Thanking God

Giving God Praise and Thanksgiving

I have taken up the challenge of writing down things that I am thankful for during each day.  I first read about this challenge on a journal blog entitled Holy Experiencee written by Ann Voskamp. 

Ann Voskamp wrote the book titled One Thousand Gifts.  I recently purchased the e-book and have been so blessed with each page.  Ann Voskamp has a very unique writing technique and I am a big fan. 

I would encourage anyone that hasn't read or doesn't own the book, rent it, buy it or borrow it.  Just read this book for a wonderful blessing.





Words Like Flames

Good advice but all too often we fail to follow our own advice.  How quickly a simple litte difference of thoughts and opinions can become sharp and ugly words spewing off the tongue, past the teeth and burning the lips as they are hurled at someone.

ZAP! that fire covered word slaps the person you love smack in the face.  You see the pain that the flamed word causes and at first, your face smirks with pleasure.  But all too soon that smirk turns into pain that is mirrored off the face of that person you love. 

What Happened???  How did it go this far?? After all, it was only a little difference in opinion just a few minutes ago and now two people are covered in pain.  No one, especially her, likes to admit that she have made a mistake.  As well, no one else, especially the one that she loves, is willing to admit that he made a mistake.  So...the pain goes on....

No one want to speaks first, but just a few minutes ago, TOO much speaking was going on.  The silence goes on, the pain goes on. 

Both are wrong, but neither will admit it.....PRIDE has reared it's ugly head.  Satan is happy that his main weapon of choice has found it's target.  The silence goes on, the pain goes on. 

Godly esteem vs. Self-esteem, Excerpt from “Refreshment in Refuge”

Godly esteem vs. Self-esteem, Excerpt from “Refreshment in Refuge”

Poem by Julius Sturm

Pain's furnace heat within me quivers, God's breath upon the flame doth blow; And all my heart in anguish shivers And trembles at the fiery glow; And yet I whisper, "As God will!" And in the hottest fire hold still.

 He comes and lays my heart, all heated, On the hard anvil, minded so Into His own fair shape to beat it With His great hammer, blow on blow; And yet I whisper, "As God will!" And at His heaviest blows hold still.

 He takes my softened heart and beats it; The sparks fly off at every blow; He turns it o'er and o'er and heats it, And lets it cool, and makes it glow; And yet I whisper, "As God will!" And in His mighty hand hold still.

 Why should I murmur? for the sorrow Thus only longer-lived would be; The end may come, and will tomorrow, When God has done His work in me; So I say trusting, "As God will!" And, trusting to the end, hold still. --Julius Sturm

Jehovah Nissi

You are the Lord our Banner, Jehovah Nissi.  You give us victory against the flesh, the world and the devil.  Our sins are done! Our victory was won on the cross.  Out battles are Your battles.  We have only to be still and believe that the battle is already won!


What a reassurance that is.  Just imagine the life you can live when you live it for Christ.  He has taken care of everything.  Jesus did it all!

Peace that surpasses all human understanding is ours.  We do not have to count on ourselves to take care of battles, whether they are battles again the flesh or battles against the dark forces of evil.  Christ did it all!

The battles are won as Christ walks before us clearing our paths of obstacles.  He did it all!

He died on the cross so that you, me, all His children could be free from the stronghold that sin had over us.  He sacrificed His life so we can live!  Father God did it all!

I strive daily to live a life pleasing to my Father so His sacrifice on my behalf was not done in vain.  Father, Son and the Holy Spirit did it all! 

A Present For Jesus

This is written by my good friend Wendelijn Sloof and edited by another good friend Robin Jones.  This is such a Christmas blessing to me and I hope you enjoy it as well.

A Present for Jesus

“They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11 NIV)

When the wise men came into the house, the first thing they saw was Jesus and then Mary.

They worshipped Him and then offered the first Christmas gifts ever! And what a remarkable gifts they were to give a little baby. Even more remarkable is the deep meaning of each gift. We, too, can follow the wise men’s example in giving Jesus the same gifts. Let’s take a look at each of the gifts.

Gold represents the majesty and dominion of Jesus as a KING. Frankincense depicts the symbol for prayer and offering showing Jesus as HIGHPRIEST. Myrrh is very expensive, used for embalming, and is a bitter herb used during the Passover meal. (Not your typical baby shower gift!) Myrrh represents suffering and sacrifice showing Jesus as the LAMB.

