The Joy of Believing“

MORNING GLORY

The Lord dropped this thought into my heart this morning...”there comes a joy when you believe My Word!”  I want to add to this by emphasizing the “when you believe”.  We are surrounded by the impossibilities of life, i.e., the relationships that bloom and wither, the fragile peace of the world, the doctor’s report that stops us in our tracks; and we find ourselves stumbling at these situations feeling condemned at our lack of faith in God.

But God...oh, I love that phrase...but God.  Though the impossible stares us down...but God.  He, through our believing His Word, shows up.  He, through our refusing to give in to the fear and doubt that assaults us...SHOWS UP!  From Genesis to Revelation, the stories abound of those who believed in spite of all that the enemy could throw against them.

When they began to believe...JOY began to flow.  I live in a mountain region of Arizona, and down the road from me is a beautiful lake.  It becomes very low during the summer due to lack of rain, and if we do not get enough snow pack in the higher elevations during the winter, it dries up even more.  But...but...when the snows come in the winter, and then begins to melt in the spring...oh, you can watch that lake become full of life giving water.

We need never to be like that, child of God.  We have the Living Water Himself living on the inside of us.  We have His Word that is so anointed with power, that “when” we start believing what it says...He fills us with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 3:8)

“Whom having not seen, you love; in Whom, though now you see Him not, YET BELIEVING, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Bad reports?  Oh, yes, they will come.  But...I BELIEVE that my God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all I can dare ask or even think...(Ephesians 3:20). BELIEVE THIS!!

The unlimited number of scriptures that give us help TO believe God is worth the search.  Don’t try to grit your teeth to believe.  NO!  Go and find THE Word on believing.  Look them up.  Read the stories of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Esther, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Timothy...these REAL people who learned to believe and SAW for themselves what God could do and will do.

His joy will transform your heart.  He will teach you HOW to believe.  He will infuse His strength into you so that you will face every obstacle with faith.  Why?  Because, like that lake, you are being filled from a Source that shall never run dry.

Oh, start today.
Start believing His Word AS you look upon it.
Joy will come and fill you as you CHOOSE the supernatural Truth over the natural events of life.

Morning Glory
Charlotte

Patience

Morning Glory...

This morning as I was rejoicing over the beautiful sunflower that has finally appeared in my garden, I heard the Lord say...”patience is needed to let the plant gain its strength to support the bloom”.  You see I have been anything but patient about these sunflowers.  I love their blooms, and these were planted by seed back in early June.

As I continued thinking on what the Lord said, I realized that for all of us who are waiting on the plan of God to unfold in our lives, we must look at the seed sowing and growing process to develop a godly  patience that keeps our faith strong.  Waiting is hard for our soulish life.  We reason that “if” God really wanted us to have His blessings, well, He could manifest them NOW!!  Why should we
wait?

In Galatians 5:22 it says, “But the FRUIT of the (Holy) Spirit (the work which His Presence within accomplishes) is love, joy (gladness),peace, PATIENCE (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness, (benevolence), faithfulness... (emphasis mine).

This past spring, I dedicated many days to rejuvenating our backyard into a garden of flowers.  I cleared stones, raked, pulled weeds, and watered and watered and watered.  It had fallen into disrepair over the past four years as Herb and I went through cancer and recovery, a broken shoulder and recovery, and then the laying down of a ten year ministry.  I would look daily at my backyard and see nothing but rocks, cracked earth, pine needles, and disarray.  It was not an easy task for me to do,
but, every day I did something to improve that yard, and today, though I still have a work in progress: I now have beautiful garden spots filled with blooming flowers.

This lesson of patience in this garden has deepened my spiritual awareness, also.  I understand more now of the work of the Holy Spirit in my own personal life.  He took my life of disrepair and planted the Seed of New Life in me, making me a brand new creation in Christ.  He came to live in me to give me the wisdom to begin the daily work to clear the stones of stumbling, rake the soil of my heart to receive more of His Truth, pull the stubbornness, doubt, and unbelief out of my heart, and to come to the Living Water of the Word every day so that I could grow in grace.

Like the sunflower that needs the strong stalk to give support so that it can bloom and be held upright, so do we need the Word of God to strengthen us in order to stand.  The believer’s life began as that work of the Holy Spirit Who came so that we could bear fruit for God’s Kingdom.  His job is a heavy responsibility indeed, and He is tireless in His faithfulness to produce in us the very life of Christ.  He knows the plan of God for the entire body of Christ as well as the individual saint.  He is God with us.

Yes, I did rejoice as I finally witnessed the glory of the sunflower that bloomed.   My Father is also rejoicing over me and YOU, for He sees what the seed of His Word is producing in us, even though we cannot.  Let His Word have its complete work in our hearts.  Let us welcome the continued efforts of the Holy Spirit in developing the fruit of the Spirit for the glory of the Lord.

Let patience have her perfect work! (James 1:4-8)

Morning Glory
Charlotte

God’s Word On The Subject

Morning Glory...

What are you dealing with today?
A person?  A decision?  A serious spiritual or natural situation?
Whatever you may be facing in THIS day... God has THE Word on that subject.

In the Message Bible, Jeremiah 29:11,  God is addressing the current state of Israel’s affairs, which were very dire.  They were in exile and Elohim (the God and Creator, Judge of the universe) is speaking to His nation Whom He brought out of slavery in Egypt.  They had disobeyed Him and brought upon themselves this exile.  Yet, He had not abandoned them, but once again was showing mercy and loving kindness.  God IS good!

