Old Ways Are Like Old Houses

Just before waking up this morning, I had a short dream. We were at hubby’s mother’s old house, the one on 26 acres of land in rural Arkansas. We were discussing what to do. “Well, I guess we could just move back here and build a house”. But what once was a lovely place to visit, had now become an old house with old things, including pine paneled walls and gold shag carpet. I immediately thought to myself in the dream that not only would that be going back, it would be going back to nothing that we knew and loved, nor were the people we knew there anymore.

Oh beloved, what are you longing for? A return to yesterday? An opportunity to go back to old ways and memories? Missing long gone friends and loved ones? While reminiscing is good to do, trying to go back to find what you had and enjoyed then just isn’t possible. Just as I felt a slight tug of fear at the thought of living there, you should know that going back will never be what it once was.

God wants to build new plans with you. He doesn’t care about your vocation, your age or your bank account. He just wants to give you new dreams and visions. He doesn’t want you worrying about where you will live, because He says your life is His dwelling place. And as you in return learn the deeper things of abiding in Him, you won’t find yourself trying to go back. It’s never too late to dream another dream and be given fresh anointing from on High. Old ways and old houses don’t make a good place for the new. But new ways bring joy and fresh life to it all.

God loves you and He’s for you. That’s worth moving forward with. He has more for you in these last days than He did in the old days. Praise Him for the opportunity to wake up without the shag carpet life of yesteryear. And wake up this morning rejoicing that you get a new day full of new promises for your life in Christ!

Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him.

Psalm 92:10 But my horn [my emblem of strength and power] You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil [for Your service].

You Can Live Healed

My hubby looked down at my shin the other day and asked how I got the injury he saw. I honestly don’t remember. I probably bumped into something. Random injuries I call them. It’s funny because I can remember specific injuries of childhood, especially the ones from bicycle crashes. LOL As I examined it, I found that it was quite sore. I applied some triple antibiotic to it and it is feeling much better and will soon have no evidence that it was ever there.

Oh beloved, injuries of the flesh are easily forgotten. But injuries of the heart are something else entirely. We cover them up, try to wish them away and hope they don’t bleed. But until we deal with them, it stays sore and festers.

God wants you to know this morning that He sees your injured heart. He wants you to know it wasn’t Him. Even if you think you deserved it, that’s not how God works. He’s not a watchful ogre of a father just waiting to see when you mess up. He is pure Love. Therefore, contrary to humans, He is always loving you. At your worst. And in your worst moments. The pain and agony you feel now about situations isn’t your outcome. Unless you keep it festering. It’s time to quickly apply the balm of Gilead. Jesus applied to anything makes everything better. He isn’t here with you to help you cover up things. But He will allow the Light of His Word to come in and give you peace.

God loves you and He’s for you. As you see the damage done – if it is self-inflected you can forgive yourself. If it is an injury from another you can say, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”. And you can wrap yourself up in Holy Spirit. You can also know that God will make all things new and restore what has been stolen. And you can live in the Light of the truth that The Father is all you ever really need for life, liberty and total healing.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the broken in hearted, and binds up their wounds.

Jeremiah 17:4 Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, For You are my praise.

Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Praise Him In The Moment

That flood we had back a couple of months ago caused loss. It was real. And it hurt. Some of the loss was less important and other things were treasures. Nevertheless, the flood caused even some treasures to be un-keepable. At some point in time the flooding of the water gave me a choice. Hang on to every single thing, even what seemed ruined. Or just let it go. I’m glad now that I let that stuff go. Now there is room to move about and freedom to make some changes to the rooms. I can truly thank God for the whole ordeal.

Oh beloved, maybe the flood hasn’t gotten to your treasures. Maybe it has. Maybe you have been in a flood of the devil. His minions love to make a disaster of everything you love. Bad news will cause you to sit up and take notice. You aren’t happy about it, but you don’t want to drown in it either. Some of you are dealing with floods that come from a source you didn’t expect to ever encounter. A trusted source. No matter, God is able to change circumstances and people and He gives the turnaround. The devil has no real hold on you in any arena of life.

