but a close Father, friend, and Savior in our heart.
If you really think about it there is another way that the mountains and God are very similar. As you head off towards the mountains you can rest assure that they will be there when you get there, they aren’t going anywhere. The same holds true for God, He will always be there. Our journey will never be in vain. It can’t be an annual trip we take, a summer vacation we plan for a week, or a journey that has no purpose or true destination. No, it's a voyage that begins with faith; running on trust that basically has no end. We are the ones that need to “hit the road,” getting busy shortening the distance between God and ourselves.
How is this possible? A good start is lifting our eyes to the hills and recognizing the fact that we do need help and the Creator of all is the only one capable of supplying it. From there trust and faith step in on the drive, intermixed with the studying of the Bible which serves as God’s road map to take on every trip, to guide down every road. Once the distance is gone and the gaps between our Lord and us are shortened it becomes an expedition of “walking close with Him.” Indeed a worthwhile journey available to all who are willing to go until they get there.
Dear Heavenly Father thank You that Your beauty is not hidden. Its there for us to see if we would only do what it takes to “go until we get there” and see what You have to offer, the beauty, love, joy, peace, and salvation that is ours. Ours to enjoy awaiting our willingness to make the journey to draw closer to You. Forgive us Lord for the times in our lives that we have the tendency to move away instead of closer. Putting the blame on You for being the one who moved instead of taking the responsibility ourselves. In Your Son’s most precious name we pray, Amen.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
What a blessing it is to be able to lift up our eyes and get a grand view of the mountains. Better than that is the opportunity to get to drive into them as my husband and I have done for years in a family tradition. One that started with our daughter and has now carried over to our grandchildren.
Frequent trips taken and adventured through the hillside terrain of rough and dirty roads just to see who would win the award for spotting the first deer or yell at the first cattle guard to see everyone raise their feet. Stopping at favorite locations such as the 100 year old school house while exploring new areas and taking on the challenge of trying to see where the juniper trees of the High Desert ends and the pine trees of the high mountains begin.
Every trip showing the true exquisiteness of God’s artwork that from my home looked like nothing but large mounds of purplish blue dirt with nothing to offer, only seen as unique when capped with the winter snow. An error easily corrected by simply drawing closer to them to see what God has to reveal turning the blue piles of nothing into something with form, color, and attractiveness.
A thing not only full of color but life as well as seen in the eloquence of the deer or elk jumping over downed trees, chipmunks and squirrels scrambling up tall timbers, crickets and frogs singing in harmony, as birds take flight to pass over it all as if to keep an eye on God’s artwork below. Each and everything pointing towards the Creator of it all, God himself, as His fingerprints show up on every item. The writer of the Psalm knew this in his heart as he put it to paper the thought about where his help came from.
To often in our lives we make the mistake of not knowing where our true help comes from, we turn to all sorts of false aid that never seem to do the trick. Alcohol, drugs, sex, money, recreation, hobbies or such used in a wrong manner to supply help to our souls when our answers are in the mountains. Not in the trees or the animals themselves, or the atmosphere of peace you find there but in the Creator of the heaven and earth itself, God. Who better qualified to supply that help needed and assist in the aid sought!
Frequently in our lives the distance between God and us can be just like that of the mountain. From far away God appears to be just a big Godhead in the sky with very little form or color. However as we draw closer to Him, His true beauty begins to stand out in the forms of the attractiveness of His love, the warmth of His companionship, and value of His mercy and grace.
Things that cannot be seen from a distance soon change as we draw nearer to the Lord in a gradual process no different than driving slowly up into the mountains. A trip worth taking that will eventually get you there if you keep moving forward in the right direction. It's important that we don't let the narrow, rough dirty roads in life slow us down in our journey to get closer to God.
Just like any travel adventure we must come prepared. In the car we always make sure we have a spare tire, extra food, knowledge of where we are going and the determination to go until we get there. Our journey to draw closer to God needs to be done in the same way, throwing in any extra spiritual food we can obtain from His Word. While tucking away additional strength as well as the determination needed to set out on our expedition.
Approaching our journey with the attitude of “I’m going to go until I get there.” Not allowing anything to stop us from reaching that point where we are so close to God that He is no longer a distant Godhead in the sky but a close Father, friend, and Savior in our heart.
If you really think about it there is another way that the mountains and God are very similar. As you head off towards the mountains you can rest assure that they will be there when you get there, they aren’t going anywhere. The same holds true for God, He will always be there. Our journey will never be in vain. It can’t be an annual trip we take, a summer vacation we plan for a week, or a journey that has no purpose or true destination. No, it's a voyage that begins with faith; running on trust that basically has no end. We are the ones that need to “hit the road,” getting busy shortening the distance between God and ourselves.
How is this possible? A good start is lifting our eyes to the hills and recognizing the fact that we do need help and the Creator of all is the only one capable of supplying it. From there trust and faith step in on the drive, intermixed with the studying of the Bible which serves as God’s road map to take on every trip, to guide down every road. Once the distance is gone and the gaps between our Lord and us are shortened it becomes an expedition of “walking close with Him.” Indeed a worthwhile journey available to all who are willing to go until they get there.
Dear Heavenly Father thank You that Your beauty is not hidden. Its there for us to see if we would only do what it takes to “go until we get there” and see what You have to offer, the beauty, love, joy, peace, and salvation that is ours. Ours to enjoy awaiting our willingness to make the journey to draw closer to You. Forgive us Lord for the times in our lives that we have the tendency to move away instead of closer. Putting the blame on You for being the one who moved instead of taking the responsibility ourselves. In Your Son’s most precious name we pray, Amen.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Monday, April 16, 2007
Fuel or Faith
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16 (NIV)
Looking over the wardrobe of things that Christians are given to wear in order to enter the battle with Satan I came to the shield of faith. Gazing closely at the manufacturer label, I read that this particular attire was to be used to stop the fiery darts of the evil one. Its main purpose wasn’t to help me walk on water or move mountains where I wanted them. Although it helps to move spiritual mountains and walk through life, its chief purpose seemed to be dart protection according to Ephesians 6:16.
In other words in order to keep us from being Satan’s pincushion or dartboard God was giving us something to stop that from happening. It even had the capability of putting out any fires that Satan’s arrows came with.
Visualizing this whole thing in my mind I thought about the Roman soldier’s shield back then and how they were made fireproof by soaking the leather that covered them in water. Instantly I began to wonder if that is what made the shield of faith fireproof too, using the Living Water of Jesus Christ to immerse it in. Liking what I read and learned I wanted one of those shields and the rest of the ensemble for myself.
After receiving my packaged deal and putting it on I walked out into the world, set and ready to go, or so I thought. After several battles with my new armor on, I noticed there was a manufacture error in the shield of faith that I got. It was letting a few of those fiery darts of Satan come through causing atrocious damage in my life. Getting out my Bible, the Owner’s Manual to the shield, I decided to take a closer look.
Examining things more intensely I found it wasn’t a manufacture flaw but a user’s error. It was me that was adding fuel to Satan’s fiery darts instead of repelling them with faith soaked in the Living Water of Christ. I found I was using flammable materials such as falling for Satan’s lies, listening to my emotions instead of the Spirit, being impatient, reacting instead of acting, negative thoughts, wrong attitudes, selfish whims, and simple spiritual immaturity to enhance the damage done by Satan.
Ashamed to admit the blunder of my ways I was tempted to blame God for the defect in the equipment He provided me with, but the minute I thought of that, I knew I had just proven the fact that I was the one improperly handling my combat paraphernalia. Without paying attention I was allowing the shield to drop, adding fuel, and not building up that safeguard to its full capacity with my faith.
How foolish Christians are when we fail to see the importance of keeping our battle gear up to snuff instead of becoming irrational in our thinking counting on the fact that we are immune to Satan’s assaults. We forget Satan is out there waiting in the sidelines of our lives in hopes of our arms getting tired enough to allow our shield of faith to drop just a little, opening up a large area of vulnerability to his attacks.
We rationalize that because someone was raised in a Christian home and knows the Lord that they should know better. We forget Satan’s number one enemy he wants to see fall or be taken down more than anything is the Christian and the home and church in which they were raised. The more we advance the more he advances as well, to the point that for every new level we reach we run across a new devil with more lies, deceit, stumbling blocks, and frustrations in the making for us.
It’s important in our walk that we stop thinking that Satan is going to abide by the “Ethic Rules of War” that we write up as we get frustrated when the attacks are longer than we thought they should be, tougher than planned, or more strenuous than ever dreamed of.
We get blinded to the fact that Satan’s tactics are ones of underhanded trickery instead of the rules we often want enforced such as: 1) No hitting below the belt 2) No attacking before sunrise or after sunset 3) Only those who are of a certain age are eligible to fight 4) Time outs available upon the request of the one being attacked 5) Only one fight at a time 6) All fights can last only as long as the set appointed time 7) Ample resting time required in between battles.
Yeah right! Send that note to Satan and see what you get back. He’ll probably laugh in your face when it is us that should be like God and laugh at him as it says in Psalm 37:13 “But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming.”
We not only misunderstand the rules of fighting or the lack there of but we also have a tendency to get the wrong idea of the shield itself. We think of it as something that is held in front of us that takes the sting of the dart hitting it. A thing to spin around once in awhile to look at all the darts stuck to it like grandma Brown’s pincushion.
No it’s something that needs built up in our faith and maintained. As we enter the battle together we need to be paying attention to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that are feeling the battle fatigue that Satan creates. Setting up some kind of neighborhood watch for the enemy and any signs of weakening in the front line. Standing closely beside others to help hold up their shield, encouraging them never to give up but remain strong and well soaked in the Living Water that will put out any fires.
Our efforts should come out looking like the endeavor of Aaron and Hur when they were helping Moses keep his arms lifted up before the Lord in Exodus 17:11,12 As long as Moses held up his hands (in his hands was the staff of God), the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up---one on one side, one on the other---so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”
Fuel or faith, the choice is ours. Hold up our hands with the shield in it to Jesus and win or allow it drop and lose, the choice is ours. Let us choose.
Dear Heavenly Father as we all have access to the shield of faith that is used to protect us from Satan’s heinous attacks may we do our part in keeping it in place and helping those around us do the same. Our faith comes from believing in You, turning to You, following You, trusting in You. Thank you for this security, thank you for Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Looking over the wardrobe of things that Christians are given to wear in order to enter the battle with Satan I came to the shield of faith. Gazing closely at the manufacturer label, I read that this particular attire was to be used to stop the fiery darts of the evil one. Its main purpose wasn’t to help me walk on water or move mountains where I wanted them. Although it helps to move spiritual mountains and walk through life, its chief purpose seemed to be dart protection according to Ephesians 6:16.
In other words in order to keep us from being Satan’s pincushion or dartboard God was giving us something to stop that from happening. It even had the capability of putting out any fires that Satan’s arrows came with.
