Wake up Beloved Sleeper....

"Look, he answered, 

I see four men loose,

walking in the midst of the fire; 

and they are not hurt, 

and the form of the fourth

is like the Son of God."

Daniel 3:25

Stopped in to a local restaurant for breakfast this morning and ran into an old friend I hadn't seen in years.  I love this guy.  He is so kind, so friendly, so funny, so everything - except saved.  He doesn't know the Lord and his resistance is up pretty high to the truth of the Gospel.  He wants to pick and choose what to believe and toss out the rest.  The problem with that is, that makes him god, and God doesn't share His glory with anyone.  So, I pray for him and wait for the opportunity to witness to him.  Here came God, this morning, answering that prayer of my heart.  It has been over 10 years since the Lord made a way for me to speak to my friend about the Lord.  But, here, today, out of the blue, when I wasn't even thinking about it at all - here, came the Lord opening the door that has been bolted shut for so long...

We chatted quite a bit across tables in a busy restaurant, eating and laughing and enjoying a beautiful summer day.  I was relaxing and taking my time, sipping my coffee and laughing at my friend's jokes.  It was an extremely light and funny encounter, as it usually is with my friend.  He loves to make people laugh, and I like to oblige!  Who doesn't love a little laughter to lighten the day?

Now it was time for me to leave and get on with my day.  I had an agenda, you know.  I had to get busy...  This wasn't really part of my agenda.  I had more important fish to fry.  Or, so I thought... 

Moments away from saying goodbye to my funny friend, he suddenly stood up and joined me at my table, seated himself across from me and looked straight in my eyes to hold my gaze.  He began to unravel a story of near death at the mercy of an out of control fire that broke out in his apartment, recently, in the middle of the night as he was sleeping.  He had awakened suddenly to see orange flames dancing around him and the bed he was lying on.  He realized the air conditioner electrical wires had ignited the fire and ran over to disconnect it from the wall. That wasn't going to happen.  The electrical wires had melted in the red hot flames of the fire.  

Calling 911, throwing water on the fire, coughing from the thick black smoke that he was now breathing, he did what he thought was necessary to control the fire.  I looked at him with stunned eyes.  He should not have been sitting across from me, telling me this story.  He should have been dead... 

When the fire department arrived within minutes, they insisted that he leave and wondered that they weren't carrying him out as a corpse.  He lived to tell the story, against all odds...

I stared at him with open mouth at the miracle God had done for him in bringing him through the fire, alive.  I believe there was One "walking in the midst of the fire, and the form of Him was like the Son of God..." Daniel 3:25

With tears streaming down my face at the mercy of God, I asked my friend if I could say a prayer with him.  So it was that there in the middle of a crowded restaurant, we bowed our heads and thanked God for His protection and great love for my friend who narrowly escaped the flames of death.

  

There it is, you know.  God, who loves him, rescued him from certain death.  He is still chasing my friend to finish the job.  He is trying to awaken my friend from the sleep he has been sleeping, in the middle of flames encircling him to kill him and keep him in the fires of hell forever.  This was such a wake-up call for my dear friend.  Wake up, sleeper!  You are in grave danger!  "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  Open the door and I will surely come in and eat with you..."

I wonder when we get to heaven, if God, our Savior, Rescuer from the Flames, will show us a video of the many, many times he rescued us from certain death.  I wonder if we will see, even in hell, the desperate cry of our Savior, pounding on the door, calling out to us - "Open the door, while you have breath.  Oh, how I wanted to rescue you.  But you left the door barred.  I begged you to open the door.  But, you would not... You would not... You would not..."

Impossible Things...

All things?

I saw you the other day.
You looked so lost.
You were angry.
You were disillusioned.

You were weary.
You told me you don't believe in Jesus anymore.
He hasn't been there for you.
You told me, He's just a fantasy to you...

I have never seen you so empty.
You tell me you're fine.
But, I don't see that in your eyes.
I see eyes that have no light anymore...

I see a face that bears the scars of bitterness.
I see a friend that is giving up.
You don't believe there's a God that can help you.
You don't believe at all anymore...

 I don't know if you know how weary you are...
You need some love.
You asked me where have all the lovers gone?
You questioned if there is a thing called Hope?

