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Hello everyone…and a very happy and blessed Thursday to you all! Oh how I praise God this morning for His loving care for me! Just think…He not only blesses us with His presence; but He also blesses us through His word…a word that can encourage and uplift us throughout the difficult times of life. You know…He never promised that life would be easy; but through His precious word, He is able to inspire us…heart to heart, while giving us the hope we need to keep pressing on…praise Him!! As we begin our time together today, I pray that we would see God’s word in a new way…one that can help us to survive and overcome the challenges of this life; that we may find a place to begin again…a place where God can make all things brand new…Amen! As I look back on my life, I remember a time when God began to work deeply with me, as I came through what seemed to be an insurmountable amount of problems. At the time, I seemed to be more caught up in what was affecting my life; that I completely bypassed God’s word…and how it could actually become tools to cultivate my heart and produce new growth. It was during one of those difficult times in my life, when God began to give me a good look at my heart. In my mind’s eye…my heart seemed to appear dormant, while the painful moments of the past had now become like weeds…gradually overtaking the heart. From there, God began to show me that I needed to let Him cultivate the heart through His word, while allowing each fallen tear to water the seeds that was now being planted, through each verse I had read. As I began to take the Bible apart for the first time, I no longer saw His word as words to be memorized or read as a novel; but rather, I began to see His word as a survival manual, with tools that could truly till up the weeds of the past; that had attempted to overtake my life. While searching God’s word this morning, for a verse that could truly inspire us all; He led me to 2 Timothy 3:16 and we read… “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” Just imagine for a moment…that there is this big garden space standing before you. The only problem is that it must be prepared for planting. As you look to the side…there seems to be a variety of tools leaning against a tree…tools that could make it easier for you to cultivate the ground. Even though these tools are there to make this time easier on you…you choose to get down on your hands and knees and cultivate the ground with your hands. You know what…I think that you would come to see within a short time; that this is a difficult way of cultivating the ground…I know I would. This is a great example though, of what happens when we turn away from the help that is being given to us freely…to try and muddle through on our own, while choosing to do it on our own. One thing we must remember with God’s word; is that it’s not a book to be read and put on a shelf like a novel; but rather, it’s a manual to live by. Within its pages, we can find stories to inspire us…and words of hope and encouragement that will help us to keep pressing on, during the hard and difficult times of life; but first, we must have our hearts prepared…and let God remove the weeds of adversity that have taken root over time. Once this has been done; then we can dive deep within God’s word and let the tools of God’s word cultivate our hearts; that God may continue to work with each seed that has been planted deep within the heart. No matter what you may be facing right now…and no matter how hopeless it may seem; there is a whole set of tools awaiting you…tools that can cultivate these moments and rid you of the infestation that has attempted to overtake your life…and all you have to do is seek deep within God’s word…and as you do; God will give you the tools that can prepare the soil of the heart, for the seeds that have fallen through His word…seeds that can truly produce new and lasting growth within the heart…Amen!! As we close…my prayer is that you will find the hope that you truly need at this time through God’s word…that your heart may be cultivated and made into something beautiful and brand new…Amen! Have a very blessed day…and I will see ya soon! God bless! It’s Always & Only Because of Him… Diane Hello everyone…and a very happy and blessed Wednesday to you all! I hope that your day is going well…and I pray that as we begin our time together; that we will come to discover a place, where we can find peace, even in the midst of a storm…Amen!! Last night, as I was about to go to sleep, God began to speak to my heart…and as I jotted some thoughts down on paper, I was reminded not only as to how we can find refuge in God, during the hard and difficult times of life; but I also came to truly see how moments such as these can take us to a different realm; where we are no longer face to face with our problems…only a peaceful and loving God. I don’t know about you; but there can be times, when life is so overwhelming; that all I want to do is find a way of escape…a place where I no longer have to be face to face with what is taking place at the time. Now, I would say that if we were to try and hide and make a way of escape on our own; then the problem would just follow us and continue to torment us; but you know what…I have truly come to see that when I am in the presence of God, instead of out on my own; then Satan and all of his ways cannot be there, which in itself becomes a way of escape. As I look back on my life, I remember the day when Keith and I traveled over 2500 miles, to come to the place where he would be working. Even though I had left my hometown…where I had been sexually abused as a child; I did come to see how all of that pain from the past had followed me all of those miles...and even more, I came to see how it would bring even more pain into my life later on. As God’s timing began to open up a way for me to deal with the past; there were many times, when I tried to find a way of escape…a place, where I could ignore what was taking place in my life at the time. It seemed that no matter how much I tried to hide myself from the pain of