Closer

Commit Your Actions

People may be pure in their own eyes,
    but the Lord examines their motives.

Commit your actions to the Lord,
    and your plans will succeed.

-Proverbs 16:2-3 NLT

This Is What You Do

Picking up where we left off :-)

               I love it when I run into an old friend and we are able to pick up right where we left off. There's no judgment or walls to climb over, only smiles and laughs. I love people who are able to do that. It's refreshing. My husband and I are like this- easy going, forgiving, willing to laugh and chat with people we haven't seen in years. It's a choice and for the most part we willingly keep our hearts open.
              It's always awkward to run into someone who is not like this. There is a weird tension in the air. Some people live a lifestyle of making people jump through hoops to earn their smiles and friendly conversation, but life's too short. My hubs and I could live that way as well, but it's not worth missing out on connecting with God's creations.
            Each moment, no matter how random or scarce, is special to us. Maybe we haven't seen someone in years, and after we randomly run into each other we wont see them for several more years, so what. Our heart is open to connect in that moment. It's fun. It's exciting.
             Allowing yourself to pick up where you left off is a gift you give yourself and others. It's special and worth giving. I always walk away energized. We were blessed with such a moment today. The laughs and  fresh conversation were truly a blessing.

Dreams

    ."And they replied, “We both had dreams last night,
but no one can tell us what they mean.”
“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied.
“Go ahead and tell me your dreams"
- Genesis 40:8 (NLT)      

     

            Have you ever had a dream? Did you wonder what it meant? There are many different ideas about dreams from secular psychologists saying they are repressed memories, to some Christians saying they are from demons, to other Christians saying they are from God and other people saying they are caused from eating greasy food after midnight. With all these different ideas, how do we know what to believe?

             As a Christ follower, I believe some dreams come from the Lord. He is a dream giver. I've had vivid dreams since I was a child. They've always been a part of my life. Ever since I can remember, I've had interesting spiritual experiences. Are you the same way?

            Christians who have never had spiritual experiences growing up usually look down on things like dreams because they can't relate, but once you've had a God dream there's no turning back. It's amazing. My favorite dreams are direction dreams. These are dreams where God gives you direction. He spoke to people in the New Testament in this way, guiding them which way to go just as His word promises (Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take - Proverbs 3:6 NLT).

            God led the wise men with dreams. He warned them not to return to Herod with information about baby Jesus, "And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route." - Matthew 2:12 NIV  The truth is God can communicate anything He wants to you through dreams, we only need to pay attention.

           It's troubling that much of the church does not recognize dreams as a Godly experience. I'd understand if the Bible never mentioned dreams, but the Bible is full of dreams. Dreams are not isolated to the Old Testament either; they are consistent throughout the New Testament as well.

          Even after reading New Testament scriptures showing God speaks to his followers in dreams, some will still turn their backs. Growing up as a dreamer has not always been easy. It's a sensitive subject and many have rejected me because of it. I know the way some church people view dreams so I usually keep it to myself, but with myspace, twitter, facebook etc., people can look up my blogs and see what I believe. I knew if someone had viewed my blog or read my books simply by the way they treated me afterwards. I can't tell you how many times someone will be friendly with me today and totally blow me off tomorrow after viewing my websites. I honestly want to say, "My websites/blogs turned you off? They aren't even half as radical as I truly am!" ha-ha   All jokes aside. I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt, but I'm used to it.

           I do understand some people's hesitation. If they haven't read their Bibles and they are going based on what they've heard or seen by other radicals, it can be a big turn-off. It's important to remember that Godly dreams will never tell you something that goes against the word of God. It may go against man made doctrines, but never the word of God. It's also important to remember that God wants to speak to YOU. It's great to seek wisdom about your dreams BUT don't become dependent on a person to speak to you. Pray about the dream and seek God. It's important to seek God because not all dreams are from God. The enemy can lie to us in dreams. Our earthly flesh and emotions can slip into our dreams as well. It's a known fact that some medications can cause dreams too. 

         Also remember that you may not get an interpretation for every dream. Trust that all interpretations belong to God and if He doesn't reveal the meaning, move on. The most important thing to remember is not to make dreaming an idol. I see all too often "spiritual" people worshiping the art of dreaming and not the dream giver Himself. Our relationship is with God, not dreams.

          Dreaming with God is connected to our relationship with Him. The closer you are to Him, the more clear the line of communication and the easier it will be to hear and understand. One thing I try to do is read the Bible before I fall asleep. I also go to sleep expecting to hear from the Lord. Sometimes I dream a lot and other times I go weeks or months with not a single dream so don't get concerned with the amount of dreams you dream. If God has something to say then He will say it.