Good news! God doesn’t wait until after the disaster is over to show you how to thank Him! The three men in the fiery furnace thanked Him while it was turned up highest. Hannah praised God as she poured her heart out to God for a baby she hadn’t had yet.
And you and I, beloved believers, we can thank God in the disaster for His promises don’t fail in floods, fire or any trouble. What you are going through won’t last forever. But your walk with the Lord can get so much closer in the meantime, that whether anything happens or not, you will be thankful, secure and blessed. We think it’s about the trial, but God says it’s about relationship. As you learn to focus on Him the pain leaves, the hopelessness dissipates and the concern for loss fades away. You’re not the victim of any onslaught of pain given to you. You are a victor of Holy proportions! Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world.

God loves you and He’s for you. Rise up and praise Him for His Presence, which is literally your life. And live with a heavenly perspective of earthly things. Praying you wake up this morning knowing you have God’s promises through it all and on to the answers to your prayers!

I Samuel 2:1-2 My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in Your deliverance. There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God.

Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Daniel 10:18-19 “Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ He said, ‘for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!’ As He spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to Him, ‘Please speak to me, my Lord, for You have strengthened me’”

Mourning Into Dancing!

When I was young and before it was easy to tell who was in mourning. They wore black and some even wore black veils. Lots of people mourn over things unseen by the natural eye. The loss of friendship. The loss of connection. The loss of hope. Loss of loved ones not by death but misunderstanding, animosity, indifference or worse.

Oh beloved. To you who are in mourning this day. God wants to touch your heart. He gets it. He understands what nobody else does. But He is going to another level and taking you with Him. He says put aside your mourning. Allow Him to turn your mourning into dancing. It may look bleak; it may seem like the casket of hope is closed shut. But God says to arise and pray. Arise and enjoy the life God has given you. As you go with Him into the heavenlies, He is working this whole situation out.

You can’t make things happen. But God can and He is! All the love and care you feel isn’t wasted. And He asks you to trust Him. And take His joy as your own. You aren’t going to languish in hopelessness. You are going to prophesy to the situation and speak God’s truth over it. The enemy hates joy in the Lord. He wants you to grieve yourself to death over anything and anyone. But you are not going to look at circumstances any longer. Take off the robe of mourning and put on the garment of praise!

God loves you and He is for you. This sorrow is temporary. One day you will look back and say wow Lord you did it. In the meantime, walk with Jesus, ask Him to create a clean spirit in you and keep praying and waiting for Him to work all things together for your good. And live with pure joy of the Lord to strengthen your heart and give you faith for the journey!

Psalm 30:11-12 You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

1 Corinthians 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

You Have Redeemed Family Traits

One of my aunts loved genealogy, and now one of her daughters enjoys it as well. While it’s amazing to go back many generations and look at names and places, nothing about that gives much info if any on personalities and the like. I did find out from her that a great grandfather back a way was a preacher. So at least I know of a spiritual connection in the family. I find that hair color, eye color and height are significant to me. Where did I get my blue eyes from? Why was a cousin red headed? That kind of stuff.

Something I do know about an ancestor on both of my sides. I had a grandmother who was very fearful. About everything. And I had a grandfather who was well very mean. About everything. Those are two traits of ancestors that nobody wants to receive.

Oh beloved, whether you know a lot or a little about your ancestors, there is something that you can know. For a born-again believer there is a legacy to leave. But you don’t have to leave a legacy of fear (or anger or alcoholism or whatever you see in your blood line).

Whatever your family dealt with in the past is not yours to receive. Maybe you were told you are just like someone from the past. Don’t take that on to become the embodiment of them. It’s your life, given to you by the Lord. He formed you in your mother’s womb. He gave you all you will ever need. He makes all your life worth living. Don’t think because you see a problem recurring in generations that it’s now your turn to have that problem. It’s not yours to live with or live up to.

God loves you and He’s for you. Rejoice that you get a new life with the blood of the Lamb without spot or wrinkle! Resist the urge to take on ungodly mantels that aren’t for you. Repent for those old ways that lead to more trouble in your family. Ask God to reveal the truth about you as His child through new birth in Christ. And live a joyful life of freedom to break curses and restore lives! In the mighty name of Jesus, the keeper of your wonderful new life!

Ezekiel 18:20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

Romans 1:17 For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.