The Pre Lit Life

I’ve fought hard against having a pre lit tree. I mean how could anything measure up to me putting row upon row on the tree. I love lights! But this new tree has 2,000 cluster lights. It’s on fire! I’m in love! Last night I finally got the ornaments out with the help of some wonderful “elves”. And they all just shine with the lighting. The area of the tree absolutely glows.

Oh beloved, I know you may have decided not to even put a tree up this year. It’s a lot of trouble and it’s just you. You need to know this morning that the Lord wants to light up your life even on this Christmas season. He wants to put the glow back in your heart. And He wants to give you fresh fire within so that you can shine again, like when you first knew Jesus.

Today is not your day to quit shining or quit hoping. This is your day to live above your natural self. It’s not hard to do this, but it’s impossible without the Light of Christ within you. It’s like firing up an old heater. First the pilot must be lit. That’s you praising the Lord for everything in spite of it all. Praise fires up the coldest system. And as you praise Him in spite of what isn’t you will begin to feel the glow of what is – Christ in you the HOPE of glory! Go ahead and ask Him to “set a fire down in y our soul”.

Release your disappointments to Him. Give it all to Him. And then ask Him to fill those blank spaces with His fire of Holy Spirit. It doesn’t matter to Him if you put a Christmas tree up. But it does matter to Him if you feel bah humbug instead of joy. Let Him take you higher because the view in the Spirit is so much better than the view down below. Let Him take your life and make it glow like the tree!

God loves you and He’s for you. Someone may be saying “don’t you think that’s enough of that?” But God is not content to let you have a form of Christmas without the joy. Nor is He content to let you have a form of religion without Christ’s best! Run to Him this morning and thank Him for Holy Spirit working within you. And shine like you are meant to, in the Light of God’s Spirit of love, peace and joy!

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Daniel 12:3 Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.

Romans 12:11 Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord. AMP

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

“So So” To “Oh So!”

We made a third trip to a retina specialist yesterday. Honestly, I didn’t even want to go this time. I was just through with it. The problem I was having should have been resolved by now. At least that was my timeline. And then hubby and I decided I had been forgotten in the lobby after having my eyes dilated. Eventually I was called back and put into a room to wait for the doctor.

When he came in he asked how I was and I said so so (he was surprised as that’s not my usual peppy answer). I explained my frustration. Then He responded with “oh yeah?”, followed by the explanation that the situation had actually resolved. I was surprised and thrilled! So was my hubby. We all gave God the glory for the outcome, even the doctor.

Oh beloved, whatever you are waiting for it’s not time to give up or give in. Even in the lobby while first waiting I had heard the Lord speak, “while you’re waiting for your miracle, pray for someone else”. And I did while sitting there in the lobby.

Not all miracles look the same or come to us with excitement. But in the heavenlies, you can be assured that God can be trusted, He can be relied on and He will do His best for you. Why do we ever doubt? Because you and I tend to look with our natural eyes. In the natural we cannot see what God wants us to see. Our eyesight has problems. But in the Spirit, our eyes are adjusted to see by waiting on the Lord and praying and rehearsing His Word. We may have vision problems here, but in the heavenlies we can have perfect sight. You’re no victim of what you are dealing with today. You are a partner with the King of Kings through Christ to see this thing through to the outcome of His best!

God loves you and He is for you. Let that sink in. Believe it. Because if you believe it you will gain wisdom, power and love over all the wiles of the enemy and the earthly throes of mankind. Run to Him this morning and acknowledge that He knows what He is doing. Then live in the Light as you watch for His answer and eventually His return to take you to your real home!

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

Sparse To Glorious!

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree! You really ought to be more lovely.

I hear the tune but these words this morning. We decided to go artificial this year. I love real trees, but I also love having the tree up for a very long time. That translates to a quite dry tree by the end of the holiday season. We bought one on sale and brought it home to decorate. But when that tree came out of the box I about threw up! It was ugly and sparce. I was not happy at all. We boxed it back up to return it to the store.

But I decided to give the forlorn thing one more try. So I asked our oldest daughter to come over and see what she thought. She’s considered an aficionado at fluffing artificial trees. Sure enough she did her magic and now it’s quite presentable! The 2000 cluster lights adorned on its branches that you can no longer see through make me quite happy.