Visualizing this whole thing in my mind I thought about the Roman soldier’s shield back then and how they were made fireproof by soaking the leather that covered them in water. Instantly I began to wonder if that is what made the shield of faith fireproof too, using the Living Water of Jesus Christ to immerse it in. Liking what I read and learned I wanted one of those shields and the rest of the ensemble for myself.
After receiving my packaged deal and putting it on I walked out into the world, set and ready to go, or so I thought. After several battles with my new armor on, I noticed there was a manufacture error in the shield of faith that I got. It was letting a few of those fiery darts of Satan come through causing atrocious damage in my life. Getting out my Bible, the Owner’s Manual to the shield, I decided to take a closer look.
Examining things more intensely I found it wasn’t a manufacture flaw but a user’s error. It was me that was adding fuel to Satan’s fiery darts instead of repelling them with faith soaked in the Living Water of Christ. I found I was using flammable materials such as falling for Satan’s lies, listening to my emotions instead of the Spirit, being impatient, reacting instead of acting, negative thoughts, wrong attitudes, selfish whims, and simple spiritual immaturity to enhance the damage done by Satan.
Ashamed to admit the blunder of my ways I was tempted to blame God for the defect in the equipment He provided me with, but the minute I thought of that, I knew I had just proven the fact that I was the one improperly handling my combat paraphernalia. Without paying attention I was allowing the shield to drop, adding fuel, and not building up that safeguard to its full capacity with my faith.
How foolish Christians are when we fail to see the importance of keeping our battle gear up to snuff instead of becoming irrational in our thinking counting on the fact that we are immune to Satan’s assaults. We forget Satan is out there waiting in the sidelines of our lives in hopes of our arms getting tired enough to allow our shield of faith to drop just a little, opening up a large area of vulnerability to his attacks.
We rationalize that because someone was raised in a Christian home and knows the Lord that they should know better. We forget Satan’s number one enemy he wants to see fall or be taken down more than anything is the Christian and the home and church in which they were raised. The more we advance the more he advances as well, to the point that for every new level we reach we run across a new devil with more lies, deceit, stumbling blocks, and frustrations in the making for us.
It’s important in our walk that we stop thinking that Satan is going to abide by the “Ethic Rules of War” that we write up as we get frustrated when the attacks are longer than we thought they should be, tougher than planned, or more strenuous than ever dreamed of.
We get blinded to the fact that Satan’s tactics are ones of underhanded trickery instead of the rules we often want enforced such as: 1) No hitting below the belt 2) No attacking before sunrise or after sunset 3) Only those who are of a certain age are eligible to fight 4) Time outs available upon the request of the one being attacked 5) Only one fight at a time 6) All fights can last only as long as the set appointed time 7) Ample resting time required in between battles.
Yeah right! Send that note to Satan and see what you get back. He’ll probably laugh in your face when it is us that should be like God and laugh at him as it says in Psalm 37:13 “But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming.”
We not only misunderstand the rules of fighting or the lack there of but we also have a tendency to get the wrong idea of the shield itself. We think of it as something that is held in front of us that takes the sting of the dart hitting it. A thing to spin around once in awhile to look at all the darts stuck to it like grandma Brown’s pincushion.
No it’s something that needs built up in our faith and maintained. As we enter the battle together we need to be paying attention to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that are feeling the battle fatigue that Satan creates. Setting up some kind of neighborhood watch for the enemy and any signs of weakening in the front line. Standing closely beside others to help hold up their shield, encouraging them never to give up but remain strong and well soaked in the Living Water that will put out any fires.
Our efforts should come out looking like the endeavor of Aaron and Hur when they were helping Moses keep his arms lifted up before the Lord in Exodus 17:11,12 As long as Moses held up his hands (in his hands was the staff of God), the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up---one on one side, one on the other---so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”
Fuel or faith, the choice is ours. Hold up our hands with the shield in it to Jesus and win or allow it drop and lose, the choice is ours. Let us choose.
Dear Heavenly Father as we all have access to the shield of faith that is used to protect us from Satan’s heinous attacks may we do our part in keeping it in place and helping those around us do the same. Our faith comes from believing in You, turning to You, following You, trusting in You. Thank you for this security, thank you for Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Victory in Jesus
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 (NIV)
When in need of spiritual food Romans 8 is always a good chapter to turn to in the Bible. It comes with a lot of meat with no added preservatives to take away the flavor of it. Paul covers everything from life through the Spirit, being controlled by the Spirit, future glory, the Spirit helping us in our weakness, things working out for the good of those who love the Lord, the fact that if God is for us who can be against us, and then he brings up the subject of Christ dieing for us.
After making all these statements Paul ends the chapter with the subject of being more than conquerors. When you read the whole chapter you can see why we are able to be more than conquerors thanks to the Lord and the help we receive through not only His Son Jesus Christ but through the Holy Spirit as well.
We are far from alone in the battle of life; we come fully equipped to be victorious when we have Christ in our lives. The emphasis here is on the word IN. That’s how He is activated within us is when we invite Him in and make room in His living quarters for all that He has to bring with Him. Getting rid of the clutter that doesn’t belong and starting out new and keeping it that way resulting in the victories, the accomplishments, and the progress that truly count.
As usual some people have different ideas of what victory is. To them victory is accomplishing what they wanted to do whether it was seeking revenge on a person, winning in sports, stealing a certain amount of money, cheating on a spouse without getting caught, or getting rich quick.
These are all victories to them however the victories to the children of God should have a totally different look about them. The accomplishment of conquering Satan at his own tricks, standing up to the world while hanging on to Christ, the victory of being able to say no to temptation in order to walk with the Lord in the ways He has outlined for us to follow in His word.
We start this process by getting down on our knees daily and giving the Lord His rightful place in our hearts and lives, not just some fraction of a corner than happened to be unoccupied at the time. When talking to people about the need to get down on their knees often their first reaction is a comment about the fact that if they did that they would never be able to get back up again.
Years ago when I had knee surgery my one goal was to be able to get down on my knees again so I could pray. If that was physically impossible that was something I was going to have to live with, however, there is nothing that can stop us from doing this spiritually in our hearts as we go before the throne of God, humbling ourselves before Him, worshipping Him, showing honor and respect in our attitude that we think He is number One in our lives and we want to demonstrate it.
Working physical knees are not required but a working spiritual heart that has Christ within it is, as we believe in the One that can make us victorious in our Spiritual walk. Victories that will carry over into eternity as lasting treasures we have stored for us in Heaven. Victories that don’t come with a measuring stick; there is no scale to weigh them upon.
A big victory to one person may be a small accomplishment to another. Also immeasurable is the length in time it took to obtain the victory. We can’t be jealous or give up just because it took someone else split second timing to get their victory in life, that’s not what it’s all about. It’s winning for Christ, winning for ourselves, winning the individual battles that result in a war that is won as well.
Dear Heavenly Father in a world that tries to convince us that victory is impossible we praise you Lord that it’s very possible when we have you on the inside of us working through us to obtain those winning moments in our lives. Forgive us Lord for those times in our lives that we allow the circumstances in life to override the strength we have in you. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
When in need of spiritual food Romans 8 is always a good chapter to turn to in the Bible. It comes with a lot of meat with no added preservatives to take away the flavor of it. Paul covers everything from life through the Spirit, being controlled by the Spirit, future glory, the Spirit helping us in our weakness, things working out for the good of those who love the Lord, the fact that if God is for us who can be against us, and then he brings up the subject of Christ dieing for us.
After making all these statements Paul ends the chapter with the subject of being more than conquerors. When you read the whole chapter you can see why we are able to be more than conquerors thanks to the Lord and the help we receive through not only His Son Jesus Christ but through the Holy Spirit as well.
We are far from alone in the battle of life; we come fully equipped to be victorious when we have Christ in our lives. The emphasis here is on the word IN. That’s how He is activated within us is when we invite Him in and make room in His living quarters for all that He has to bring with Him. Getting rid of the clutter that doesn’t belong and starting out new and keeping it that way resulting in the victories, the accomplishments, and the progress that truly count.
As usual some people have different ideas of what victory is. To them victory is accomplishing what they wanted to do whether it was seeking revenge on a person, winning in sports, stealing a certain amount of money, cheating on a spouse without getting caught, or getting rich quick.
These are all victories to them however the victories to the children of God should have a totally different look about them. The accomplishment of conquering Satan at his own tricks, standing up to the world while hanging on to Christ, the victory of being able to say no to temptation in order to walk with the Lord in the ways He has outlined for us to follow in His word.
We start this process by getting down on our knees daily and giving the Lord His rightful place in our hearts and lives, not just some fraction of a corner than happened to be unoccupied at the time. When talking to people about the need to get down on their knees often their first reaction is a comment about the fact that if they did that they would never be able to get back up again.
Years ago when I had knee surgery my one goal was to be able to get down on my knees again so I could pray. If that was physically impossible that was something I was going to have to live with, however, there is nothing that can stop us from doing this spiritually in our hearts as we go before the throne of God, humbling ourselves before Him, worshipping Him, showing honor and respect in our attitude that we think He is number One in our lives and we want to demonstrate it.
Working physical knees are not required but a working spiritual heart that has Christ within it is, as we believe in the One that can make us victorious in our Spiritual walk. Victories that will carry over into eternity as lasting treasures we have stored for us in Heaven. Victories that don’t come with a measuring stick; there is no scale to weigh them upon.
A big victory to one person may be a small accomplishment to another. Also immeasurable is the length in time it took to obtain the victory. We can’t be jealous or give up just because it took someone else split second timing to get their victory in life, that’s not what it’s all about. It’s winning for Christ, winning for ourselves, winning the individual battles that result in a war that is won as well.
Dear Heavenly Father in a world that tries to convince us that victory is impossible we praise you Lord that it’s very possible when we have you on the inside of us working through us to obtain those winning moments in our lives. Forgive us Lord for those times in our lives that we allow the circumstances in life to override the strength we have in you. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Two Different Worlds
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:2,3 (NIV)
Summer had finally arrived and with it my favorite season of all, fishing season. As soon as possible my husband and I pulled the camp trailer high in the mountains near Walton Lake. Bright and early the following morning at the lake I managed to get up in plenty of time to beat all the man made sounds of life at the campsite. I definitely wanted to hear nothing but God-created sounds.
Living in town that’s a hard thing to accomplish but in the mountains I found it to be a lot simpler to be up listening and enjoying God long before human voice could be heard. It felt so good to be sitting beside the campfire that was still burning from the night before as the Lord and I sat there together, Him in my heart and me in my chair, listening to the birds singing.
The music they were making took the place of the frogs croaking the evening before. In the background was the sound of swaying trees caught up in the wind just yards away their reflection was fixed on the quiet lake. Over and over again I praised God for His wonderful love and artwork.
