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Showing posts from January, 2021

Sisters (Day 3 from Cleansing Thoughts)

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       At the beginning of my Christian walk, my sister gave me a book, in it was an exercise I've used many times over the years. I would like to share it with you in hopes that you too will learn to walk in the freedom Christ has given me.      Find a quiet spot, one where you feel safe and relaxed. Now close your eyes, and picture in your mind a person or situation that has caused you pain over the years. Possibly it was a time when you were a child, teenager, or young adult. It might even be someone or something you have to deal with today. But as the Holy Spirit brings things to your mind, allow Him to make atonement [at-one-ment] for you. Imagine your hand in His reaching out and taking the hand of the one who has hurt you, with Christ standing between you and the circumstances you feel no pain, only the warmth of His love flowing between you. Allow the Word of God to come into your heart as Jesus declares. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the worl

Sisters (Day 2, from Cleansing Thoughts)

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                Just as my sister and I could not stand rightly before each other until Christ stood between us, our forefathers could not stand before God until the shed blood of the animal sacrifice, symbolic of the blood of Christ, made them at one with Him. In the New Testament, we are encouraged not only to be reconciled with God but with our fellowmen. He states if we remain angry with our others or harbor hate against them or continually speak unkindly against them, we are in danger of being judged as harshly, as we are guilty of judging them by our own words and actions. "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" Matthew 5:23-24, NKJV). In the Amplified Bible, the word peace is used for reconciliation.       My sister and I had had not known peace in our relationship for a numb

Sisters (Day 1 from Cleansing thoughts)

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       IT HAS BEEN WEEKS NOW without much sleep. Feelings of restlessness fill my days. I know the Lord is dealing with my heart, but I'm afraid of what I know He wants to say, so I keep busy. Busy doing nothing. I play my music loud to drown out the inner voice of God calling my name. I spend hours reading, but not my Bible, I knew He's was waiting for me on the pages. Finally, when I've done all I can do to run and find there is nowhere to go, I listen.     Within my heart, I hear the gentle voice of the Lord, and I cry out in response, "But, Lord, I've tried so many times, and every time, I get hurt. I've prayed and will continue to pray. She is my sister, and I love her, but it hurts when I feel so rejected. Yes, I miss her and long to know her, but I've always believed she has never wanted to know me as I have her. How can I span the distance between us, for You know it is more than miles that keep us apart, and You are the only one that can bring us t

The Visitor (Day 3 from Cleansing Thoughts)

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 Child of God, do not misunderstand. I am not saying people are not healed because they do not have faith, nor am I saying we should not see a doctor. The Word even tells us in Hebrews 9:27 that there is a time appointed unto men to die, and again in Ecclesiastes, "A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die" (Ecclesiastes 4:1-2, NKJV). But what I am saying is even when death comes, because of the resurrection power of Christ, it has lost its sting! To the believer, guilt should not play a part in the death. I believe in my heart that God would not want His children to suffer in this way. Grieve at the loss of a loved one, yes, but not suffer from guilt. Guilt enters into the mind through the power of suggestion because of something we have failed to do or have done that was forbidden. These warm loving people I had just come to know had done nothing, yet the power of suggestion was placing a heavy load of guilt into their minds. They needed to

The Visitor (Day 2 from Cleansing Thoughts)

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      I'm not sure how the conversation changed, but somehow, the topic went to how one can find a good doctor, one they could trust and depend on. I am not a bold person, but I found myself telling them of the greatest doctor I knew and how I had complete confidence in him. Then when I was asked for his name and how they could reach him, I told them His name is Jesus and He could be reached when they were on their knees. All conversation stopped. The room got very quiet. Then one man bowed his head and began to pray. It wasn't long after that the nurse came to get my mother and me so we could see my dad.     I believe in the scripture and praying God's word, so as we entered the unit, this passage came to mind: "He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction" (Psalm 107:20, NKJV). As we walked past each room, I could not help but say a small prayer for those we had come to know ao very briefly. In the first room we passed, I could see