I love you so, but I can't fix you.
I can't rescue you from this hell.
I can't save you from these demons.
I am not God.  But, I know the One that is.

I'm praying for you, my dearest friend.
Never, forget, I'm praying for you.
I believe in the God that is still in love with you.
I believe in the God that is fighting to bring you through.

I believe He is who He says He is. 
I believe He tells us the truth.
I believe He is right there with you.
He is waiting, He is loving, He is holding on to you...

I will never stop caring for you and neither will He.
No matter what you have done, what you have lost,

 He loves you.

He says He is able to do more that we can even imagine.
So much more...

Until you can believe again, my dearest friend,
I will stand before God and plead your case.
I will believe for you.
Until you believe again...

I'll Take My Chances...

I was shocked to hear the cavalier declaration that "I'll take my chances." in response to a note from me to this Facebook contact, telling her that God is real and that He loves her and wants to heal her.  I came across this lady online as I was reading my new posts on Facebook.  I didn't know she existed until she showed up randomly on my FB feed.  I wasn't looking for her.  But, I believe, the God who made her and who loves her more than anyone else ever could, was, indeed, searching for her.  I believe it is God who put that post on my feed and God who led me to reach out to her.

This lost soul had posted on a grief page that she had lost her little boy recently.  She asked if anyone could help her get in touch with a medium or fortune teller who could put her in touch with her deceased child and give her hope.  Hope.  How desperately we all need hope.  In this poor soul's case, she was crying out for it and searching for it - in all the wrong places...  As soon as she asked if anyone could give her the name of a medium, the response online was instant - a medium who was reading posted a link for her to go to the page this woman has on Facebook.  I read it and couldn't believe my eyes.  Here was a woman who was grieving the loss of her little one, desperately looking for relief, turning to the occult for help.  She said she is an atheist and, clearly, she is.  But, I believe God is so powerfully running after her to save her from the dark world of the occult, of evil that masquerades as good.  He wants to rescue her - she is someone Jesus Christ died for.  Her baby is safe in the arms of Jesus.  If she is ever going to see him again, she must turn to the Lord and grab onto Him for dear life. For that is what He is to her, to me, to everyone who walks the earth desperately searching for Hope.  He is Life.

As the administrator of a Grief Recovery Group on Facebook, I am especially sensitive to those who lost a loved one and are in the throws of grief.  I reached out to this dear lady, explaining to her that I have a Grief Recovery group I would like to have her join so that she could be supported and loved by others and by God during this very painful time.  I knew I had to say something directly to her about the occult; to warn her that seeking solace there would only bring her into further darkness. Part of me didn't want to say this to her, but the pressing on me from the Holy Spirit to warn her was so strong, I had to yield to Him.  I wrote to her very lovingly of God's love for her and invited her to join this group.  I finished my post with a gentle, but, very clear, warning to avoid the occult, including fortune tellers, mediums, psychics and others who would take advantage of her vulnerability at this time.  I hit the send button and it was done.  Almost immediately, I received a response, not only from her, but, from the medium who was threatened by my post.

Hurting and grieving, this dear woman responded to me with the venom of a snake striking at its' prey.  No, she would not join my group.  No she wanted nothing to do with God - the God she does not yet know.  She was blaming this God she said didn't exist for the death of her child.  That is not uncommon in grief, and God isn't shocked by it.  He can handle our grief, especially over the death of our son or daughter.  He watched His own son die a torturous death on the cross - He knows our grief, personally...

What knocked me off my feet about her response was her nonchalant way of blowing off any consideration that God may be real and wanting to rescue her - wanting to save her from disasters even worse than what she had gone through with her son.  He had watched her suffering - He had heard her cries - He saw her broken heart.  He wants to heal her, to love her, to answer her cries, to protect her - as any good Father would.  He wants to protect her from the demons that are fighting for her soul.  He died to save her from all of it.  He longs to see her turn around and run to Him.  He wants to catch her in His arms and keep her as His own.  My heart almost breaks with the love and the heartbeat of God, her Father. How can she not feel that love for her?