Letting my imagination go I began to think about what it must be like in heaven, a place where you didn’t have to get up early to beat the material world in order to get a touch of God. Boy what a feeling thinking about being eternally surrounded by nothing but God without any competition to a totally different world.
Little did I know as I was reaching out longing to draw in this special world that I wanted to be a part of, a totally different world was just yards away where Satan was leaving his fingerprints for all to see. A man who had been shooting guns at people to scare them was severely beaten by two of his victims’ parents. The gun he once used to shoot at others was taken away from him and used as a beating stick. Widely his head was cut open as blood totally covered his bare chest and blue jeans as he staggered through our campsite searching for a ride to the nearest town to find a doctor.
I couldn’t believe it, at the same time I was admiring the rhythmic sound of a nearby woodpecker another person was enjoying the pleasure of seeing blood fly. ”Why,” I tried asking myself. Why would anyone want to be in such a world, a world of no hope, a world of hatred and sin? The more I tried to understand the harder it became as I wondered why anyone would choose to be a part of that world instead of a world of joy, love and eternal peace found in Christ.
For some reason it just didn’t make sense to me. Eternal laughter, eternal hell there was two to choose but yet there seemed to be no choice. It’s not like trying to choose between chocolate and vanilla ice cream or between peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. Something so cut and dried, so black and white, what made the decision so difficult to make. No doubt Satan has his part in the confusion, the blurred vision of what is right and wrong.
Over and over again I prayed to God for the day that for all eternity those two worlds would be separated at last. No longer able to compete with one another, firmly put in their proper places, distantly away from one another reaching at last that point of no return. Earnestly I prayed to God that before that day would come that many more people would cross that fine line between the two worlds joining myself and many others in preparation for the journey that beats all journeys. To a place that tops all places, Heaven.
Thank God I’m heaven bound.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for going to prepare that place for us that will be the final separation between Your world and Satan’s. Forgive us Lord for the times we tend to cross the border from where You want our lives to be as we join the camp robber, Satan, in our behaviors and choices in life. May we keep our eyes fixed on you and what is to come, not what is now, that is only temporary. Amen.
© 2006 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Summer had finally arrived and with it my favorite season of all, fishing season. As soon as possible my husband and I pulled the camp trailer high in the mountains near Walton Lake. Bright and early the following morning at the lake I managed to get up in plenty of time to beat all the man made sounds of life at the campsite. I definitely wanted to hear nothing but God-created sounds.
Living in town that’s a hard thing to accomplish but in the mountains I found it to be a lot simpler to be up listening and enjoying God long before human voice could be heard. It felt so good to be sitting beside the campfire that was still burning from the night before as the Lord and I sat there together, Him in my heart and me in my chair, listening to the birds singing.
The music they were making took the place of the frogs croaking the evening before. In the background was the sound of swaying trees caught up in the wind just yards away their reflection was fixed on the quiet lake. Over and over again I praised God for His wonderful love and artwork.
Letting my imagination go I began to think about what it must be like in heaven, a place where you didn’t have to get up early to beat the material world in order to get a touch of God. Boy what a feeling thinking about being eternally surrounded by nothing but God without any competition to a totally different world.
Little did I know as I was reaching out longing to draw in this special world that I wanted to be a part of, a totally different world was just yards away where Satan was leaving his fingerprints for all to see. A man who had been shooting guns at people to scare them was severely beaten by two of his victims’ parents. The gun he once used to shoot at others was taken away from him and used as a beating stick. Widely his head was cut open as blood totally covered his bare chest and blue jeans as he staggered through our campsite searching for a ride to the nearest town to find a doctor.
I couldn’t believe it, at the same time I was admiring the rhythmic sound of a nearby woodpecker another person was enjoying the pleasure of seeing blood fly. ”Why,” I tried asking myself. Why would anyone want to be in such a world, a world of no hope, a world of hatred and sin? The more I tried to understand the harder it became as I wondered why anyone would choose to be a part of that world instead of a world of joy, love and eternal peace found in Christ.
For some reason it just didn’t make sense to me. Eternal laughter, eternal hell there was two to choose but yet there seemed to be no choice. It’s not like trying to choose between chocolate and vanilla ice cream or between peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. Something so cut and dried, so black and white, what made the decision so difficult to make. No doubt Satan has his part in the confusion, the blurred vision of what is right and wrong.
Over and over again I prayed to God for the day that for all eternity those two worlds would be separated at last. No longer able to compete with one another, firmly put in their proper places, distantly away from one another reaching at last that point of no return. Earnestly I prayed to God that before that day would come that many more people would cross that fine line between the two worlds joining myself and many others in preparation for the journey that beats all journeys. To a place that tops all places, Heaven.
Thank God I’m heaven bound.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for going to prepare that place for us that will be the final separation between Your world and Satan’s. Forgive us Lord for the times we tend to cross the border from where You want our lives to be as we join the camp robber, Satan, in our behaviors and choices in life. May we keep our eyes fixed on you and what is to come, not what is now, that is only temporary. Amen.
© 2006 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
Treasures Worth Keeping
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19
One Christmas Eve as I sat in the candlelit sanctuary of the local church holding my grandson, the talk of the Christ child was bringing up new emotions and thoughts in my heart as I looked down upon the sleeping 7 month old child laying on my lap oblivious of Grandma and what was going on in her heart. Listening to the words of the Christmas carols created these new treasures to contemplate in my heart as Mary had done so long ago the night the Shepherds came to visit. The shepherds had located the Christ child and the news about his birth began to spread quickly and everyone who heard what was being said by the shepherds was amazed and this is what Mary pondered in her heart as treasures worth keeping.
For me, the news of Jesus starting out as a baby was old information but for some reason the sentiment inside my heart was different this Christmas Eve. As I looked down again at my grandson I couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to be when he grew up. Would he be a doctor, a preacher, a football player, or what, God only knows.
Unlike my grandson, Christ’s future was predetermined, mapped out from beginning to end and although Mary had no idea what that exact course of His life would entail. Truly this small babe in her arms would one day be the jewel many would be in search of, a definite treasure worth keeping.
Without a doubt the beginning of our gem collection of treasurers in Heaven starts with getting Jesus into our hearts, once we have found Him we don’t want to treat Christ like the 3-year-old boy I babysat once did his new found fortune. We were in the nursery at the church patiently waiting for mom to get out of Bible Study when he went off to play by himself, soon he came to show me the precious rock that he found, wanting to claim it as his own, while my back was turned, he shoved the rock up his nose for safe keeping. Unfortunately for him, he got it up his nose so far that neither his mother nor I could get it out and soon a trip to the emergency room had to be taken where an extensive procedure was performed to get the lodged gem out of the chamber of his nose.
Too often we have other things stored in our hearts that we are pondering over such as old feelings, new grudges, bitterness, anger, busyness, negative thoughts and so much more, things of no value yet we hold on to them as if they were gems worth keeping. All of them crowding Jesus out of our heart to the point He’s stuffed up so far back that He never gets a chance to come out to create more riches in us.
It shouldn’t take an extensive procedure to be performed in our lives in order to get Him out and on display in our lives as we seek to please Him as Psalm 19:14 states. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Jesus had said it himself, “Where your treasurer is, there will your heart be also.”
Year long, not just at the celebration of Christ’s birth we should examine and look to see where our heart is, as seen through the telescope of what we are meditating on. As the seeds planted in our lives produce everlasting fruit for others around us, showing up as treasurers worth keeping.
Dear Heavenly Father, Praise you Father God for giving us such a wonder thing to place into the depths of our hearts, your son Jesus Christ. May we do our part and make room for this treasure. Thank you Lord for supplying us with a safe haven to keep our spiritual wealth safe from moths, rust and the biggest thief of all Satan himself. May we strive daily to meditate on the things that please you as we store up our own personal collection of untouchable treasurers that come from you. Amen.
© 2006 by Karen J. Gillett
One Christmas Eve as I sat in the candlelit sanctuary of the local church holding my grandson, the talk of the Christ child was bringing up new emotions and thoughts in my heart as I looked down upon the sleeping 7 month old child laying on my lap oblivious of Grandma and what was going on in her heart. Listening to the words of the Christmas carols created these new treasures to contemplate in my heart as Mary had done so long ago the night the Shepherds came to visit. The shepherds had located the Christ child and the news about his birth began to spread quickly and everyone who heard what was being said by the shepherds was amazed and this is what Mary pondered in her heart as treasures worth keeping.
For me, the news of Jesus starting out as a baby was old information but for some reason the sentiment inside my heart was different this Christmas Eve. As I looked down again at my grandson I couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to be when he grew up. Would he be a doctor, a preacher, a football player, or what, God only knows.
Unlike my grandson, Christ’s future was predetermined, mapped out from beginning to end and although Mary had no idea what that exact course of His life would entail. Truly this small babe in her arms would one day be the jewel many would be in search of, a definite treasure worth keeping.
Without a doubt the beginning of our gem collection of treasurers in Heaven starts with getting Jesus into our hearts, once we have found Him we don’t want to treat Christ like the 3-year-old boy I babysat once did his new found fortune. We were in the nursery at the church patiently waiting for mom to get out of Bible Study when he went off to play by himself, soon he came to show me the precious rock that he found, wanting to claim it as his own, while my back was turned, he shoved the rock up his nose for safe keeping. Unfortunately for him, he got it up his nose so far that neither his mother nor I could get it out and soon a trip to the emergency room had to be taken where an extensive procedure was performed to get the lodged gem out of the chamber of his nose.
Too often we have other things stored in our hearts that we are pondering over such as old feelings, new grudges, bitterness, anger, busyness, negative thoughts and so much more, things of no value yet we hold on to them as if they were gems worth keeping. All of them crowding Jesus out of our heart to the point He’s stuffed up so far back that He never gets a chance to come out to create more riches in us.
It shouldn’t take an extensive procedure to be performed in our lives in order to get Him out and on display in our lives as we seek to please Him as Psalm 19:14 states. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Jesus had said it himself, “Where your treasurer is, there will your heart be also.”
Year long, not just at the celebration of Christ’s birth we should examine and look to see where our heart is, as seen through the telescope of what we are meditating on. As the seeds planted in our lives produce everlasting fruit for others around us, showing up as treasurers worth keeping.
Dear Heavenly Father, Praise you Father God for giving us such a wonder thing to place into the depths of our hearts, your son Jesus Christ. May we do our part and make room for this treasure. Thank you Lord for supplying us with a safe haven to keep our spiritual wealth safe from moths, rust and the biggest thief of all Satan himself. May we strive daily to meditate on the things that please you as we store up our own personal collection of untouchable treasurers that come from you. Amen.
© 2006 by Karen J. Gillett
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Taking the Time
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
This scripture in Psalm is similar to that in Exodus 14:14,15 that says, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” It’s hard to imagine that at the time the Bible was written that they had a problem with “being still” but they did as seen in the behavior of the Israelites.