The Visitor ( Day 1 from Cleansing Thoughts)

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                  THERE ARE TIMES IN ALL our lives he the hand of God is all that sustains us. we know that God does not have a physical body as we do; therefore, all throughout the scriptures, the metaphor "hand of God is used to refer to His power, authority, and greatness. I remember reading that water covers two-thirds of the earth's surface, and in Isaiah 40:12, we are told that God can measure the waters in the hollow of His hand! When I read this I was amazed at His greatness, and it made me feel safe and secure knowing that the Word promises us in John 10:28 that no man can take is out of His hand! I remember a time not too long ago when my little grandson asked me how God could remember each of our names when there were so many to remember. I read to him from Isaiah 49:16 (NKJV), "I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palm of My hands." This opened the door for me to share with him other scriptures that told about the power of God. I shared

A Measure of Success (Day 4 from Cleansing Thoughts)

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    I no longer have my mind set in the needs or on our circumstances, nor do I dwell on what others believe to be my inability, but my focus is fixed on the One who provides for all my needs according to His riches in glory. And as I greet each new day, I thank Him for all He has done in my life and all He has brought me through. My Heavenly Father has our lives in control, and I am learning to be satisfied in whatever state I am in. In Philippians 4:11-12 (NKJV), the apostle Paul gives us a beautiful example of how we should look at difficult circumstances in our lives. For a clearer understanding of the text, I want to quote it from the Amplified Bible, “For I have learned how to be content [satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted] in whatever state I am . . . I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and  enough to spare or going without and  being in want.” Sometime

A Measure of Success (Day 3 from Cleansing Thoughts)

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   The second area of scripture I turned to supported the first. In this passage, Jesus is telling the disciples not to worry about the necessities of life by stating, “Fir all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you have need of these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you” (Luke 12:39-31, NJKV). Yet our society seems determined to turn this principal around, and  we are conditioned from a very early age to accept it.         When I read this text, I know instantly what the Lord was saying to me. I was at a point in my life when I was feeling very anxious. I knew in my heart I was to wait on the Lord, but it had been a hard year. Our income had dropped drastically, the savings account was being depleted, and I was growing impatient. I had my eyes on the needs and not on the One who provided for them. When I went on the interviews, I stepped out of the will of God and entered my own self-will, but God, in

A Measure of Success. (Day 2 from Cleansing Thoughts)

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    As I began to take inventory of what had resulted from these interviews and what the world as a whole considers successful, my list looked something like this: to a mother, it is raising her children to be responsible adults. To a father, it is providing for his family’s needs and being able to give them a stable home. To a businessman, it is obtaining a high position on the corporate ladder. To those in the medical profession, it is the ability to increase the quality of life for others. To some, it might even be the accumulation of wealth in both finances; possessions, and position within the community. Others believe it is the gaining of knowledge and powder. All these things are what the world looks to when measuring the success of an individual. And I am not saying, but have you ever asked yourself what God sees as success in a man's life? In 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul gives us a glimpse into the heart of God concerning believers being influenced by the world’s values.

A Measure of Success (Day 1 from Cleansing Thoughts)

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       TODAY, I WAS GIVEN THE opportunity to reflect upon my life, and for a while, I questioned what I saw.  You see, I realized in the eyes of man, I was a failure. I was lacking in experience. I had no formal education or training, and I was even told I was past the age for career opportunities. All this must have been the reason the gentleman giving me the job interview did not even show me the courtesy of looking at me as he spoke. Then there was the young women who seemed to question my ability because I answered her question, “Do you have a learning disability?” by stating I was an over comer of visual dyslexia. And, the most resent was a group interview, two of them interviewing four others and myself where it was stated that all if us would be given a written personality test followed by the statement, “This is to help us weed out the manic depressants and the bipolar’s.”     When I look back at what took place at what took place at these interviews, I saw myself through their