          If put in their proper place and used correctly, dreams can be an amazing blessing. I remember my mom having a dream that showed her we'd be okay during a hurricane and avoided hours of traffic by trying to evacuate. So we sat still and guess what! The storm totally missed us despite the weather report just like her dream had revealed! I remember having a dream that brought wisdom to a burden my mom was facing. My dream led to her healing! I've had dreams that shared where safe places would be during storms. Like years ago when I was still in High School, my church was located in an old run down inner city neighborhood. I dreamed during a flood it would be a safe place for people and news crews to come as my church gave out supplies for those in need.  And a few days later, my family and I watched my dream/vision unfold all over the news!

          Dreams are amazing! God speaks! My husband and I have made life changing decisions based on wisdom and clarity given in dreams. The Lord spoke to my husband about what apartment to move into and situations to avoid. My husband dreamed a previous company he worked for went out of business. When He woke up he felt the Lord urge him to start saving. A few months later the business did just that and it was the savings the dream inspired him to save that held him over until he got a new job. Praise God!!

          If you've closed your heart to hearing from God in dreams, you are missing out. I could write a book with story after story about how dreams have affected me and my family. I'd encourage you to search the Bible for yourself and really seek the Lord and allow Him to reveal more of Himself to you.

           I believe God wants to share life's details with you. It doesn't matter how big or small a situation is, if you invite Him in, He will share with you.

His grace is sufficient

God doesn't pick the qualified, He qualifies the chosen! Don't let anyone in or out of church make you feel that you don't have a place within the body of Christ because you do! 

Psalm 141:3 The Message

Post a guard at my mouth, God,
      set a watch at the door of my lips.
   Don't let me so much as dream of evil
      or thoughtlessly fall into bad company.
   And these people who only do wrong—
      don't let them lure me with their sweet talk!
   May the Just One set me straight,
      may the Kind One correct me,
   Don't let sin anoint my head.
      I'm praying hard against their evil ways!

Meaning it

          Have you ever had a falling-out with a friend, then after some time had past you reconcile and try to move forward? I've only had this happen a few times, thankfully. One thing I've learned through those experiences is the importance of truly letting people "begin again" - giving second chances, a fresh starts.
          When we make people pay for hurting us in some passive aggressive way we are pouring poison on our relationship. We are putting the blame entirely on the other person without assuming responsibility for our part in the downfall. We are not only ruining our friend's second chance but our own. 
          People get tired of paying a price. Little jabs here and there add up and create distance between the very relationships we want to keep, self destruction at it's best, if we aren't careful a root of bitterness can completely sever our relationship's chance of survival. The jabs get old and expose our stifled emotional growth.While we are busy being "catty" our friends will have outgrown us.
          We can't offer a second chances and continue to make people pay in sublet ways. If we choose to do this we are sabotaging our relationship from the get-go. It's also arrogant because again, it's putting the blame entirely on the other person and most people aren't willing to carry the responsibility  of a broken relationship alone. It shows the other person we don't recognize how we hurt them which is unsettling in any wannabe healthy relationship.
         Besides my own relationship experience, I was a counseling and psychology student for awhile and one thing I've learned is that anyone can want a restored relationship, but unless you are willing to lay your feelings aside, throw away your pride and do the hard work, it's not going to last. I've read testimony after testimony of people who had been divorced finally reconciling and living "happily ever after" again. One thing they all have in common is a "clean slate". They gave each other the gift of "starting over", completely and fully. On the other hand I've read about relationships that tried to reconcile but couldn't. They were okay for awhile but  didn't last the test of time because one or both of the partners couldn't let go. They continued to bring up the past, throw jabs here and there and continued making the other person pay. The choice is ours. It does not matter the relationship we are trying to save the truth remains the same - relationships flourish when each person is allowed a sincere chance to start over.
          When we decide to reconcile let's make sure we truly mean it by giving the relationship a fair chance to bloom by forgiving completely. No relationship can stand when someone is harboring unforgivness. Count the cost and decide, "Do I want to save this relationship?" If so, then give it a second chance and mean it! Let go of the drama and start over, sincerely.

Pulling down what God's lifting up

When we don't understand someone it's easy to assume "they aren't from God" as if they are a ploy from the enemy, but just because we don't understand something doesn't mean it's not from God. Be extremely careful when criticizing other ministries, you may find you're pulling down what God's lifting up.

Angels

Your most effective...