She told me thanks, but, no thanks.  She said she didn't believe in God, especially after what she had gone through with her son.  She said "I need proof, before I would believe that..."  She finished her condemnation of God by saying if she was wrong she would "take her chances..."  I could not really believe what I had just read.  She had no idea what she was saying.  It is the height of folly to speak of things we do not know or understand, especially where eternity is concerned.  To say that we will take our chances with eternity is heartbreaking.  We dare not take any chances with the eternal salvation of our soul.  We need to humble ourselves at least enough to admit we do not know - we are completely dependent on what we are told - either by God, or by the dark and evil forces that war against Him for our soul.  

Jesus told the story of the Rich Man and the poor man (Lazarus), who both died the same day.  The Rich Man, having no belief in anything but himself, descended into eternal suffering in Hades. Lazarus, who had lived a life of faith in God, was "carried by the angels to heaven."  The Rich Man, tormented in eternal fire, begged that someone would be sent to his brothers to warn them of eternal damnation.  Luke 16: 31 gives us the unsettling response: "But he said to him, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead." Jesus is warning us; we are in peril, we need to be saved.  He is not going to provide any proof for us other than Himself, His death and His resurrection.  If we will not believe because of these - we are lost...

Of course the medium who wanted to keep this "client" voiced her agreement immediately with the confused and brokenhearted lady she was trying to reel in for the kingdom of darkness.  Yes, she advised her, don't believe what I was saying to her.  Don't believe "the haters."  Wow.  The deception, the trickery, the dark undercover sneaking in to someones life through the death of a loved one is so real and so heartbreaking.  

Do not be deceived.  Hell is real.  God is real.  He died to save you from that horror, which so eclipses any suffering we have in this life.  Do not "take your chances."  If you hear the voice of God calling you today, fall down on your knees and worship Him.  Ask Him to save you.  You cannot save yourself.  And, certainly, neither will a medium, a fortune teller, or any other voice that is not from God.  Know the Word of God.  That is where you find Him loving you, saving you, telling you the truth about who He is and who you are.  He suffered and He died.  For you... 

Note:  If you are grieving and looking for a Christian support group, please search Facebook for "God of All Comfort Grief Support" Only members can see posts, but, send a request to join and you will be added, unless there is a problem with your request.  

Lord, Give Me...

the heart of the Father...

Let me tell you something, if you don't already know it - that old man is crazy.  I mean a stark raving lunatic, no doubt about it.  He wants me to learn all about his god and follow all his lame teaching and obey what he tells me, and, well, you get the idea.  If he thinks I'm going to sit around and let my bones decay on the ole' homestead, he had better get a grip.  The sooner I escape this lunatic farm, the better off I'll be.  Yea, yea, I know, I'm supposed to wait until he's dead to get the goods.  He's such a soft touch, I know exactly how to play him.  After all, I'm the youngest - kinda the apple of his eye, if you know what I mean!  I know just the words to use and just the tone, just the youthful, innocent pretense he always falls for.  He doesn't have a clue!

Well, it was just like I said it would be.  The guy's a sucker, that's for sure.  I played the game, pretty much told him I wanted the cash, like NOW, and boom, just like that, he gave it to me.  Big brother isn't too happy and the whole town is laughing at Pops, but, who cares - I got what I wanted and that's all that matters.  I'm out of here now.  Who needs this place, the ole' man, or the god they worship.  Good riddance, is all I can say.

I wanted to break loose, to get as far away from this nightmare as I could.  I mean all the restrictions they put on me - it was as if I was some kind of fool who couldn't run my own life!  This new place is the best thing that ever happened to me.  I have friends that really care about me.  They invite me to all the parties, they drink with me, they drug with me, they sleep with me - they love me!  It's so great being free to be me!  I always dreamed life could be like this!  It's what I was made for!  That's right - God made me to be the way I am, so, I'm not apologizing to anybody.  This is the real me.  You don't like it, blame God.  He made me this way.

Oh, man, I'm out of cash!  I told some of my buddies and I haven't seen any of them in weeks.  It's as if they were just hanging around me for what they could get...  I was hoping some of them would pay me back for all the times I coughed up for the bill on the drinks and the chow.  Man, I'm in shock.  I thought they were my friends.  I mean I can't even afford a place to stay now.  I'm living on the street.  It isn't even safe out here.  This place is downright dangerous...