Today it’s an epidemic that has swept our country and parts of the world. Our inability to be still is seen in our restless behavior of wanting what we want, now, and having no patience to wait for it. What we are anxious for over the years may have changed but constantly being impatience hasn’t.
Be still, calm down, chill out, whatever phrase you want to use basically comes down to the same thing. Its being quiet long enough in our spirit to allow God to work in our lives as we get to know who He is and what He is all about deep down inside. Knowing that a god exists is religion, but what we should have with our Lord and Savior is more than that. It’s a relationship developed with God in the course of getting to know Him and what He is all about on a one-on-one basis. One hour on Sunday isn’t sufficient to accomplish that it’s a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week commitment to draw closer to Him in our spirit.
As time passes, in our moments of being still we begin to see and realize who God really is, what He is made of and we now get a picture similar to the one found in the entire of chapter of Psalm 46. Discovering that the Lord is not only our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble but He’s also someone who cares about us, a friend in need, a parent on-call, a teacher on duty. Supplying us with the ability to remain still as well as the courage, faith, and trust required to move on.
Years ago when I first came across the scripture about being still, I did just as it said but it wasn’t to get to know the Lord, it was to take a breather from the rat race of life. I was found guilty of getting caught up in the traffic of life only to look down to find myself traveling at the same high speed as everyone else on the freeway. It was time to let my foot off the accelerator and maintain my life at God’s speed, not the world’s speed. I was ignoring the speed limit He had set for me like the travelers on the freeway ignoring the 55 mile an hour speed zone signs as if they were merely milepost.
Taking the time to be still helped calm down a spirit that seemed to be caught up in the tailspin of life itself giving it a chance to rest, however, soon it became an excuse to stay. It was time to do what the second half of both these scriptures said. I needed to move on in faith and trust in the Lord that He was going to see me through the wildest of life’s obstacle courses. The bonus of the trip was the opportunity to get to know the Lord as we walked side-by-side, hand-in-hand.
What an awesome thing to know and see in our lives this God that we have come to be acquainted with and it all started with taking the time to be still long enough in our spirit, hearts, and lives to recognize the truth about God and live by it daily.
God grants us those moments needed to rest and catch our breath but then there comes a time when we have to put our best foot forward in faith and trust in our Lord and Savior to see us through. Knowing in our hearts that He is watching over us no differently than He did the Israelites as He saw them through their journey through the parted waters of the Red Sea. Indeed the Lord will fight for us and we learn this as we gain the knowledge of who God is and what He is all about in our heart, lives, and souls.
Father God in Heaven what a blessing it is to be given such a opportunity to know you, it’s not reserved for only the local pastor, the evangelist in high places, the well-known missionary in a far away country. It’s held in reserve for everyone, all those willing to take the time. Amen.
© 2006 by Karen J. Gillett
This scripture in Psalm is similar to that in Exodus 14:14,15 that says, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” It’s hard to imagine that at the time the Bible was written that they had a problem with “being still” but they did as seen in the behavior of the Israelites.
Today it’s an epidemic that has swept our country and parts of the world. Our inability to be still is seen in our restless behavior of wanting what we want, now, and having no patience to wait for it. What we are anxious for over the years may have changed but constantly being impatience hasn’t.
Be still, calm down, chill out, whatever phrase you want to use basically comes down to the same thing. Its being quiet long enough in our spirit to allow God to work in our lives as we get to know who He is and what He is all about deep down inside. Knowing that a god exists is religion, but what we should have with our Lord and Savior is more than that. It’s a relationship developed with God in the course of getting to know Him and what He is all about on a one-on-one basis. One hour on Sunday isn’t sufficient to accomplish that it’s a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week commitment to draw closer to Him in our spirit.
As time passes, in our moments of being still we begin to see and realize who God really is, what He is made of and we now get a picture similar to the one found in the entire of chapter of Psalm 46. Discovering that the Lord is not only our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble but He’s also someone who cares about us, a friend in need, a parent on-call, a teacher on duty. Supplying us with the ability to remain still as well as the courage, faith, and trust required to move on.
Years ago when I first came across the scripture about being still, I did just as it said but it wasn’t to get to know the Lord, it was to take a breather from the rat race of life. I was found guilty of getting caught up in the traffic of life only to look down to find myself traveling at the same high speed as everyone else on the freeway. It was time to let my foot off the accelerator and maintain my life at God’s speed, not the world’s speed. I was ignoring the speed limit He had set for me like the travelers on the freeway ignoring the 55 mile an hour speed zone signs as if they were merely milepost.
Taking the time to be still helped calm down a spirit that seemed to be caught up in the tailspin of life itself giving it a chance to rest, however, soon it became an excuse to stay. It was time to do what the second half of both these scriptures said. I needed to move on in faith and trust in the Lord that He was going to see me through the wildest of life’s obstacle courses. The bonus of the trip was the opportunity to get to know the Lord as we walked side-by-side, hand-in-hand.
What an awesome thing to know and see in our lives this God that we have come to be acquainted with and it all started with taking the time to be still long enough in our spirit, hearts, and lives to recognize the truth about God and live by it daily.
God grants us those moments needed to rest and catch our breath but then there comes a time when we have to put our best foot forward in faith and trust in our Lord and Savior to see us through. Knowing in our hearts that He is watching over us no differently than He did the Israelites as He saw them through their journey through the parted waters of the Red Sea. Indeed the Lord will fight for us and we learn this as we gain the knowledge of who God is and what He is all about in our heart, lives, and souls.
Father God in Heaven what a blessing it is to be given such a opportunity to know you, it’s not reserved for only the local pastor, the evangelist in high places, the well-known missionary in a far away country. It’s held in reserve for everyone, all those willing to take the time. Amen.
© 2006 by Karen J. Gillett
Still On Duty
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; Psalm 131:3 (NIV)
Praise the Lord for the truth that is found in this verse in Psalm 131 that reassures us that the Lord will not let our foot slip nor will He go to sleep during the task of watching over us. His focus is fixed; our Shepherd has His eyes on His sheep. Praise the Lord! The data would probably startle us to know exactly how many close calls or near misses we have escaped over the years as guardian angels work hard behind the scenes keeping us out of such situations.
Long ago after I was cured of my epilepsy I finally got my driver’s license back after twelve years of not driving. I did rather well, or so I thought, of getting back into the swing of being mobile. Unfortunately there was one little thing that I needed to relearn all over again. I had forgotten the purpose and beauty of peripheral vision as I fixed my focus and concentration directly in front of the hood of my car. Much to my surprise and dismay, other cars or objects were upon me before I even knew they were coming. Like the car that had to drive with two of its wheels off the road in order to avoid being hit as I failed to see it approaching before it was too late.
Another day I found myself up against an even bigger object when I was in town and I came to a railroad track that had no flashing lights to warn people or a stop sign to hesitate drivers. With my eyes still focused on the front of the hood the only thing between me and my daughter and the train was the sound of the conductor pulling firmly down on the rope alerting me to the danger we were in just in time for me to get my pickup stopped 4 feet away from the train’s engine.
Figuring I had enough of these near misses God finally opened my eyes to what I was doing wrong when just a block away from my church a drunk driver ran a stop sign and broadsided my pickup in the bed of the truck on the passenger side. Standing there waiting for the police to arrive I began to wonder why in the world I didn’t see this coming in order to be able to avoid the whole thing.
It was then that I recognized what the problem was and knew it was time to lift up my eyes and use the peripheral vision God had given me to pay attention to the things coming at me.
God most certainly didn’t cure me of my seizures only for me to wind up being killed in a car accident because I was out of practice. No, He had better things planned for me, more close calls or near misses in my years ahead but still on duty and not about to go off.
Sadly enough for some, close calls can turn into tragedies that are difficult to face as was the case of two women I know that each lost a son in single car traffic accidents several years apart. The pain I saw them bear could not have been comforted with knowing that the Lord never slumbers as the old familiar question of “Where was God when this or that happened” pops up frequently in our hearts.
Although we don’t have all the answers what we should have is faith in God knowing He is in control and that He has plans for us. The fact that God never slumbers doesn’t guarantee us that we will live a pain-free life, never stub our toes in the dark, or face tragedies.
What it does reassure is a Shepherd always on duty someone who is there to help us when we stumble, pick us up when we fall, strengthen us when we face tragedies, guide us when it gets dark, and help us to grow in our pain. It’s up to us to not undo what He is doing in our lives by trying to lean on our own understanding, stand on our own strength, and refuse to grow spiritually from the pain.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you so much for being there during those moments in our lives when danger is near whether it be in our physical or spiritual lives. Like young children we often are unaware of the dangers we can get into, some of which we bring on ourselves, others are brought on by circumstances and situation in the world. May we do our part in living in such a way that the only life on the edge we are leading is the life on the edge of eternity awaiting the day we get to be with You. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Praise the Lord for the truth that is found in this verse in Psalm 131 that reassures us that the Lord will not let our foot slip nor will He go to sleep during the task of watching over us. His focus is fixed; our Shepherd has His eyes on His sheep. Praise the Lord! The data would probably startle us to know exactly how many close calls or near misses we have escaped over the years as guardian angels work hard behind the scenes keeping us out of such situations.
Long ago after I was cured of my epilepsy I finally got my driver’s license back after twelve years of not driving. I did rather well, or so I thought, of getting back into the swing of being mobile. Unfortunately there was one little thing that I needed to relearn all over again. I had forgotten the purpose and beauty of peripheral vision as I fixed my focus and concentration directly in front of the hood of my car. Much to my surprise and dismay, other cars or objects were upon me before I even knew they were coming. Like the car that had to drive with two of its wheels off the road in order to avoid being hit as I failed to see it approaching before it was too late.
Another day I found myself up against an even bigger object when I was in town and I came to a railroad track that had no flashing lights to warn people or a stop sign to hesitate drivers. With my eyes still focused on the front of the hood the only thing between me and my daughter and the train was the sound of the conductor pulling firmly down on the rope alerting me to the danger we were in just in time for me to get my pickup stopped 4 feet away from the train’s engine.
Figuring I had enough of these near misses God finally opened my eyes to what I was doing wrong when just a block away from my church a drunk driver ran a stop sign and broadsided my pickup in the bed of the truck on the passenger side. Standing there waiting for the police to arrive I began to wonder why in the world I didn’t see this coming in order to be able to avoid the whole thing.
It was then that I recognized what the problem was and knew it was time to lift up my eyes and use the peripheral vision God had given me to pay attention to the things coming at me.
God most certainly didn’t cure me of my seizures only for me to wind up being killed in a car accident because I was out of practice. No, He had better things planned for me, more close calls or near misses in my years ahead but still on duty and not about to go off.