Your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurt.- Rick Warren

Reading the Bible for myself

        Reading the Bible for ourselves is one of the most important things we can do. God's word changes us! Many Christians today depend on a pastor to share the Bible and never actually read it for themselves. You can often tell who these people are by the things they say and do. The fruit of a Christian who does not read the Bible is quite obvious. They usually quote cute sayings, out of context verses and hold non Biblical ideas about spiritual things. When questioned their favorite thing to say is, "Don't judge me." Is this you?
        If reading the Bible seems overwhelming focus on the New Testament. As a Christ follower, we are New Testament Christians and shouldn't live our life on the wrong side of the cross. Jesus changed everything. More separates the old and new testament than a sheet of paper in our Bibles. Our covenant with God changed. In the New Testament you will learn about Christian living 101, how to love others and how to worship God with your life. It's packed full of powerful life changing information.
        I had a friend come over a few weeks ago and she told me her concerns about finding a new church and listening to teachers on TV. She said, "There's so much out there. I don't know who to follow." Do you share her concern? I told her what I'm sharing now. Read your Bible for yourself, then find a church that lines up with what you've read. Many times we follow leaders and then conform our beliefs with theirs without knowing how accurate their message is. So, read then pick.
         When it comes to who to follow, remember, we are followers of Jesus. He is the one we should be following. Scripture is often twisted, taken out of context and then accepted by those who never actually read their own Bibles. Don't put your trust in man, but the Word of God. When the Bible is the center of your life you will know God's voice and just like a sheep you will know the voice of your Shepherd and a voice of a stranger you will not follow. But if you don't know the Word, you may be easily carried away with universalism and new age Bible teachings.
           The most powerful thing we can do is know the Word for ourselves! :-)

Being Grateful

           Being grateful can be one of the hardest things to do, especially nowadays when we are able to see the details of everyone's life through social networking sites like facebook, google +  and more. It's easy to compare, but comparing causes ungratefulness, it also causes us to steer our lives onto roads never created for us in effort to make our life line up with someone else. 

           One of the keys to remaining grateful is embracing our unique purpose. God has a plan for each of us. The steps He directs for one are not the same for another. Proverbs 16:9 NLT says, " We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." God's determined steps for each of us are vastly different.   

           The Apostle Paul could have thought it unfair that he had to spend so much time in prison while other Christians at the time enjoyed life with their church families. Jesus could have been upset that he had to give his life while others did not. And I'm amazed Stephen didn't complain about being stoned to death - He prayed and asked for mercy on his enemies. You see, God has purposed us for different reasons and seasons. Comparing ourselves is easy, but pointless.

             When we are grateful we realize that we are placed where we are needed. The Bible says, " From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." - Acts 17:26 NIV  God has determined our time and place. One may live in a mansion, another a trailer, but God has a reason behind it all. God places us where our ministry is. Yes, you have a ministry! Location, location, location! 

                If God provides for you to travel then keep your eyes open because He has some people He wants you to meet. If God has you placed firmly in a certain apartment complex then keep your eyes open because He has people for you to reach there too. For instance, my husband had a very vivid dream about moving into the apartments he moved into before we were married. He was also told that he'd live in this specific floor plan for three years before upgrading. God has a plan! My husband could easily say, "But God I'm married, we want a house of our own." but instead he chooses to follow the Holy Spirit and be obedient. He rather follow God's plan, not man's plan. Being grateful allows us to enter into God's adventures. Ungratefulness causes us to chase other people's accomplishments even if they aren't God's plans for us. 

           "Bloom where you're planted" is sound advice. Gratefulness allows us to bloom, and when we bloom we can see the purpose behind the situation we are in. Our main purpose for being alive is to make God famous and bless the people we encounter. Our jobs, homes, vehicles and everything dictate who, what, when and where we have influence. So embrace your life with gratefulness and see the great things He has in store for you without getting wrapped up in comparing. We will find our greatest joy smack dab in the center of God's will for us.