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"But, when he had spent all, he began to be in want..."
Luke 15: 14


Good grief, I can't even believe where I'm at right now.  I need to stay calm and just get a job - this is just a temporary setback - I'm fine - I mean I always land on my feet!  I'm the one who always wins!  I play by my own rules and that's the way I like it.  For now, I'll get a job until the money starts rolling in again - then I'll be fine!  You'll see!  This is me we're talking about!

Well, things didn't exactly work out the way I planned.  Listen to me!  I don't plan!  Life just happens and its all good - right?  Uh, maybe not always good.  This has only gone from bad to worse.  Turns out, for all of my smarts, I somehow don't have the skills to get a decent paying job.  Nobody appreciates me for me anymore!  They need to remember whose kid I am!  Back home, I'm my father's kid - that makes me important, just by itself!

Anyway I took the only job I could find cleaning out the poop from the pigs house - you would not believe the filth I am living in right now.  I know I can't believe it.  It feels like I can't get any lower.  I am so hungry, I fight the pigs to eat their slop.  Nobody ever comes by to check on me.  I'm filthy dirty, I smell like the pigs, I sleep with the pigs, I live like the pigs.  I can't take much more.  God, how did I get here and how do I get out?


"and he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate,
but no-one gave him anything..."
Luke 15: 16

God.  I haven't really thought of you in years.  I do remember hearing about you though.  My family told me about you.  Guess I've really been my own god for quite awhile...

Well, it's over for me.  I have to go back to my father's house.  I wouldn't blame him if he refused to take me in.  I mean, look at what I did with all he gave me.  Look how I squandered his blessing.  Look how I mocked him, even to his face.  He can't love me anymore.  He can't.  Even he isn't that much of a fool.  I have so messed up my life.  I flat out rejected everything he told me.  I rejected him.  I can't make that up to him.  But, I need him now, like I have never needed him before.  I'm going to go back.  I hope I can make it.  I am so weak, this has taken everything out of me.  With the last ounce of energy I have, I will go back.  I will beg him to forgive me.  If he will just let me be one of his servants, that would be so much better than this.  At least I would have some shelter and food.  I can't go on like this. I will be dead before long.

I don't know if I can do this.  It is so humiliating.  I am not even sure he will know me.  He has probably disowned me by now.  He might not even let me on his property.  The servants are all going to be laughing at me.  My brother will say it serves me right - and, that's really true - it does.  I wouldn't blame any of them, but, especially my father, if he never spoke to me again.  I am so sorry for what I have put him through.  I have been such a fool...

Wait - who is that man running so hard down the road to get to me?  Does he mean to kill me? Rob me - I have nothing to give him anyway.  Oh, no.  I don't believe what I am seeing.  It is my father.  My father whom I have hated and rejected.  My father, my father, my father... Oh, how I love my father...


"But, when he was still a great way off,
the father saw him and had compassion
and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him..."Luke 15: 20


He has blown me away with his love for me.  He told the servants to get me some new clothes, and put a beautiful ring on my finger that is a gift from him to me - his prodigal child!  He never stopped loving me.  He said he searched for me every day, hoping against hope that I would come back to him.  He never gave up.  He loves me, even in my great sin against him.  I will never get over what he did for me.  He never gave up on me.  He rescued me when I was close to death.
He threw a party to welcome me home.
Nobody ever loved me like my father.
Nobody...


"...for this my son was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found.
And they began to make merry...
Luke 15: 24

 

Manchester, England...

Manchester, England

So far away

But today I can reach out and feel your pain

Mothers and fathers screaming for their children

Ripped from their arms forever

Senseless

Cruelty

Barbaric

Evil laughing in the streets over our grief

I am broken, Lord, God

Did You see what they did to my baby?

Were You there?

I can't feel You, right now.

There are no words for the depth of my heartache

No words

Please bring her back to me

Where is she now?

Do You know?

Do You have her?

Is she scared?

Is she crying for me?

Do You know how to love her like I do?

Why did You take her from me?

Why?

All of the innocent lives that have been stolen

All of the children who have been changed forever

What is happening to our world?

I don't understand

I hate all of this

Are You anywhere in all of this?

Are You still alive?

Are You still God?

Yes, meet me here, Oh, God

or

I will surely die...

Without You, Lord

I cannot go on

I cannot take another step

My life is seeping out 

I so need You, Lord

I need you to give me hope...