Sadly enough for some, close calls can turn into tragedies that are difficult to face as was the case of two women I know that each lost a son in single car traffic accidents several years apart. The pain I saw them bear could not have been comforted with knowing that the Lord never slumbers as the old familiar question of “Where was God when this or that happened” pops up frequently in our hearts.
Although we don’t have all the answers what we should have is faith in God knowing He is in control and that He has plans for us. The fact that God never slumbers doesn’t guarantee us that we will live a pain-free life, never stub our toes in the dark, or face tragedies.
What it does reassure is a Shepherd always on duty someone who is there to help us when we stumble, pick us up when we fall, strengthen us when we face tragedies, guide us when it gets dark, and help us to grow in our pain. It’s up to us to not undo what He is doing in our lives by trying to lean on our own understanding, stand on our own strength, and refuse to grow spiritually from the pain.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you so much for being there during those moments in our lives when danger is near whether it be in our physical or spiritual lives. Like young children we often are unaware of the dangers we can get into, some of which we bring on ourselves, others are brought on by circumstances and situation in the world. May we do our part in living in such a way that the only life on the edge we are leading is the life on the edge of eternity awaiting the day we get to be with You. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Running on Full
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 (NIV)
In reading this verse there is a lot to be said about the first part of the stanza, the element about the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. As important as it is to understand this and think about it, the last part of this verse is imperative too. As Christ was talking with this group of people He mentions that He had come that “they” may have life, and can have it to the fullest.
Have you ever wondered who “they” are; it seems to be a mystery that no one is able to solve. “They” say we can’t walk on the grass, it’s “they” that make up the dress-code at work, it’s “they” who create the foundation that tells us what we can or cannot do and how to do it. Like a second nature we do it simply because “they” said so.
So what about the “they” in this verse, is it the people that Jesus was talking to at the time? No, looking at the surrounding circumstances Jesus was talking to the Pharisees who were trying to oust a previously blind man out of the synagogue that Jesus had healed. People who definitely needed to hear what Jesus had to say but that wasn’t the “they” He was talking about. Christ was referring to His sheep, followers, the people entering through the gate to Heaven that He was providing, we the believers are the “they,” He was speaking of.
Now that that’s clarified we need to ask ourselves another question, “Are “they” listening?” We are told that we can have a full life and yet we ignore it like it’s no big deal, something that would be nice but we fail to go after it.
Some feel that being a Christian takes away from having any kind of a life because of all the rules they have to follow that keeps them from having the abundant life they measure to be full, looking at a jam-packed life as something that is surrounded with the things they love such as family, friends, sports, success, wealth, and so much more.
They turn Christ into the thief instead of the one who adds to our life with something to give worth holding on to. Unlike the bandit, Christ’s interest is different; Satan would rather rob us of all we have or could have but because of Christ’s love for His sheep He came that we may have life to the fullest.
Indeed we are the ones that hold the knob on the spigot that regulates our degree of fullness by our attitude and our level of obedience to the commandments God gives us to live by. To tap into this abundant life we must live as if we have nothing to prove, hide or lose, living for God and Him alone as we allow His word to do more than tickle our ears as it penetrates all areas of our life whether it has to do with our family, spending habits, eating habits, finances, work, pleasures or whatever.
Physically people don’t often know when they are full and since they never stop eating they don’t recognize when they are empty or hungry either bringing on the consequences of obesity. The fast food restaurants are not to blame or anyone else, only themselves. Since we are the ones that control the level of fullness that’s available to all in Christ we need to learn to distinguish when we are running on empty or full in our walk with Him. Unlike getting physically full the nice thing about being spiritually full is there are no consequences, the cost only occurs when we fail to fill our lives with Christ.
Our life was paid for in full by Christ, It’s up to us to live it to the fullest in Him!
Dear Heavenly Father thank you for this life that you have to offer for all who want to participate in its splendor. Help us Lord to get our fill of Christ as we study Your word, walk in Your path, and live as You would want us to live with our eyes on Jesus, running on full! Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
In reading this verse there is a lot to be said about the first part of the stanza, the element about the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. As important as it is to understand this and think about it, the last part of this verse is imperative too. As Christ was talking with this group of people He mentions that He had come that “they” may have life, and can have it to the fullest.
Have you ever wondered who “they” are; it seems to be a mystery that no one is able to solve. “They” say we can’t walk on the grass, it’s “they” that make up the dress-code at work, it’s “they” who create the foundation that tells us what we can or cannot do and how to do it. Like a second nature we do it simply because “they” said so.
So what about the “they” in this verse, is it the people that Jesus was talking to at the time? No, looking at the surrounding circumstances Jesus was talking to the Pharisees who were trying to oust a previously blind man out of the synagogue that Jesus had healed. People who definitely needed to hear what Jesus had to say but that wasn’t the “they” He was talking about. Christ was referring to His sheep, followers, the people entering through the gate to Heaven that He was providing, we the believers are the “they,” He was speaking of.
Now that that’s clarified we need to ask ourselves another question, “Are “they” listening?” We are told that we can have a full life and yet we ignore it like it’s no big deal, something that would be nice but we fail to go after it.
Some feel that being a Christian takes away from having any kind of a life because of all the rules they have to follow that keeps them from having the abundant life they measure to be full, looking at a jam-packed life as something that is surrounded with the things they love such as family, friends, sports, success, wealth, and so much more.
They turn Christ into the thief instead of the one who adds to our life with something to give worth holding on to. Unlike the bandit, Christ’s interest is different; Satan would rather rob us of all we have or could have but because of Christ’s love for His sheep He came that we may have life to the fullest.
Indeed we are the ones that hold the knob on the spigot that regulates our degree of fullness by our attitude and our level of obedience to the commandments God gives us to live by. To tap into this abundant life we must live as if we have nothing to prove, hide or lose, living for God and Him alone as we allow His word to do more than tickle our ears as it penetrates all areas of our life whether it has to do with our family, spending habits, eating habits, finances, work, pleasures or whatever.
Physically people don’t often know when they are full and since they never stop eating they don’t recognize when they are empty or hungry either bringing on the consequences of obesity. The fast food restaurants are not to blame or anyone else, only themselves. Since we are the ones that control the level of fullness that’s available to all in Christ we need to learn to distinguish when we are running on empty or full in our walk with Him. Unlike getting physically full the nice thing about being spiritually full is there are no consequences, the cost only occurs when we fail to fill our lives with Christ.
Our life was paid for in full by Christ, It’s up to us to live it to the fullest in Him!
Dear Heavenly Father thank you for this life that you have to offer for all who want to participate in its splendor. Help us Lord to get our fill of Christ as we study Your word, walk in Your path, and live as You would want us to live with our eyes on Jesus, running on full! Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Recyclable Comfort
Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. Psalm 10:17 (NIV)
In different interpretations of the Bible such as the Amplified, King James, as well as the New American Standard all of these use the phrase humble instead of helpless in this particular verse. Often people will read this scripture and zoom in on the word helpless figuring that’s the word that describes them through and through. They see the word to mean powerless and weak not someone who is meek and modest.
No matter what version you read this from the end result on what the Lord does for the helpless or humble is still the same. He is there to direct their hearts, to strength and comfort them.
It wouldn’t take much of a glance to pinpoint an instant when we felt helpless or totally humbled whether it lasted a few seconds, several hours, or even longer than that. What really needs to be observed is how we behaved during those moments of feeling helpless, insecure, weak, or powerless.
Being a very vulnerable time, Satan takes advantage of as he comes out with so many lies and half truths that he likes to fill our mind and heart with. Because of the danger of the enemy planting something that shouldn’t be in our hearts it’s vital that we don’t lose sight of our own hopes, lifeline, and source of energy, strength, and truth which is found in Christ Jesus.
Too frequently we come up with the attitude that since we are helpless that makes us also hopeless, all alone in a crowded world. Just the crack needed to allow Satan into our lives and we find ourselves heading towards a very large trap that Satan sets in front of us. Burying our individual hopes, ignoring our own cries we make ourselves out to be more helpless than we really are. The end result is finding us further into the snares of Satan as we take on the role of always being the victim.
Whether our source of helplessness is cancer, other health problems, a failed marriage, prodigal children, financial difficulties or life itself we need to keep our eyes and hearts on the supplier of our comfort. The one who listens to our cries, and is there for us when we need Him as we stand up to Satan on a daily basis even when the odds seem to be in his favor knowing in hearts that they are not.
Satan is the helpless one, the victim of his circumstances and the choices that he made that put him where he’s at and where he will be for all eternity. We are not the helpless ones as God showed us when He sent His son to die for us. We often feel that life’s circumstances are what make us appear helpless but it stems from our own attitude. If we stick with God He will stick with us and there is no need to feel helpless or all alone. Humble, Yes! Helpless, No way! The choice is ours we get to choose.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you so much that in your eyes we are far from helpless, with the strength you supply, the power you give, the guidance you provide we can help ourselves as well as those around us who are where we use to be. The true beauty of the comfort You have supplied us with is the fact that it’s recyclable, something that can be used over and over again, passed down from generation-to-generation as its designed to help and encourage.
May we never break this cycle as we do our part in reaching out to those who are caught in the trap of Satan, springing them free from the feeling of helplessness through the comfort and encouragement that we provide in Your name, Thank you Lord God for having more faith in us than we often have in ourselves. We love you Lord. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
In different interpretations of the Bible such as the Amplified, King James, as well as the New American Standard all of these use the phrase humble instead of helpless in this particular verse. Often people will read this scripture and zoom in on the word helpless figuring that’s the word that describes them through and through. They see the word to mean powerless and weak not someone who is meek and modest.
No matter what version you read this from the end result on what the Lord does for the helpless or humble is still the same. He is there to direct their hearts, to strength and comfort them.
It wouldn’t take much of a glance to pinpoint an instant when we felt helpless or totally humbled whether it lasted a few seconds, several hours, or even longer than that. What really needs to be observed is how we behaved during those moments of feeling helpless, insecure, weak, or powerless.
Being a very vulnerable time, Satan takes advantage of as he comes out with so many lies and half truths that he likes to fill our mind and heart with. Because of the danger of the enemy planting something that shouldn’t be in our hearts it’s vital that we don’t lose sight of our own hopes, lifeline, and source of energy, strength, and truth which is found in Christ Jesus.
Too frequently we come up with the attitude that since we are helpless that makes us also hopeless, all alone in a crowded world. Just the crack needed to allow Satan into our lives and we find ourselves heading towards a very large trap that Satan sets in front of us. Burying our individual hopes, ignoring our own cries we make ourselves out to be more helpless than we really are. The end result is finding us further into the snares of Satan as we take on the role of always being the victim.
Whether our source of helplessness is cancer, other health problems, a failed marriage, prodigal children, financial difficulties or life itself we need to keep our eyes and hearts on the supplier of our comfort. The one who listens to our cries, and is there for us when we need Him as we stand up to Satan on a daily basis even when the odds seem to be in his favor knowing in hearts that they are not.