      

Come to Me

I'll meet you half way

         Meeting half way is man's way of thinking. Meeting in the middle is not how I believe God works. God's love goes ALL THE WAY!! He meets us where WE ARE! His love is extravagant! When we see God the same way we see and relate to man we miss out on some of His best characteristics.
          God is like us because we are like Him - made in His image. But many of the things we believe to be healthy and fair in relationships are self-centered and not like God at all. It's a relief to know that God goes all the way for us. His love went the distance through His son, Jesus, and now nothing stops Him from chasing us down with His kindness.
           Many  people avoid God because they think in order to come to Him they have to meet half way, "Do your part and God will do His" type of thinking. Since they can't seem to get their half  in order they stay away from God most of their life. Even Christians can have this "meet you half way" mindset and it hinders us from meeting with God everyday. If we are having a bad day or wake up on the wrong side of the bed we feel we can't be close to God because we haven't taken care of our half.
           The truth is we don't have strength to meet God in the middle every day, if we maintain this "half way" mindset we will miss out on those days. So remember God did the work already. He wants to meet us where we are everyday even if that is on the wrong side or 20 steps farther than we were yesterday. Wherever we are He wants to meet us there!!
          

Gifted Response

There's nothing

My husband posted a quote from a Jonathon David Helser song on Facebook yesterday, "There's nothing you can do that would make God love you more, also nothing you can do that would make Him love you less. He loves you b/c He loves you. His love is unchanging, He loves you 100%. He wont love you any better when you become better. He loves you 100% RIGHT NOW."

You Know Me

Prophecy never suffocates

“Prophecy never suffocates, but lets you breathe.” - Kim Clement

Interpretation of Tongues

Concerning Spiritual Gifts - "Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
♥
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
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Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines." 

- 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 NIV

           This weekend my husband and I went to church with my parents. It was great! My husband and I have seen almost every gift of the spirit used countless times whether it be in our personal lives, church services, worship events or conferences. The only gifts we haven't seen in operation are "speaking in different kinds of tongues" and the "interpretation of tongues". We are both filled with the Holy Spirit and pray in the spirit, but that's different than the gift of "speaking in different kinds of tongues" in a church service and then someone else with the gift of "interpretation of tongues" translating for everyone. It was powerful! I was so excited to see this gift in operation for the first time!
          Church service started with praise and worship.The worship leader sang some old songs that brought me back to my early stages as a Christian. It was strange, but in a good way. It's funny how many memories a song can hold. I flashed back to discipleship classes I took in my youth, walking up to the alter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, youth group, old friends etc. So many memories in a song. Then those memories triggered other memories and other songs and on and on....has that happened to you? I continued to worship and cleared my mind and refocused on the Lord. 
          As we worshiped I felt my heart release some heaviness I had been carrying, it was refreshing. Then it got silence and people praised the Lord in their own way. Slowly, their voices quieted and a woman began speaking in tongues as tears flooded her eyes. Then I felt the Holy Spirit on me and I heard the lady behind me breathe heavier and heavier. What was God doing? When the women speaking in tongues stopped the lady behind me spoke up and interpreted. We were in the back, so she had to project her voice so those in the front could hear. It was so spontaneous yet organized. No chaos and yet not controlled. Then everything went silent. You could feel the people waiting upon the Lord. Then a man spoke up from the other side of the church and gave a word. It went silent again. No one else said anything so the pastor stood up and began to pray and thank God. It was beautiful. I felt so blessed to have witnessed this gift moving for the first time. :-) 
        The whole service was powerful. At the end they baptized people in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of praying in the spirit, they prayed for the sick and they were healed. It was a great morning, but again the highlight for me was observing what I hadn't observed before. :-) If God didn't want us using the gifts of the spirit in church He would have said so, but the New Testament actually promotes the gifts. We need them to encourage each other. They are for us, the church!
           I understand that there are some churches that have gone WAY off course and do nutty things like "barking", yes, I said "barking". That's crazy! Things like that turn people off, it turns leaders off, it turns me off from allowing the Holy Spirit to lead. Many churches fear this non Biblical nutty stuff.
              We shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. Look at driving cars. Not everyone is a responsible driver and yet we still drive. What about pastors? Not all are good. Some have done very evil things, yet we still have pastors. There are tons of things in almost every area of life that have good and bad sides, and yet we still hold them close because we believe the good outweighs the bad. I guess many don't believe in the good that spiritual gifts bring. Why have we stopped believing in these gifts? 
             I was reading one article about spiritual gifts, and the author was for them, but when I read his description of each gift he had watered each one down with practical reasoning and took the super natural out of each one. Are we scared to let unbelievers know that, "Yes! Our God is super natural!"? Do we fear their reaction? That they may think we are crazy? or off our rocker?  I've gotten those looks. Trust me the anticipation of those looks is scarier then actually getting them. When we are faced with negative reactions to the truth, God's grace fills us and we are able to stand and go through. Dreading rejection and negative reactions is way worse then the actual experience. 
                When the gifts of the spirit are used the people are blessed, the people are encouraged, the people grow and God is glorified. :-)