The Lord is Faithful

Hello my friends! This morning I was so encouraged as I was gently reminded by the Word of God that HE, the Lord is faithful. I know that there are many of us who are enduring various trials and difficult times that may seem overwhelming, discouraging and/or down right hopeless. It is very easy to become consumed in our situations and thoughts of ourselves but I do not believe that is what the Lord would want us to fix our eyes on.
In in His holy Word, in 2 Timothy, we are reminded that Paul endured persecutions and afflictions (more than most can ever imagine) and that the Lord delivered him out of them ALL. " Yes and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." God does not promise us deliverance from persecution but deliverance through it. Persecution is one of the means God uses to develop our capacity to reign with Him in His kingdom. 2 Tim 2:12 "If we endure, We shall also reign with Him." Persevering in the faith even in the face of hardship or persecution will result in a reward when Christ returns. (see Matt 5:10-12; Rev 2:10.). Paul continues to remind us in 2 Tim 3: 14-15 " But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that form childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Paul was referring to Timothy in this passage and his Godly heritage. For those of us who are believers, some from childhood and others later in life, we are exhorted that the truths of God's Word directs us to Christ. God's Word and the spirit of God are both essential for our salvation.
The other scripture that really jumped off the page was 2 Tim 4:6. " For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand." Here Paul is confident that no one could touch him until the Heavenly Father ushered him into his eternal home with a victory celebration. Paul had been vigilant in his service to God. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."
So my friend, if you are reading this today, be assured that all that you are experiencing and enduring is seen by God. He knows your struggles and desires for you to fight the good fight being fully confident that He will deliver you through them and that He, the righteous Judge, will give to you on that Day the crown of righteousness. Until that day, let's keep our eyes fixed on that joyous hope that awaits us and allow God to pour us out like a drink offering before Him, fixing our eyes on the size of our God and not the size of our troubles, being fully confident that He is faithful to deliver us from every evil work and preserve us for His heavenly kingdom(2 Tim 4:18).

Many blessings to you,
Melanie

Christmas Fun!

When Christmas rolls around we love to do fun family activities. This year we decorated a cookie jar that I found at Michael's a couple years back. It was an after Christmas clearance item and only cost $5.00, I love a deal!!! Everyone signed their name and contributed to the making of the cookie jar, even big brother Dusty! Then of course we needed cookies so chocolate chip is what we made!

Insights for Today

After speaking with a dear friend of mine I was so very well reminded of the pain and suffering that so many people are experiencing today. If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I want to encourage you to seek Him out. Have questions? Then ask- He wants to answer them for you and He wants to give you hope.
Today I would like to share some excerpts from various devotions from Elizbeth Elliot. If anyone knows pain and suffering, she does. Her husband was murdered by a tribe in Equador to whom he was trying to reach out to in Jesus name. She has an incredible testimony and God has used her in a mighty and powerful way.
Here are some of her words... Many of our prayers are directed toward the quick and easy solution. Long suffering is sometimes the only means by which the greater glory of God will be served, and this is, for the moment invisible. We must persist in faith. God has a splendid purpose. Believe in order to see it. Our troubles are slight and short lived; and their outcome an eternal glory which outweighs them far. Meanwhile our eyes are fixed, not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen (2 Cor.4:17-18).
The Lord who loves you suffered and wants you to fellowship with Himself. The joy of thus knowing Him comes not in spite of but because of suffering, just as resurrection comes out of death. I have a Savior because I am a sinner, and beauty is given to the child of God in exchange for ashes.
We want to avoid suffering, death, sin, ashes. But we live in a world crushed and broken and torn, a world God Himself visited to redeem. We receive His poured out life and, being allowed the high privilege of suffering with Him, may then pour ourselves out for others. How can one's suffering help another? By being offered to Him who can transform it into blessing. You have been granted the privilege not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering for Him (Phil.1:29).

Revelation Song

Read chapters 4-7 in Revelation to see the inspiration for this song. God you are awesome and worthy to be praised!!!

The Challenge of Contentment

This morning after reading my Word for the day I came across this "In Depth" in my bible. These are inserts in my bible that really make you think. I really chewed on this one and thought it was worth sharing word for word so here it goes:

Paul's young disciple Timothy had his hands full in Ephesus. The apostle had left Timothy in that city to oversee the organization of the church. Timothy was to provide consistent teaching, help the church choose leaders, and model personal integrity as a leader.
Paul's first letter to Timothy contains both direction and encouragement for Timothy. Among his memorable objectives Paul included the following; "Now godliness with contentment is great gain" (6:6). Obviously, the absence of both godliness and contentment would indicate great loss, especially in the Christian life. Godliness without contentment would be a joyless and legalistic righteousness. Contentment without godliness describes a person sadly disconnected from God's truth.
What kind of life is Paul describing when he speaks of godly contentment? Paul describes such a person as having a firm understanding of the passing nature of life. The things of this world are here when we arrive and are left behind when we leave. Neither godliness nor contentment can be found in accumulating them. Things beyond God's provision of our basic needs (food and clothing.6:8) can be enjoyed without becoming a necessity. Paul understood that if godliness (our desire to see God's character reproduced in us) and contentment (our acceptance of God's will in our lives) depend on our circumstances, both will always be unstable.
Elsewhere, Paul indicates that godly contentment must be a learned response(see Phil. 4:11-13). Developing godly contentment lies well beyond our abilities. That is why along with Paul we must appeal to the right source for such a character trait:" I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13)

How are your eyes???

Hello friends,

Today the verse "He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor" Prov 22:9 is what God laid on my heart. We live in a world where everyone looks out for number one. How much can I do for myself, what will make me happier, what can I attain to gain stature and on and on. This in and of itself often times leads to misery and complete self absorption. In the proverb it says a generous eye will be blessed. What does the eye do? It sees of course. What does your eye see today? We must first look and be aware of what is around us. Who will you be looking for today and who will you see today who needs a helping hand? What will you do about it? One thing I have learned is that you can't out give God. So do an eye check today, see how your eyes are? Are your eyes good 20/20 or do you need some corrective lenses? God bless you today and know that God loves you more than you'll ever know.

Hugs and blessings,

The Power of Praise!!!

Hello friends,

I revisited parts of the book Prison to Praise and was blessed by the reminder of how the joy of the Lord is my strength. No matter what the circumstances, I must continue to praise and thank the Lord for all that He allows in my life, even when it doesn't make sense. "Praising Him isn't something we do because we feel good; rather it is an act of obedience."

"The very act of praise releases the power of God into a set of circumstances and enables God to change them if this is His design. It's often our attitudes that hinder the solution of a problem." In 1 Thes 5:18 we are reminded "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Not always easy but commanded by our Lord. In 2 Chron 20 we see the power of praise. A whole army was defeated when the Israelites simply praised the Lord and believed Him when He said that the battle wasn't theirs but His. As Merlin Carothers puts it " The enemy's arrows just can't penetrate the joy of someone who is praising the Lord. While we praise Him, He sends our enemies scurrying. Now that's powerful!!!!

So my friends, let's praise Him today. Praise Him for all that He is allowing you to go through and see what happens.