Satan is the helpless one, the victim of his circumstances and the choices that he made that put him where he’s at and where he will be for all eternity. We are not the helpless ones as God showed us when He sent His son to die for us. We often feel that life’s circumstances are what make us appear helpless but it stems from our own attitude. If we stick with God He will stick with us and there is no need to feel helpless or all alone. Humble, Yes! Helpless, No way! The choice is ours we get to choose.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you so much that in your eyes we are far from helpless, with the strength you supply, the power you give, the guidance you provide we can help ourselves as well as those around us who are where we use to be. The true beauty of the comfort You have supplied us with is the fact that it’s recyclable, something that can be used over and over again, passed down from generation-to-generation as its designed to help and encourage.
May we never break this cycle as we do our part in reaching out to those who are caught in the trap of Satan, springing them free from the feeling of helplessness through the comfort and encouragement that we provide in Your name, Thank you Lord God for having more faith in us than we often have in ourselves. We love you Lord. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Profit or Loss
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
Years ago when I was successfully cured of my epilepsy I often thought about how wonderful it would be if my restoration of health could have been the cure-all for epileptics’ world wide. Not to be some kind of heroine but in order for others to have a chance at being liberated from their seizures opening wide a door only one would have to go through for the months of testing to qualify for the surgery, bear the cost, endure the pain, to be wounded in order for others to be healed.
Boy wouldn’t that make headline news if the morning after my surgery people around the globe woke up seizure free. It made for a good sincere dream for my fellow epileptics I met along my journey that didn’t have a chance at a cure. With one dream and thought leading to another I soon found myself meditating on Christ and what He did for mankind world wide in order that we may be healed from the diseases caused by sin. What He did was not just a heartfelt vision but something legitimately real where His wounds opened the door to a healing that would set many people free.
The blood I shed that day under the knife of a surgeon meant nothing to anyone but the person who had to clean it up. The blood that Christ shed on the cross tells a different story, it was for the well-being of mankind as a whole as He connected us to a lifeline for all who believe. In the first part of Psalm 30:9 in the Amplified Bible it questions “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit (the grave)?” With Christ’s blood we are the ones to benefit as our profit is Satan’s loss.
My focus as I went through the process of obtaining my cure was to be free from the disease that had me disabled for 12 years. It would have been nice for my husband, daughter, close family and friends who unconditionally watched over me for so long to have me cured but I have to confess it was all about me.
Christ that day had you and me in mind when He underwent the task He did to heal us. It wasn’t all about Him it was all about us and the pathway to grace He was opening up for all to enter while at the same time closing the door in Satan’s face and the power of death.
As Peter said in Acts 4:10 regarding a crippled man that was healed “…It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” Amen! This is the profit, we are the ones who stand to gain from the blood of Christ, it was about us and our ability to stand healed before the world, ourselves, and God.
How badly we want it shows up in how earnestly we go after the cure of all cures profiting in our spiritual lives from the shed blood on Calvary’s Cross. Profit or loss the choice is ours on which one we want as we allow the wounds of Christ to heal and deliver us from a disease we are all infested with, sin.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you Lord once more for sending Your Son to do a task that we couldn’t do. For Christ’s willingness to be wounded in order that we may be saved in a time we needed Him the most. May we always know that there is profit in Your blood and we have the option to be shareholders of that profit. A gift we could never earn; an act of kindness we didn’t deserve. Thanks so much for loving us Lord. We love You! Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Years ago when I was successfully cured of my epilepsy I often thought about how wonderful it would be if my restoration of health could have been the cure-all for epileptics’ world wide. Not to be some kind of heroine but in order for others to have a chance at being liberated from their seizures opening wide a door only one would have to go through for the months of testing to qualify for the surgery, bear the cost, endure the pain, to be wounded in order for others to be healed.
Boy wouldn’t that make headline news if the morning after my surgery people around the globe woke up seizure free. It made for a good sincere dream for my fellow epileptics I met along my journey that didn’t have a chance at a cure. With one dream and thought leading to another I soon found myself meditating on Christ and what He did for mankind world wide in order that we may be healed from the diseases caused by sin. What He did was not just a heartfelt vision but something legitimately real where His wounds opened the door to a healing that would set many people free.
The blood I shed that day under the knife of a surgeon meant nothing to anyone but the person who had to clean it up. The blood that Christ shed on the cross tells a different story, it was for the well-being of mankind as a whole as He connected us to a lifeline for all who believe. In the first part of Psalm 30:9 in the Amplified Bible it questions “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit (the grave)?” With Christ’s blood we are the ones to benefit as our profit is Satan’s loss.
My focus as I went through the process of obtaining my cure was to be free from the disease that had me disabled for 12 years. It would have been nice for my husband, daughter, close family and friends who unconditionally watched over me for so long to have me cured but I have to confess it was all about me.
Christ that day had you and me in mind when He underwent the task He did to heal us. It wasn’t all about Him it was all about us and the pathway to grace He was opening up for all to enter while at the same time closing the door in Satan’s face and the power of death.
As Peter said in Acts 4:10 regarding a crippled man that was healed “…It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” Amen! This is the profit, we are the ones who stand to gain from the blood of Christ, it was about us and our ability to stand healed before the world, ourselves, and God.
How badly we want it shows up in how earnestly we go after the cure of all cures profiting in our spiritual lives from the shed blood on Calvary’s Cross. Profit or loss the choice is ours on which one we want as we allow the wounds of Christ to heal and deliver us from a disease we are all infested with, sin.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you Lord once more for sending Your Son to do a task that we couldn’t do. For Christ’s willingness to be wounded in order that we may be saved in a time we needed Him the most. May we always know that there is profit in Your blood and we have the option to be shareholders of that profit. A gift we could never earn; an act of kindness we didn’t deserve. Thanks so much for loving us Lord. We love You! Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Painted Walls
“I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.” Psalm 69:30,31 (NIV)
Rising early with the dawn, quietly I sat in my chair with a saddened heart filled with memories of the family argument the night before still ringing in my ears as I opened my Bible and began to read from a list I had of things that please the Lord. Jumping off the list and into my heart was the part about how singing songs of praise to the Lord was pleasing to Him according to Psalm 69.
Last nights fight was about as pleasurable to His ears as it was to mine. Quickly I identified the fact that I needed to do something different this morning to get back on track. Therefore, to follow what I knew was right so I wouldn't do what was wrong, such as meditating on the negative; I began to sing praise hymns to the Lord.
I needed to replace the anger left over from the night before with praises to the Lord. The more I sang the happier I became, and my night troubles were made brighter in the day. I could only hope that those who were still in bed heard me out in the living room and kitchen repainting the anger stained walls with praises and love. “Would the new paint job last all day?” I asked myself. Was it enough to cover or replace what needed to be erased? Would it need a second coat when I got home from work?
As it got closer to the time for me to leave for work I knew my singing voice would be going with me, I needed someone to watch over and protect my house. Turning to the Lord I asked Him to send a band of angels to not only encamp around it, like it says in Ps 34:7 "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers then."
No, I needed them to come inside as well to guard against the demons trying so hard to break my family. The minute I asked for them I knew they were there, standing guard, doing the work of the Lord.
Soon after arrival I wanted to try and visualize what it really looked like to have our tiny home full of God's angels that were sent to protect it and keep the newly painted walls from peeling. As I continued to sing hymns of praise to the Lord I began pointing to the angels to join with me on particular words, echoes or chorus.’
It was so totally awesome and uplifting. It almost felt like being in a parade where those going first set the stage for the guest of honor to arrive. Within minutes the presence of the Lord, not just His angels, was felt as I continued to sing to the Lord.
Feeling somewhat guilty that I was possibly taking up more than my share of angels I thought of the evening news from the night before. Another young couple somewhere in the state was having their own family argument; however, their outcome was different as the husband wound up dead. As seen on the news it looked like every law enforcement agent from miles around was at their house. What a perfect night to do something illegal elsewhere someone remarked while the police force seemed to be preoccupied at this one family’s home.
Praise the Lord that isn’t the case with the Lord and His angels, that there’s plenty to go around. We can’t keep God preoccupied enough in one area that He doesn’t know what is going on in other areas of our lives, as well as in the lives of additional people. It’s up to us to summons Him forward to the center of our hearts, lives, and minds in order to redecorate what Satan so passionately wants to sabotage. Taking us from those moments of feeling great brokenness and drained from situations in life to times of peace and feeling strongly His presence as the walls of our lives remain painted with His love and praises.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you so much for your presence and your ability to turn situations around if we would only allow you to come inside our homes, hearts, and families. Praise You Lord that there is plenty of You to go around, that there’s not a heart You can’t mend nor a spilled out spirit you can replenish. To You be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Rising early with the dawn, quietly I sat in my chair with a saddened heart filled with memories of the family argument the night before still ringing in my ears as I opened my Bible and began to read from a list I had of things that please the Lord. Jumping off the list and into my heart was the part about how singing songs of praise to the Lord was pleasing to Him according to Psalm 69.
Last nights fight was about as pleasurable to His ears as it was to mine. Quickly I identified the fact that I needed to do something different this morning to get back on track. Therefore, to follow what I knew was right so I wouldn't do what was wrong, such as meditating on the negative; I began to sing praise hymns to the Lord.
I needed to replace the anger left over from the night before with praises to the Lord. The more I sang the happier I became, and my night troubles were made brighter in the day. I could only hope that those who were still in bed heard me out in the living room and kitchen repainting the anger stained walls with praises and love. “Would the new paint job last all day?” I asked myself. Was it enough to cover or replace what needed to be erased? Would it need a second coat when I got home from work?
As it got closer to the time for me to leave for work I knew my singing voice would be going with me, I needed someone to watch over and protect my house. Turning to the Lord I asked Him to send a band of angels to not only encamp around it, like it says in Ps 34:7 "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers then."
No, I needed them to come inside as well to guard against the demons trying so hard to break my family. The minute I asked for them I knew they were there, standing guard, doing the work of the Lord.
Soon after arrival I wanted to try and visualize what it really looked like to have our tiny home full of God's angels that were sent to protect it and keep the newly painted walls from peeling. As I continued to sing hymns of praise to the Lord I began pointing to the angels to join with me on particular words, echoes or chorus.’
It was so totally awesome and uplifting. It almost felt like being in a parade where those going first set the stage for the guest of honor to arrive. Within minutes the presence of the Lord, not just His angels, was felt as I continued to sing to the Lord.
Feeling somewhat guilty that I was possibly taking up more than my share of angels I thought of the evening news from the night before. Another young couple somewhere in the state was having their own family argument; however, their outcome was different as the husband wound up dead. As seen on the news it looked like every law enforcement agent from miles around was at their house. What a perfect night to do something illegal elsewhere someone remarked while the police force seemed to be preoccupied at this one family’s home.