the past…it just kept following me. Later, I did discover a place where I could rise above these difficult moments in my life and deal with the past at the same time…and the more I took refuge in God, especially through His word; that is when the obstacle of the past began to seem much smaller and easier to get over. You know…we don’t have to stay face to face with a problem, while we are dealing with that problem; for in Matthew 11:28 Jesus is saying… “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” I have truly come to see that when we draw near to God; that these moments do take us to a different realm…one that lifts us up and into the arms of a loving God…and one that shelters us through the storms of life, while helping us to clearly see and experience something better than what is standing before us at the time. Today, you may be facing what seems to be an ongoing problem…one that seems to be standing in your way, while preventing you from experiencing something better in your life. May I encourage you today, to cry out to a God who can reach down from the heavens and lift you up to a different realm…one that will draw you closer to Him instead of the problem…and one that can help and sustain you through these storms you’re facing. One thing I know…when we quit looking face to face into a problem that just doesn’t want to leave us alone…to reach up to God instead; that is when I truly believe that we will enter a realm, where the problem can no longer torment us. As we close this time together, I pray that God will come down from the heavens and enter whatever you may be facing at this time; that you may be lifted up with Him, to a different realm…one where evil can no longer have its way with you…Amen!! Have a very blessed day…and I will see ya soon! It’s Always & Only Because of Him… Diane Hello everyone…and a very happy and blessed Tuesday to you all! I truly hope and pray that your day is going well…and even more, I pray that we will come to truly experience a God who is greater than ourselves…or any other thing we may face in this life, including the works of Satan…Amen!! This past Sunday, as Keith and I were spending some time with God, I was reminded, as to how we can suffer needlessly; just by the way we react to Satan, during a time of need. For example, I remember a time when I was facing some very difficult moments and the person I was talking with at the time said… “Oh, just say… Satan get behind me.” I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with that; because we shouldn’t allow Satan to have control over our lives; but at the same time…words like these can become only words we memorize and speak at the right time…and when we react to Satan in this way, I would think that he is probably laughing in our faces. Yes…we have a powerful being living within us; but we must remember that when we just speak these words in a habitual way; then the power isn’t contained within those words. As I have said in the past…words alone won’t do it. Instead, we need to react in a way that will give Satan a clear message that we aren’t going to give him the time of day…and the best way I have come to see and experience this; is when I ignore him. For instance…lately, I have been going through numerous attacks from Satan on my health…and I pretty much know why…and that is because of the writings that God has been giving me to share with you lately. You see…when we do something good that can make a difference within our own lives…and even in the lives of others; then that is when Satan fights back. The thing we must remember though; is to not fight back on our own…for the battle will only become fiercer. Anyways, as I have been experiencing, what has seemed to be one thing after another; I have gotten to the place where I just say to myself…here we go again…and then I ignore the attack…and why…because when we ignore Satan; that becomes a way of letting go and releasing the problem directly into the hands of almighty God, where He can fight for us, which in the end makes Satan powerless within our lives. As I was looking through several Bible verses this morning, God led me to a couple verses in Romans 16:19-20 and we read… “But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. 20) The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” We all know how Satan can use the good in our lives to bring us down and even out of commission with God. Let’s face it…as long as we choose to remain faithful to God…we will always fight the opposition, which is Satan; but the one thing we must remember; is to always remain true to God…no matter what; because when we are able to press on…no matter what may come our way; then like I said previously…we will be letting go of what Satan has attempted to bring us down with…and in the end, our God will take care of Satan for us…where his ways will be crushed under our feet. You know…there were times in my life, when I suffered needlessly and that was only because I was backwards, in the way that I reacted to my problems. In other words…instead of ignoring the works of evil, I began to add more fuel to a fire that was already burning, by giving Satan the time of day, while trying to fight these battles on my own. No matter what we face…and no matter how difficult it may seem; we must get an attitude with Satan and never give way to his childish schemes. Even though they may attempt to convince us that their power can bring us down…there is no power greater than the power of almighty God…Amen!! One thing I can say for sure as we close; is that life isn’t easy and it may never be, as a follower of Jesus Christ; but there is a way to rise above the deceptive ways that attempt to take us down…and it’s not through ourselves…religion or no other means; only through the power of a God who can crush evil and bring it to its knees; so ignore Satan…connect deeper with God and let every need go into His powerful hands, where these battles can truly be won for good…Amen!! Have a very blessed day and I will see ya soon! God bless! It’s Always & Only Because of Him… Diane |
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