The Gold is Jesus’ FUTURE reign as King of Kings on earth. This represents the gift of HOPE. Frankincense is what Jesus is doing right NOW as high priest, interceding for us. This represents the gift of FAITH. Myrrh represents what Jesus DID for us on the cross as the sacrificial Lamb taking away the sins of the world. This represents the greatest gift, LOVE.

We also find these three gifts symbolized in the Tabernacle. When first entering the Tabernacle, the priest would see the burnt offering of the Myrrh, symbolizing the suffering of Christ. He would smell the odoriferous sacrifice of the Frankincense, the scent wafting heavenward in the form of intercessory prayers. At last, the priest would see the arch of God symbolizing the throne of God where He rules.

All three elements of the gifts become a visual in Jesus’ life. As we are called to look more and more like Jesus we should also make those gifts our own!

Is there spiritual gold in your life? Can people see that Jesus is our treasure and He rules as King in our lives? Can people see your HOPE?

Is our life full of spiritual frankincense? Do we send intercessory prayer wafting to the throne of God? Do we spread the scent of Christ? Do we have FAITH that our prayers are being answered?

Spiritual myrrh is all the forms of suffering in our lives. We don’t have to look for suffering for it is pervasive in all of our lives. Can we surrender our sufferings to Jesus? Will we willingly offer the broken pieces of our lives to Christ so He might pour out HIS LOVE in and through our lives to heal and restore us and others through your testimony?

How then do we give these gifts to Jesus? Follow the example of the wise men.

Bow our knees Jesus, worship Him, surrender ourselves and thank Him for his sacrifice by:

Surrendering our Gold which is all the things we have set our hearts on here on earth.

Bringing our Frankincense by baring our most intimate wishes and desires before Him in prayer

Laying down our Myrrh at his feet, by giving over all our suffering and pain.

There is so much gold to dig in this world. Satan tempts us with all kinds of it. He attempts to make us believe that we are only happy when we have those things in our lives. Of course the things he offers us as Gold is actually Myrrh! We don’t have to settle! Our FUTURE and HOPE is GOLD! The Lord promises us all of His riches. We don’t have to look for them here. Now we will have the bitterness of the myrrh in the form of suffering. However, the myrrh leads to something, without myrrh there is no gold! Now we have Frankincense. We can work on ourselves by surrendering to Him, keeping up our prayer life and relationship with Him on a daily basis. In this way, we will receive strength to remove the myrrh.

I’ll leave you with this thought about gifts. In Isaiah 60:6, we see we receive a gift in return. We read that there were only two gifts taken to the honor of God, gold and the frankincense.. Is the bible making an error by excluding the myrrh? No, of course not! This is actually a vision of the New Jerusalem after Christ’s return. It is a peek into our future. A future with no myrrh! The suffering will pass! What a great gift we receive from Jesus. What a gift we can give back through our lives, until the time that He will return and the suffering will vanish!

Are you ready to give your gifts to Jesus?!

　

　

　

　

　

Just Be

Just Be!

I strive to be all of the above.  Some days the "be still" eludes me.  That is the most important of the "be" word.  When I fail to be still, then I miss my time to soak my whole being with God's Word and His presence.

"Be humble" that another battle that I face.  I really struggle to remain humble most of the time.  Not that I don't want to, but my flesh wants that recognition and praise.  Like I go around patting myself on the back if no one else offers to pat it for me.  This is not the way God instructs me to live my life.

It is easy for me to "be grateful".  These past several months has really taught me that regardless of our circumstances, I have so very, very much to be grateful for. 

I think I can "be smart", however, that is open for discussion.

I can "be involved" but sadly,  not involved enough.  I wonder, how can I complain about happenings, events and people of this world not changing, when change begins by people being involved.

I also find it easy to "be true".  I have never liked people that are not truthful.  I don't have problems being true to my spouse or true to my friends and family.  True and truth are a part of me.

To "be prayerful" is my second nature.  I live most of my day in a prayerful state.  No, I don't mean that I am in a head bowed, hands folded, standing still position, but, I am in a ongoing conversation with God most all of the day.  I truly have a open line of communication with my Father.

To "be clean" to me means to be clean in mind and spirit.  This is tough sometimes because when someone upsets me, I automatically have to fight unclean thoughts about that person. 

So, there is definitely an unfinished work in me.  Some of the construction God does, the rest is up to me.  I certainly have work to do.