Praise the Lord that isn’t the case with the Lord and His angels, that there’s plenty to go around. We can’t keep God preoccupied enough in one area that He doesn’t know what is going on in other areas of our lives, as well as in the lives of additional people. It’s up to us to summons Him forward to the center of our hearts, lives, and minds in order to redecorate what Satan so passionately wants to sabotage. Taking us from those moments of feeling great brokenness and drained from situations in life to times of peace and feeling strongly His presence as the walls of our lives remain painted with His love and praises.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you so much for your presence and your ability to turn situations around if we would only allow you to come inside our homes, hearts, and families. Praise You Lord that there is plenty of You to go around, that there’s not a heart You can’t mend nor a spilled out spirit you can replenish. To You be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Our Pride for Christ's Meekness
“Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth!” Matthew 5:5 (Amplified)
According to the Amplified Bible the Greek and Hebrew meaning of the word “meek” is the mild, patient and long-suffering. Wow that is definitely different than what the world would like us to believe being meek is.
Over the years we seemed to have gotten the trait of meekness mixed up with other things. We see it in ourselves as being weak while others use it as an opportunity to treat the meek as some kind of a doormat-- there to walk on.
When you think of Jesus you see the characteristic of someone who was mild, patient, and unquestionably long-suffering. There was nothing about Jesus that represented someone who was weak who allowed others to walk all over Him. Jesus was strong, yet patient, mild yet stern, tolerant yet intolerant of certain things. He knew what He stood for and was willing to stand by that.
We don’t have to be “tough” to be a strong person, as the world would like us to accept as true. We can be strong and meek at the same time as our Lord and Savior was as we walk in His footsteps. Once we see that we can see it is a blessed, happy, blithesome, joyous, and spiritually prosperous thing to be meek.
According to Jesus those who carry this trait will inherit the earth. Psalm 37:11 adds to that by stating they will not only inherit the earth but they also shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. I’m not sure what anyone would do with the inheritance of the earth but I do know we could all use the abundance of peace promised.
In other words, the Lord has rewards for those who are meek, humble, timid, submissive, gentle, and modest and it’s not to be a doormat but to be one that has access to the Door---Jesus Christ to be like Him, to walk as He walked, to behave as He behaved. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to exchange our pride for the meekness of Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father forgive us Lord when we tend to fall into the world’s mold of meek instead of the one that you have established in Your Word. Holding tightly on to our pride thinking its something we need more than Your meekness. May we keep our focus on You and how You handled this so we may do the same on a daily basis, amplifying in ourselves a strong trait we see in You to use as a witness for those around us. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
According to the Amplified Bible the Greek and Hebrew meaning of the word “meek” is the mild, patient and long-suffering. Wow that is definitely different than what the world would like us to believe being meek is.
Over the years we seemed to have gotten the trait of meekness mixed up with other things. We see it in ourselves as being weak while others use it as an opportunity to treat the meek as some kind of a doormat-- there to walk on.
When you think of Jesus you see the characteristic of someone who was mild, patient, and unquestionably long-suffering. There was nothing about Jesus that represented someone who was weak who allowed others to walk all over Him. Jesus was strong, yet patient, mild yet stern, tolerant yet intolerant of certain things. He knew what He stood for and was willing to stand by that.
We don’t have to be “tough” to be a strong person, as the world would like us to accept as true. We can be strong and meek at the same time as our Lord and Savior was as we walk in His footsteps. Once we see that we can see it is a blessed, happy, blithesome, joyous, and spiritually prosperous thing to be meek.
According to Jesus those who carry this trait will inherit the earth. Psalm 37:11 adds to that by stating they will not only inherit the earth but they also shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. I’m not sure what anyone would do with the inheritance of the earth but I do know we could all use the abundance of peace promised.
In other words, the Lord has rewards for those who are meek, humble, timid, submissive, gentle, and modest and it’s not to be a doormat but to be one that has access to the Door---Jesus Christ to be like Him, to walk as He walked, to behave as He behaved. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to exchange our pride for the meekness of Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father forgive us Lord when we tend to fall into the world’s mold of meek instead of the one that you have established in Your Word. Holding tightly on to our pride thinking its something we need more than Your meekness. May we keep our focus on You and how You handled this so we may do the same on a daily basis, amplifying in ourselves a strong trait we see in You to use as a witness for those around us. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
The One and Only
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NIV)
Common in the world of electronics are answering services, automated responses, recordings of voices telling us what to do and which button to push. The most difficult to deal with seems to be the voice recognition program that tells you to state what you are calling about. More often than not, the machine on the other end gets the information wrong. “Oh, I’m sorry, please repeat that” …only to get it wrong again. No wonder people are always so anxious to talk with a live person.
When it comes to Christ, we know that we have a live body, a real person on the line. Praise the Lord that He wasn’t too busy to come when we needed Him the most. Unlike the famous celebrity or person that makes an appearance for the sake of publicity, Christ came in person for a reason as He delivered hope in the form of Salvation. Not for a promotional cause but for our benefit. He wasn’t above hanging out with the common man here on earth; He appeared to give us the help we needed, by setting an example for us to follow and taking us from the downfalls of the law into a new era of grace.
During His ministry, He roamed the countryside from one place to another, preaching and teaching to all who would listen. Stories about the excitement of people who heard Him can be read throughout the New Testament. One such story is the bleeding woman in Matthew 9 who recognized Jesus and thought to herself, If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed. Then there is Zacchaeus in Luke 19, who went so far as to climb up a tree in order to see Jesus as He appeared in person that day.
Often people will go out of their way to see a well-known figure in person or be thrilled when they just happen to be at the right place at the right time to get a glimpse. A lady at work once told me her story of seeing a renowned person… sort of. It was back when she was a maid in a motel in Memphis. Elvis Presley went through the lobby of the motel surrounded so closely by his bodyguards that she knew he was in there somewhere, although she really couldn’t see him. While it was a brief and minor encounter, it made for a good story.
When Christ came, He showed Himself to everyone. He wasn’t surrounded tightly by His disciples like a group of bodyguards. Everyone got to see the glory of the One and Only. Praise the Lord that we get that same opportunity today; the choice is ours. We can miss our chance or stay alert and feel the joy of not only seeing the Lord work in our lives through the Spirit, but also knowing Him personally. It’s not a one-time look but a lifelong commitment, acknowledging that some day, we too will get to see Him in person.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You, Lord, for caring enough to show up in person to see us through to Heaven; for going out of Your way for the sake of Your children. May we do all we can to make our own appearance before You in the flesh, that we may glorify and follow You, the One and Only, the Best. Amen.
© 2006 by Karen J. Gillett
Common in the world of electronics are answering services, automated responses, recordings of voices telling us what to do and which button to push. The most difficult to deal with seems to be the voice recognition program that tells you to state what you are calling about. More often than not, the machine on the other end gets the information wrong. “Oh, I’m sorry, please repeat that” …only to get it wrong again. No wonder people are always so anxious to talk with a live person.
When it comes to Christ, we know that we have a live body, a real person on the line. Praise the Lord that He wasn’t too busy to come when we needed Him the most. Unlike the famous celebrity or person that makes an appearance for the sake of publicity, Christ came in person for a reason as He delivered hope in the form of Salvation. Not for a promotional cause but for our benefit. He wasn’t above hanging out with the common man here on earth; He appeared to give us the help we needed, by setting an example for us to follow and taking us from the downfalls of the law into a new era of grace.
During His ministry, He roamed the countryside from one place to another, preaching and teaching to all who would listen. Stories about the excitement of people who heard Him can be read throughout the New Testament. One such story is the bleeding woman in Matthew 9 who recognized Jesus and thought to herself, If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed. Then there is Zacchaeus in Luke 19, who went so far as to climb up a tree in order to see Jesus as He appeared in person that day.
Often people will go out of their way to see a well-known figure in person or be thrilled when they just happen to be at the right place at the right time to get a glimpse. A lady at work once told me her story of seeing a renowned person… sort of. It was back when she was a maid in a motel in Memphis. Elvis Presley went through the lobby of the motel surrounded so closely by his bodyguards that she knew he was in there somewhere, although she really couldn’t see him. While it was a brief and minor encounter, it made for a good story.
When Christ came, He showed Himself to everyone. He wasn’t surrounded tightly by His disciples like a group of bodyguards. Everyone got to see the glory of the One and Only. Praise the Lord that we get that same opportunity today; the choice is ours. We can miss our chance or stay alert and feel the joy of not only seeing the Lord work in our lives through the Spirit, but also knowing Him personally. It’s not a one-time look but a lifelong commitment, acknowledging that some day, we too will get to see Him in person.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You, Lord, for caring enough to show up in person to see us through to Heaven; for going out of Your way for the sake of Your children. May we do all we can to make our own appearance before You in the flesh, that we may glorify and follow You, the One and Only, the Best. Amen.
© 2006 by Karen J. Gillett
No Other Resource
“I love you, O Lord, my strength” Psalm 18:1 (NIV)
Working in the Medical field it seems like everyone who comes in to see a doctor has “fatigue.” Patients daily coming and going searching for help in the form of drugs, answers, or magic solutions to be pulled out of the hat of the physician. The cause of the problem often known or sometimes unknown as they experience some form of exhaustion, tiredness, low-energy, or weakness in their everyday lives.
Physical fatigue can be caused by several things, whether it be a chemical imbalance or simply running ourselves ragged in the fast pace of life, stretching ourselves so thin we have no where to go but exhaustion. Spiritually there should be no such thing as fatigue when we have the Lord on our side to strengthen us when we need it, to support us when Satan has us stretched thin, to guide us when we are lost and our spiritual energy level is at its lowest.
We need to be as quick or quicker to call on the Great Physician, our Lord and Savior, than we do our local medical doctor. Knowing in our hearts what the Psalmist knew when he wrote in Psalm 121:1-3 “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.” (NKJ)
Praise the Lord that we can simply lift our eyes in the right direction knowing where our help comes from. Bypassing any attempt from Satan to block our view of that resource. The solution to our problems is to get our eyes off of ourselves and on to God. Ignoring the lies he tries to put in our hearts that we can do it on our own, walk in our own strength, that the help of the One who made the heaven and the earth is not needed.
Similar to the young high school graduate who thinks they are now free or capable of walking in their own strength we soon find out that the school of hard knocks called “life,” is more difficult than expected. A school not as easy to graduate from as we once thought leading to the mistake of going to other resources other than God to find the needed potency only He could supply.
It’s important to know in our hearts that walking in the strength that God provides in not a sign of weakness but a symbol of vigor within us to be able to surrender our right to the pride that comes from saying “I don’t need God, I can do it myself.”