Broken

Desperate

Never the same

I will cling to You

My Life

My Only Hope

Take Every Thought...

to make it obedient to Christ...

2 Corinthians 10:5

You might, as I have in the past, read these verses and decide this is impossible. But, it has been impressed upon me, over and over again, just how important it is to control our thoughts - this is why God commands us to do just that.  It is in the battlefield of the mind that we win or lose the day.  If we battle depression, low self-esteem, thoughts of suicide, we can be sure our thoughts are at the root of the battle.  

I believe it is because the stakes are so high for us and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that God is so specific in commanding us to capture our thoughts in this way.  God knows that this is where the enemy gains a foothold in our lives and can destroy the future He has planned for us; our hope in Him; our joy in life; our peace; our sense of being loved, even our desire to continue living.  God knows the depth and danger of allowing our thoughts to rule over us rather than Christ.  Clearly, this is an area of enormous significance in our lives.  We ignore this scriptural admonition, truly, to our own peril.  

God directs our thoughts to those things that are healthy and life giving in our lives.  He doesn't leave us alone to figure this out - He makes it very clear how we should control our thoughts.  

You may be thinking, well that's fine for somebody else, if they can do it, but, I have a lot of stress in my life.  I just lost my job, my husband left me, I can't pay the rent, I am grieving the loss of my true love, I am seriously depressed, I want to give up... and on and on.  These are real issues that many people are dealing with.  These are the times when controlling our thoughts is vitally important.  If we allow the enemy to control our thoughts, he will.  We will find ourselves sinking deeper and deeper into depression, feeling helpless, all alone in dealing with the problem, ready to give up, potentially, even suicidal.  We cannot allow our minds to run off on their own - someone will control our thoughts - either God or Satan.

I have a good friend and Christian Counselor who often asks me "Who told you that?"  In other words, ask yourself where that thought came from - is it from God, or is it from Satan?  It is essential to identify who is speaking to you through your thoughts. God will never reject you, never give up on you, never put you down, never, never, never lead you to thoughts of suicide.  If you are entertaining those kind of thoughts, STOP.  Take those thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ!  To not do so could give the enemy of your soul power in your life that God never intends or wants for you.  Satan is called the Father of Lies, the Destroyer, the Deceiver, the Thief...  He will lie to you about you or anyone else in your life, he will destroy everything that matters in your life, including you, he will steal your joy, your hope, your faith in God, your future...

God speaks love into your life, not hate; life not death; hope not despair; peace, not anxiety...  If you are not in the Word of God, do yourself a favor and get into it.  You will find life and healing for your soul.  It is through the Word of God that you will renew your mind. (Romans 12:2)

If you are not sure where to begin in this area, I encourage you to ask God to help you identify your thoughts and to "take them captive to the obedience of Christ..."

Challenge your thoughts - do not just accept them blindly - you have control over your thoughts - exercise that control!  If you are having destructive thoughts, ask yourself where they come from - is that from God or from Satan?  Be ruthless about rejecting any thoughts that are not from God about you or your life or, about God, Himself.  Please don't take this lightly.  Your life could depend on it, especially if you are struggling just to hold on another day.

I plan to do a mini-series on what the truth is that God speaks to us from His Word, vs. the lies the enemy speaks to us.  In the meantime, I pray God leads you to His Word, illuminates your thoughts to be His thoughts for you, and helps you in the battle to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ..."2 Corinthians 10:5

In My Father's House...

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions:

if it were not so, I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."  

John 14:2-3

Reading these comforting words of Jesus, I thought of how often I am all tied up in knots with worries about the day or what might happen if... Yes, my heart is often troubled. Is yours? Are you facing a trial that you are dreading, wondering how you will ever get through? Have you experienced the unimaginable loss of someone dear to you that leaves you wanting to run away from life? Are you unable to picture your life without your dearest friend, loved one, child, spouse... Are you being threatened with the loss of your livelihood, or even worse, your life, for following Jesus?

These are frightening times we live in. As Believers, we are in the crosshairs of the enemy, who hates us because of the One we serve. Many of our brothers and sisters around the world are paying the ultimate price, in this life, at least, and are suffering persecution and martyrdom for their faith. Is it worth it? What does Jesus say to us as we face these trials and are tempted to cower in fear, to lose hope to walk away from our faith?