Oh beloved, everything we deal with has a face value. Often though that face value isn’t what we planned. But you see God is not done with it yet. He knows what to do. We see the ugly and sparce of things. But He sees the outcome. And He knows that our lives are like that tree – we need some fluffing! We need to be stretched and adjusted and moved around. We think of it as hardship. He thinks of it as restoration. Bringing something cramped and boxed out into the open so He can work His supernatural touch.

The word to you today is don’t give up. On your situation or on yourself. You are a magnificent display of God’s glory. And your situation is going to result in the glory of God in your life. Those 2000 cluster lights on the tree don’t compare to the Light of the World shining through you! How magnificent the work of the Lord is. You just need to let Him unbox you and you need to unbox Him. He’s bigger than your wildest hopes and more proficient at everything in your life than you can be.

God loves you and He’s for you. Trust the process and open your heart to the wonders of His plan. And live, precious believer, in the knowledge that you are lovely in His sight and beautiful to display the Lord’s wisdom, power and love to a world that needs this Light more than ever this season!

John 15:4-5 John 15:4-5 Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Psalm 90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Christmas Is More Than What Is In The Store

It probably goes without saying to folks who know me: I love Christmas. I come from parents who loved Christmas. Our oldest daughter has the same Santa in her yard that my dad put up in his yard every year. And when Danny and I were emptying the cabinet in the kitchen where the new fridge was going to be, I found the old angel that my mother hung from her ceiling every Christmas. Now both the Santa and the angel have seen better days, as they are worn from the years of use.

According to the news, Christmas holiday has seen better days as well. Poor supply chains, few workers, lack of items – all these things are supposed to be making Christmas less than stellar this year.

Oh beloved, aren’t we glad that Christmas is more than what’s in the store? Aren’t we blessed to know that we get to prepare for the best Christmas ever? In fact, this could be the Christmas season that the One whose life it is all about returns to get us? And in the meantime, we can celebrate Christ every day, and especially on Christmas Day!

God wants you to know that there is a cloud of disappointment, discouragement and trouble over the world at this time. But you aren’t under that cloud! You are above all that because you are seated in heavenly places with Christ! You aren’t subject to the world’s system nor its refusal to live in harmony with the Lord. You are only subject to the Only Living God! Your peace passes all understanding and it is guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus even now! When all is said and done, when the tinsel is put away and the wrapping is tossed, Christmas will still be the best ever! Because greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world! The thrill of hope is your calling! Rejoicing in all things is your song of choice! And living in the Light of the World without giving up is the magnificent solace of your heart even today!

God loves you and He’s for you. Keep Christ in Christmas! Run to the Father of Light and ask Him for more insight into living as Light in this ever-darkening world. And live Christmas joy every day of the year.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Fun Facts -God’s Truth

Last night I read “10 Fun Facts”. After I read it, I got so tickled I sent it to a couple of grandkids. They quickly shot back that they had read the facts and were laughing. The facts were actually statements that made you try things. For instance, Number 3 was “You can’t breathe through your nose with your tongue out” followed by Number 4, “You just tried Number 3”. There were more fun facts that did the same thing!

Oh beloved, it was hilarious, but then this morning God speaks to my heart. The old enemy of our soul loves to give us a list of facts. His facts are a distortion of the Truth. But his desire is to get us to follow his lies by implementing them. If he can get us to exchange the Truth for a lie, he will be laughing. But we won’t. He wants to steal trust and replace it with doubt. He wants to get us to focus on anything but the Truth. He wants us chained to lies instead of the Truth that sets us free. He wants us to think that God won’t come through, although the Truth says that the Lord always will.

And this morning as you wake up you are faced with the choice. And you have the rights as a believer to know the Truth, to live in the Truth and to abide by the Truth. This is your source of love, joy, peace and blessings. God knows the things you are struggling with in your faith. He sees the turmoil you have. And He says go back to the Word of God – the only source of Truth for living – and measure the not so fun facts of the devil against the Truth.

This is a set you free day. Disappointment comes, but it can’t abide. Discouragement slides in but it has to slither out. Depression wants to smother you, but you are going to take breaths of life from Scripture. And when you are suggested that prayer isn’t answered, you will begin praying, praising and glorifying God! You aren’t falling for the scheming jokes of the devil’s devices anymore. You are a Truth believer!

God loves you and He’s for you. That’s the BIGGEST Truth of all! Jesus made this possible through His sacrifice for you. So you can live, move and have your whole life centered on the precious life giving Word of Faith!

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Romans 3:22 And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

2 Corinthians 11:3 I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.