Once we grab hold of this in our spirit we soon see how much we love the Lord and He loves us. The supplier of our strength, the rock and fortress and deliverer needed to undergo Satan’s frequent efforts to drain our soul, spirit, and might through spiritual fatigue. A condition brought on by drawing from our own resources, relying on our own strength and not of that of Divine nature, the Rock that will not move, the Fortress that will never come down.
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
Psalm 18:46 (NKJV)
Dear Heavenly Father thank you so much for the strength You supply that enables us to walk without falling whether we stumble once in awhile or not. Beautiful is the love You have for us to be so willing to walk beside us, carrying us when the road gets rough, encouraging us when we need it the most. May we always do our part and return that love to You by obediently walking at Your side, listening to Your encouragement, sitting still when it’s necessary to carry us. Using the same words as the Psalmist, “we love you O Lord, our strength!” There’s no other resource but You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Working in the Medical field it seems like everyone who comes in to see a doctor has “fatigue.” Patients daily coming and going searching for help in the form of drugs, answers, or magic solutions to be pulled out of the hat of the physician. The cause of the problem often known or sometimes unknown as they experience some form of exhaustion, tiredness, low-energy, or weakness in their everyday lives.
Physical fatigue can be caused by several things, whether it be a chemical imbalance or simply running ourselves ragged in the fast pace of life, stretching ourselves so thin we have no where to go but exhaustion. Spiritually there should be no such thing as fatigue when we have the Lord on our side to strengthen us when we need it, to support us when Satan has us stretched thin, to guide us when we are lost and our spiritual energy level is at its lowest.
We need to be as quick or quicker to call on the Great Physician, our Lord and Savior, than we do our local medical doctor. Knowing in our hearts what the Psalmist knew when he wrote in Psalm 121:1-3 “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.” (NKJ)
Praise the Lord that we can simply lift our eyes in the right direction knowing where our help comes from. Bypassing any attempt from Satan to block our view of that resource. The solution to our problems is to get our eyes off of ourselves and on to God. Ignoring the lies he tries to put in our hearts that we can do it on our own, walk in our own strength, that the help of the One who made the heaven and the earth is not needed.
Similar to the young high school graduate who thinks they are now free or capable of walking in their own strength we soon find out that the school of hard knocks called “life,” is more difficult than expected. A school not as easy to graduate from as we once thought leading to the mistake of going to other resources other than God to find the needed potency only He could supply.
It’s important to know in our hearts that walking in the strength that God provides in not a sign of weakness but a symbol of vigor within us to be able to surrender our right to the pride that comes from saying “I don’t need God, I can do it myself.”
Once we grab hold of this in our spirit we soon see how much we love the Lord and He loves us. The supplier of our strength, the rock and fortress and deliverer needed to undergo Satan’s frequent efforts to drain our soul, spirit, and might through spiritual fatigue. A condition brought on by drawing from our own resources, relying on our own strength and not of that of Divine nature, the Rock that will not move, the Fortress that will never come down.
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!
Psalm 18:46 (NKJV)
Dear Heavenly Father thank you so much for the strength You supply that enables us to walk without falling whether we stumble once in awhile or not. Beautiful is the love You have for us to be so willing to walk beside us, carrying us when the road gets rough, encouraging us when we need it the most. May we always do our part and return that love to You by obediently walking at Your side, listening to Your encouragement, sitting still when it’s necessary to carry us. Using the same words as the Psalmist, “we love you O Lord, our strength!” There’s no other resource but You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Iron in Our Soul
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18 (NKJ)
Imagine someone thumbing through a magazine at a doctor’s office, someone coming across an online theme project titled “Suffering is Good!” might hesitate to look. Then quickly drawing the conclusion that the writers for the magazine must be a bunch uninformed people who had never experienced true suffering. Totally oblivious to the real world for thinking or saying that suffering comes close to being good--- what a bunch of quacks! Sorry, wrong conclusion.
Like it or not we all belong to the same club that no one wants to join in which we all have membership; fellowshipping in suffering. Unfortunately no one seems to be excluded from this club as we face problems, struggles, or sufferings in one way or another whether it is health issues, family problems, financial struggles, abuse, neglect, emotional setbacks or whatever.
At the time we are going through our moments of suffering or hard times the last thing on our mind is the good that can come from our experience. We shut off anyone trying to encourage us to see the light at the end of the tunnel we find ourselves walking through.
Several times when my struggles with my epilepsy, finances, and marital problems were at their worse I couldn’t be convinced that good was going to come from this. I was planning and throwing my own pity party but very few people were attending. Satan had me blinded and I was going along with it.
Without a doubt we lose sight of the truth Paul talked about in Romans 8:18 that tell us our suffering can’t compare to the glory that is to come. We find ourselves caught in Satan’s trap of comparing not to the glory to come but to other people’s experiences in a “feel sorry for me” attempt to collect sympathy or vent our troubles.
To some when they think of suffering they think of the martyrs and other people who have suffered a great deal due to their belief in Jesus Christ. That is what Peter and others in the Bible would term as, suffering for all the right reasons “for the sake of the gospel.” That was what Paul was talking about in Romans 8. Others look at the word suffering and immediately think of all the pain, anguish, distress and misery they’ve experienced in the struggles they had been through in life whether it was something they brought upon themselves or those uninvited incidents dealt to us by life itself.
How we handle these stressful times of suffering is what makes all the difference in the world on whether the outcome is one that is good or bad. We may not be able to change the circumstances surrounding our moments of suffering but we have control over how we are going to allow ourselves to go through and come out of them. We can fight the inevitable or learn how to deal with it when it does come along.
Like it or not; accept it or not; choose it or not we are going to suffer in some way or another, in different degrees or levels and it’s important that we prepare ourselves and others such as our children to be readily equipped with what it takes to see it through.
By equipping ourselves with the armor of God’s Word we can fight against Satan. Standing up to the lies he likes to feed us when we are at our weakest moments such as the lie that nothing good could come from our pain and misery. Doing all he can to try and get us to turn away from God and blame Him for everything instead of turning to Him for the strength and comfort needed to endure.
The good we fail to see that comes from suffering is it pressures us to draw closer to God if we allow it. A dear friend of mine as he approached the end of his battle with cancer told me how thankful he was for what he had gone through because of the bond it had built up between God and himself.
The way we endure our suffering demonstrates if we truly belong to God by how we handle the situation proving our integrity and character in Christ. Circumstances may change but our character in Christ should never alter as we stand in faith and trust that we have in our Lord and Savior.
Believe it or not our misery or problems are sometimes God’s gift to us to strengthen us as He leads us where we need to be, putting strength and iron in our soul. It produces rewards for us in the future giving us the courage needed to face the challenges before us in future times of suffering. In any case, there is no quota to reach on how many times we have to endure something, what there is, is the choice on how we are going to go through it.
Dear Heavenly Father, forgive us Lord for our inability to suffer well turning it into an excuse for bitterness, anger, and division from You. Help us Lord to see the good that can come from these incidents in life. We’d like our foresight to be clear and perfect but it’s our hindsight that is 20/20. Help us to learn from that perception after the fact using always the iron in our soul that it puts there to help those around us struggling to get across, weakening under the lies of Satan. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
Imagine someone thumbing through a magazine at a doctor’s office, someone coming across an online theme project titled “Suffering is Good!” might hesitate to look. Then quickly drawing the conclusion that the writers for the magazine must be a bunch uninformed people who had never experienced true suffering. Totally oblivious to the real world for thinking or saying that suffering comes close to being good--- what a bunch of quacks! Sorry, wrong conclusion.
Like it or not we all belong to the same club that no one wants to join in which we all have membership; fellowshipping in suffering. Unfortunately no one seems to be excluded from this club as we face problems, struggles, or sufferings in one way or another whether it is health issues, family problems, financial struggles, abuse, neglect, emotional setbacks or whatever.
At the time we are going through our moments of suffering or hard times the last thing on our mind is the good that can come from our experience. We shut off anyone trying to encourage us to see the light at the end of the tunnel we find ourselves walking through.
Several times when my struggles with my epilepsy, finances, and marital problems were at their worse I couldn’t be convinced that good was going to come from this. I was planning and throwing my own pity party but very few people were attending. Satan had me blinded and I was going along with it.
Without a doubt we lose sight of the truth Paul talked about in Romans 8:18 that tell us our suffering can’t compare to the glory that is to come. We find ourselves caught in Satan’s trap of comparing not to the glory to come but to other people’s experiences in a “feel sorry for me” attempt to collect sympathy or vent our troubles.
To some when they think of suffering they think of the martyrs and other people who have suffered a great deal due to their belief in Jesus Christ. That is what Peter and others in the Bible would term as, suffering for all the right reasons “for the sake of the gospel.” That was what Paul was talking about in Romans 8. Others look at the word suffering and immediately think of all the pain, anguish, distress and misery they’ve experienced in the struggles they had been through in life whether it was something they brought upon themselves or those uninvited incidents dealt to us by life itself.
How we handle these stressful times of suffering is what makes all the difference in the world on whether the outcome is one that is good or bad. We may not be able to change the circumstances surrounding our moments of suffering but we have control over how we are going to allow ourselves to go through and come out of them. We can fight the inevitable or learn how to deal with it when it does come along.
Like it or not; accept it or not; choose it or not we are going to suffer in some way or another, in different degrees or levels and it’s important that we prepare ourselves and others such as our children to be readily equipped with what it takes to see it through.
By equipping ourselves with the armor of God’s Word we can fight against Satan. Standing up to the lies he likes to feed us when we are at our weakest moments such as the lie that nothing good could come from our pain and misery. Doing all he can to try and get us to turn away from God and blame Him for everything instead of turning to Him for the strength and comfort needed to endure.
The good we fail to see that comes from suffering is it pressures us to draw closer to God if we allow it. A dear friend of mine as he approached the end of his battle with cancer told me how thankful he was for what he had gone through because of the bond it had built up between God and himself.
The way we endure our suffering demonstrates if we truly belong to God by how we handle the situation proving our integrity and character in Christ. Circumstances may change but our character in Christ should never alter as we stand in faith and trust that we have in our Lord and Savior.
Believe it or not our misery or problems are sometimes God’s gift to us to strengthen us as He leads us where we need to be, putting strength and iron in our soul. It produces rewards for us in the future giving us the courage needed to face the challenges before us in future times of suffering. In any case, there is no quota to reach on how many times we have to endure something, what there is, is the choice on how we are going to go through it.
Dear Heavenly Father, forgive us Lord for our inability to suffer well turning it into an excuse for bitterness, anger, and division from You. Help us Lord to see the good that can come from these incidents in life. We’d like our foresight to be clear and perfect but it’s our hindsight that is 20/20. Help us to learn from that perception after the fact using always the iron in our soul that it puts there to help those around us struggling to get across, weakening under the lies of Satan. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
© 2007 by Karen J. Gillett
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