Jesus boldly calls His followers to faith - "You believe in God, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME!" None of these things come as a surprise to Jesus. He knows we tremble and shake and want to run away. He knows we are suffering for His name sake. He knows we are hurting, grieving our losses, dreading the trial ahead. He claims us as His own and boldly calls us to identify with Him, at all cost. 

Jesus doesn't pretend none of it matters, none of it hurts. No, He simply tells us there is a tomorrow we know nothing about. It is in "the Father's house." Jesus tells His disciples to look beyond what is terrifying them, depressing them, pulling them down. He comforts them, telling them lovingly that He is going ahead of them to His Father's house - where there are many "mansions". He assures them (and us) that He is going to "prepare a place for them, that where He is, we might be also..." 

Jesus is revealing His heart for His followers, here.  He knows they (we) are struggling, we are sometimes doubting what we know is true, we are hurting, we are being tempted to give up. He wants to reassure us, like a big brother who loves his little sisters and brothers, He is going ahead to prepare a place for us!  At the right time, He will take us there to be with Him.  I love how honest and real Jesus is in these verses.  He knows His disciples.  He knows their tendencies to give up. He knows their every weakness.  He loves them anyway!  He comforts them with His loving words.  

He is going to prepare a place for them (and us)!  Where, Lord.  We don't see it?  We are so limited in what we can see, and Jesus knows it.  He assures them, "if it WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU..."  How I love that!  He is saying, you can trust Me - have I ever lied to you before? I'm telling you where I'm going, what I'm doing and why.  You can take it to the bank - this is the truth...

I have needed to let that sink in a bit, to say the least!  Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Universe, is preparing a place for me and you!  He wants us to be with Him!  If that is not one of the most amazing truths of the Word of God, I don't know what is!  He promises to come back for us! He promises He has gone ahead of us to prepare for us!  He wants us there with Him, in His Father's house!  He could not promise us anything better.  Whatever we are suffering in this life, it has a limit.  It cannot go on for eternity.  Only God's love, expressed through the love and truth of our Savior, goes on forever.  And He has wrapped us in that love and promises to take us to be with Him in the center of the Father's love, in His house, where He has prepared a place for us.  Oh, that we might grasp the love of the Father for the Son and the Son for you and me...  May you be comforted by the promise of Jesus Christ, as you face the trials of this life:  He is coming back for you...

Springs of Living Water...

gushing out of you...

When I was a little girl, my favorite aunt came to visit from New York.  There just wasn't much of anything that happened in my family that surpassed the excitement of a visit from my Aunt Helen. I could tell you a lot about her, but, one of the things I remember most about her visits was the time my mom and dad took her "downtown" to see what they considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world, right there in our own home town of Chicago!  After all, she lived in New York, and don't you know we were always trying to "one up" New York! 

As I remember it, we all piled into our old jalopy to drive downtown to see Buckingham Palace - I mean Buckingham Fountain!  I was quite young though, and I was sure we were going to see Buckingham Palace - right there in our very own Chicago!  Surely, New York didn't have anything that even came close to that!  Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was just a water fountain! Granted it was a rather spectacular water fountain, but, it was "just" a water fountain.  Water was squirting out miles high from many different portals, all bathed in multi-colored lights that made it even more lovely to watch.  I sat in silence trying in my little girl head to figure out how that water was squirting everywhere from some mysterious place within.  How does one make water flow like that?  What's the secret?!

That is one of the pictures I have when I think of what Jesus promised us in the scripture quoted above.  That is quite a promise.  If you have ever had the experience of running or hiking a long distance without readily available water, you know that feeling of being desperate for a drink.  Our bodies are made to be hydrated.  We can't go for long without the simple, God given gift of water.  I remember hiking a long distance, running out of water.  By the time I got home to refresh my body, I was physically shaking all over, becoming disoriented and almost too weak to turn the faucet to get the liquid that, to me, was now more precious than gold.  

The truth is, I have often been dry and desperately thirsty.  Grieving a loss of someone or something I love with all my heart, leaves me parched, weak, trembling and disoriented.  I struggle to know who I am in God's world.  Does He still care for me?  If He does, why is He doing this to me?  Doesn't He know how devastated I am by this loss?  Doesn't He know, I am lost without my loved one or the dream I have clung to for so long?  What is He doing to me?  Why is He doing it? Does He see me?  Does He see my broken heart?  Does He see I am D E V A S T A T E D?