He speaks to them through Jeremiah the prophet and says, “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home.  I know what I’m doing.  I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”

As I read these timeless words today, I was so touched by ...”I know what I’m doing.”

Have we found ourselves in those...”I don’t know what I’m doing “...places in life and we cry out to God to show us the way?  I have many times.  And in turning to God’s Word and reading how He revealed Himself to Israel through all the journeys they went through; I also have found great comfort and peace.

Why?  It is simply knowing that God reveals His Character in His Name.  Elohim is combined with other words to provide additional description about God.   The plural form of “El” means Strong One.  God proved Himself strong for Israel time and time again.  He sent them His Word on every subject of life, both spiritually and naturally.

When Israel listened and obeyed, they prospered.  When they took those detours of self reliance and disobedience, well...they soon found out the consequences.  Now, I'm not saying that what you are going through is a direct result of some disobedience.    My focus today is upon the Word and the Name of God.  Whatever has brought you to the place you are in...God is ELOHIM...the Strong One...and He knows where you are and what He is doing.  

The enemy could be testing your faith in God's Word...he always does.  God, your Father, is also looking at your heart to see if you will trust His Word.  Will you trust today that God "knows what He is doing" and that He has plans that will take care of you and give you the future you are hoping for?

Trusting will bring peace.  Stay on the path of faith.  God is our strong and unfailing defense in all subjects of life.  He has the plan.  You and your loved ones are included.  Don't forget that today.  He will show Himself strong on the behalf of those who are His.   Just STAY on those unfailing promises and He will bring you through.

Loving Him and you,
Charlotte

To My Sisters in Christ

MORNING GLORY...

My Dear Sister in Christ,

The greatest Gift this world was given was Jesus.

You had this Gift waiting for you before you were ever born.

All of the world has this Gift in store for them.

Not all take the Gift.

Not all value the Gift.

Many never truly find out the blessings that come with this Gift.

Jesus came to give “knowledge”.

Knowledge of the Father.

Knowledge of His blood.

Knowledge of His Name.

Knowledge of the Holy Spirit.

Not all find out the riches of this knowledge.

Satan blocks many through fear, unbelief, condemnation and guilt.

He works to make sure that “unworthiness” becomes the strong-hold in many lives.

He brings the grave clothes of the past sins, failures, mistakes, regrets, and seeks to drape the souls (mind, will and emotions) of men and women daily in these filthy rags.

But, for those who “seek” to receive the knowledge of grace, mercy and faith through the Word of God; they obtain the key to freedom.

You must learn to “take” hold of God’s Truth for yourself.

No one else can do this for you.

You must learn to “value” the Gift of your salvation.

You must “find” the riches of Truth that has been designed by your Father to release blessing after blessing upon you.

Don’t let a fallen angel rob you.

He can only work through vain imaginations, lies and deceit.

Recognize his works.

Rebuke his thoughts.

Put God’s Word IN your mind and WALK in freedom today.

Your Big Sister…Charlotte

Owning Your Life

Morning Glory...

Psalms 101:8..."Morning after morning, I will root up all the wicked in the land, that I may eliminate all the evildoers from the city of the Lord."

The Israel Bible states that this Psalm was a report from King David to God.  He was responsible to ensure justice and maintain the sacred character of Jerusalem so that the people could dwell safely within their land.  This entire Psalms is a lesson on how men should conduct the affairs of life both private and public.

The Benson Commentary states that the princes of the land should be the patrons of religion and virtue.  It was up to them to maintain the honor of laws, and to punish transgressors.  They were expected to consecrate a just portion of their time to public service and to promote the real happiness of the people of Jerusalem.  They were to be "patriot kings", honored of God and esteemed and beloved of men. (quote)

How wonderful this sounds!  To have rulers over you that would seek to be a benefit to an entire nation.  But, if you go back to the very first verses of Psalm 101, you will clearly see the pronoun "I".  It started with King David's heart.  He "owned" his responsibility, first to God, then to his personal life and actions, then to his lifestyle before others, and then to the nation of Israel.

How can we expect others to behave themselves wisely, if we do not "own" up to our own lifestyle, and take it under serious consideration before God?  The beauty of the anointed Word is this...the MORE you personally injest it; it begins to sift and cleanse and bring into focus the state of your own life.  It brings responsibility to its most crucial level, and that is personal accountability.

How can I expect punishment for others, and yet, let myself off the hook when it comes to thoughts, words or deeds that bring displeasure to the heart of my Father God?  How can I judge or criticize others transgressions when I justify mine?  Before God...I cannot.

To own my life is to take the highest responsibility over the spiritual, soulish and physical aspects and to daily go through the "land of my heart" and root up all that is wicked before God.  Oh,  I don't mean to be overly obsessed with looking for sin. But, to wait before God each day and let His Word come in and examine, expose, reveal, comfort and heal that part of me so that I can have the godly perspective and insight to benefit others.

Let us take from the lesson of Psalms 101 to seek to be "patriot kings", for are we not as believers called "kings and priests in the household of God"? (Revelation 1:6; Hebrews 4:6; I Peter 2:9).

Our prayer is for the Holy Spirit of God to help us maintain our private and public life that we will be known as "patrons of religion an virtue".  As King David reported to God, "I will walk within my house in integrity and with a blameless heart", let us also daily give our report to the One of Whom we bear His Name.

Loving Him and you,
Charlotte