This is grief pouring out of our hearts.  We are confused by it, disoriented by it, devastated by it, angry about our loss, struggling to pick up the pieces to even want to go on.  I believe it is important to pour out our hearts before God - tell Him everything we are feeling - He can handle it because He does so love us, He wants us to come to Him, not just with our highs, but when we are at the bottom of the pit, also.  He will meet us there.

The link I am including in this post is a short story of a young couple who went through the tragedy of losing their beautiful four year old daughter in a car accident - every parent's worst nightmare. The dad is a pastor.  It's so important to realize that, just because a man or a woman is following Christ, even in pastoral ministry, they are not exempt from the suffering of the rest of the human race.  This man tells his story honestly - his rage at God for taking his baby.  His wife tells her story of the pain she went through - in a different way, but, just as real.  We grieve differently, don't we?   And that is okay with God...

The story of their pain and their loss ends with the promise that He will make streams of Living Water flow out of us from within - He will turn our mourning into dancing - He will restore to us everything the enemy has stolen... In my own struggle with grief, that is not something I ever wanted to hear, and didn't always believe.  But, I offer this to you who are grieving whatever you have lost, because I have learned that He makes good on His promises.  They are not frivolous, empty words.  They are the promises of our Good and Faithful God.  

Tuck this promise of God in a corner of your heart and let Him work it down deep within your spirit.  Watch and see, He will make springs of living water flow out of that very same heart that is broken right now.  You are in my prayers, always.  May God, our loving and gracious Father, heal you through and through...

  

https://www.idisciple.org/makiah-king

I Called On Your Name, O Lord...

"From the lowest pit
You have heard my voice.
Do not hide your ear
From my sighing, from my cry for help."
You drew near on the day I called on You,
And said, "Do not fear!"


Love Letter to my Grieving Friends, Sisters and Brothers in Christ, in America and overseas...

It is a heartbreaking reality today that the enemy is running wild and persecuting, torturing and murdering innocent men, women and children all over the world.  Surrounding us daily are the horrific images of women being burned alive in a cage, for the concocted sin of refusing to be sex slaves to their captors.  It is worth noting that these poor victims of their lunatic captors were murdered in front of spectators, including their helpless husbands and children.  On another front, we watch in horror a parade of young men, chained to each other, unable to defend themselves, as their psychotic captors murder them one by one, These were young men, full of life and love for their wives and families.  And, for Jesus Christ, for whom they gave their lives. What can we say of the innocent little children buried alive, decapitated, or used for the sexual pleasure of their pedophile masters?  The inhumanity and cruelty of these mad men defies description. 

Today, I awakened to the news that fifty men were murdered in a nightclub, with another fifty who are fighting for their lives.  The shooter was an admirer of ISIS, who hated gays and took it upon himself to end their lives.  Whatever their life style, these were men whose lives belong to God. This is said to be the biggest mass murder in America since 911.  Many predict there will be more to follow, since ISIS has invaded our shores.

We watch in horror as these unspeakable crimes against humanity unfold.  It seems as if history is replaying itself, taking a page from the brutal persecution of the Jews in the Holocaust over 70 years ago.  How can this be happening in our "modern" world, so advanced by technology and scientific achievement?  According to one headline I read today, we are witnessing the "return to the Middle Ages." As I considered all this today, I found myself searching God's Word for comfort and reassurance that He is with us.  God's Word doesn't gloss over the evil in this world.  Not hardly. No, we are repeatedly warned, we have an enemy - he is real, he is everywhere, he hates you and me and he is out for blood.  He will stop at nothing to devour you and me.

We have a powerful and evil enemy who is more and more having his way in the world around us. It is foolish to put our head in the sand, and pretend we don't see what we see.  God has given us His Word to warn us, to prepare us, to comfort and encourage us.  

My heart for you who are suffering, persecuted, tortured and brutalized by the enemy is this.  We hear you. We see your suffering.  We love you.  And even if we didn't, God, who loves you, will never abandon you in the hour of your need. The same God who wrote these words about the enemy also says this about Who it is we serve...

I wonder if the evil is growing around us, because the enemy knows his days are close to the end. God will consume him in the fire.  Whatever apparent victories he has are temporary.  We are kept in the hand of our God, no matter what it looks like.  You are precious to our Savior.  You are loved.  You are safe in His hand.  He will bring you home.  He will bring you through.  You will be as a diamond in His hand.  Please be assured of the prayers of your sisters and brothers in Christ, for your faithfulness, your protection, your victory in Christ.  You are ever in my heart and in my prayers. May God, Himself, be your Comfort and your Strength in every trial you endure...

And I'll Say of the Lord...

You are my Portion
My Deliverer
My Ever Present Help in Times of Need...

You've all heard of me, I would guess.  The story of the woman healed by Jesus from an issue of blood.  That's it in a nutshell, you know.  I was sick and He healed me.  He did that for a lot of people you know.  But, I am not a lot of people.  I'm just me.  And I want to tell you what I remember about that day.  Because, to me, it is unforgettable.

It's true that I had been sick for many years.  More years than I can remember, really.  My health had deteriorated to the point of no return.  I had been to all the experts to find a cure.  They took my money and sent me away the same way I came in - carrying my illness with me.  My illness had taken over my life.  It controlled my social life (I didn't have one).  It controlled my physical life. Bleeding for so long was literally killing me.  It would end it all for me, I figured, fairly soon.  It controlled my emotional life.  I had given up.  I was in despair.  What hope was there really, for any kind of healing?  The experts all agreed.  I was a hopeless case.  Some of them whispered that they thought I was "imbalanced".  Just a bit crazy.  I suppose that made it easier for them to write me off... 

The worst part of it all, though, was the shame.  I carried it everywhere with me.  I heard the whispers, even when there weren't any.  The voices of mockery and derision pumped through my heart as surely as did my blood.  I couldn't turn them off, I had listened to them all of my life. But, really, I knew they were true.  All I had ever heard was the voice of ridicule and shame. I know my illness was diagnosed as bleeding.  But, the bleeding on the inside was deeper and more killing than anything physical.  I was beginning to contemplate how I could end all of my pain...

Just as I began to make a plan of my own to "heal" me, once and for all, He came to town.  Isn't that strange that He showed up, just when I needed Him most?  You would almost have to say, He knew me...  

Anyway, there He was, on His way to heal someone's daughter.  He was known as the Healer.  I began to wonder if He really was.  Maybe He could...  I argued with myself, back and forth, first believing and hoping, than talking myself out of it as too much to hope for.  After all, I had been sick my entire life.  How could I expect Him to heal me, just like that?  In the end though, I felt something strange pulling me toward Him.  It felt like what I remembered from so long ago.  It felt like hope.  I don't know where it came from, except, maybe, from Him?  

Whatever, once I felt it, I couldn't contain myself.  I ran out the door and to the square where he was surrounded by people everywhere.  I wasn't supposed to be there.  I was "unclean".  I didn't want this holy man to see me or know that I was breaking the rules.  So I crept up on Him as quietly and inconspicuously as possible and just reached for the hem of his garment.  When I felt it touch my finger tips, everything changed instantly and I knew it.  I was healed!  I could barely contain myself. Everything changed!  I mean everything.  The bleeding, of course, stopped instantly.  But, even more than that, I heard His voice calling me to Him.  I saw Him look at me with those eyes that went right through me.  He knew me.  And He loved me.  I was transformed by His love for me.  I could hear His voice speaking His love to me over every other voice I had ever heard.  My heart exploded with His love.  Out of the fountain of His love, I was washed all over with crystal clear water that made me clean and alive as I had never been before.  Yes, I am that woman.  The one He healed.  The one He loves...

I want you to know, what He did for me, He will do for you.  Are you bleeding all over?  Have you been carrying your wounds around your whole life?  Have you given up?  Are you isolated and ashamed of who you are?  Jesus has come to be with you.  He wants to heal you.  He loves you.  He sees you.  He is able to do what all the experts can't.  He can wash you clean and give you the gift of life and life abundantly.  Reach out for the hem of His garment and be amazed at what He will do for you.  He has never lost sight of you. He sees you struggling.  He is strolling through town, just waiting for you to come.  What are you waiting for?  Run to Him.  He will catch you in His arms.  And you will never be the same...