The Overflowing Love of God

Psalm 139:1-12

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Greetings!

 I trust you are having a great week! I know I am. My son got baptized this week! I am one proud momma. He is such a special kid, and I am so blessed that God has entrusted me to be his mother. I have had my moments of uncertainties as a parent. Am I making the right choices? Am I disciplining him too little, or too much? Does he realize how much I love him? The questions are endless, but one thing is certain, and that is my love for him. The realization of true love came to me the day I first held my son in my arms. It was that moment, when I realized the true meaning of unconditional love. I fell in love with that little fellow that day in the hospital, holding him in my arms, and my heart was so full of joy that it ached. My love for him has grown, as I have watched him grow into the fine young man that he is today. Thinking about this made me think about God, and how much He loves me. How He looks at me, as I look to my son. That love I felt in the hospital holding my newborn son, God has for me, but magnified exponentially. God loves me so much that he gave His one and only son to die for me, that I may have eternal life.

1 John 3:16-24

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask; because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

If you feel lost or alone today, if you are worried about loved ones, or you simply just need that little boost of encouragement for any reason, know how much God loves you. I love Psalm 139. It just makes me realize how much God cares about every detail within us. God has searched us, and knows us because He created us. He knows when we're happy, when we're sad. He knows all of our ways. Why does He know all of this? The answer is simple, because He loves us. Nothing can separate us from His love. His presence is near; can you reach out and touch Him? Allow God to fill you with His powerful presence today, that it may never leave you, for without the presence of God, what sets us apart from the rest of the world?

Exodus 33:15-16:

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

Enter into your secret place. Allow yourself to be immersed within God's presence, and then just tell God how much you love Him.

Fighting Spiritual Battles

Psalm 118:5-14

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.

Good Morning, My Beloved!!!

I hope you are having a good week. You know, we can have a good week, even in the hard times. This week, I've been feeling a lot like the weather has been lately - gray, gloomy, rainy. Last week, we had an amazing time at the kids camp - the Spirit was so powerful, and we came back to one spiritual attack after another. The enemy was sent to steal, kill, and destroy. We know this, but why do we oftentimes allow the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy us - almost willingly. As I've been fighting this spiritual battle, I've noticed how easy it would be to give up - giving into the enemy's plan. No one said that this walk of faith would be easy. I've had some really good friends praying for me during this time, and one of them brought an amazing word of encouragement to me last night. She said, “The battle is not ours to fight, but the Lord's.” My human nature is to solve problems, but this is a spiritual battle. What makes us think we can fight spiritual battles in the physical realm? How do we try to fight spiritual battles in the physical realm? We blame people, we get upset with people, we try to throw money at our problems, we go to doctors or lawyers, take medication, take advice from any person that will offer it, search the internet, we will do everything we can in the natural to fight a spiritual battle. We are left exhausted, tired, and weak, and it is at that point the enemy is able to sweep in and steal, kill, and destroy.

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

So, how do we fight a spiritual battle? We don't - we allow God to fight our Battle. Moses, Joshua, Gideon, King Jehoshaphat, and King David are all men who victoriously fought battles, and won, because they recognized these were more than physical battles, they allowed God to fight the spiritual battle.

I think Psalm 118 shows us, what to do when we find ourselves caught in a spiritual battle. When you get to the point you just feel beaten down, that you can't go any longer, cry out to the Lord. Give the Lord your burdens; He does not want you to carry it on your own:

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Also, you have nothing to be afraid of - we should not fear. The righteous do not fear:

Psalm 112:6-8

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

One of the most important things to remember is to take refuge in the Lord. It is amazing when you take refuge in the Lord, that you don't feel the attacks. People will say you seem so peaceful and calm - how can you smile during this time? It is because when you take refuge in the Lord, you do not feel the pains, you only feel His love. You may remember when you were little when you would get frightened, you would run to your parent’s arms. God is our daddy, let us run to His arms.

Psalm 37:40

The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Call on the name of the Lord, the name that is above every name, the name in which demons flee, and the name in which one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess.

Philippians 2:9-11

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Lord is our strength, He is our defense, and He is our Salvation. While we fight this battle know that it is only through the Lord that we can gain victory. I'm not sure what you are going though right now, but I know that we all will go through spiritual battles. It's a part of the faith, but be encouraged, sisters, that with God all things are possible. We do not have to fear. While we may not know what the outcome may be in the physical realm, we know that God has a plan. Isn't it comforting to know that God has a plan? And remember there will be a day in which we will no longer feel pain.

Revelation 21:4

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

No matter what we are going through, we cannot allow it to interfere with our worship to the King of Kings. In fact, that is the very thing that will get you through a time of trouble.

A Prayer for Our Nation

Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.  ”I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. ” Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope you are having a great holiday. I am catching up on some much needed rest, while praying for our nation. On this holiday, celebrating the birth of our nation, I would like to take the time to pray for our leaders. Normally, I pray Psalm 1 over our leaders, or soon to be leaders (after all it is an election year, which was ever so obvious in the parade I attended this morning, politician after politician was riding in the parade seeking votes.) Anyways, this week, the Lord led me to this scripture. It can be a bit of a scary scripture, as you can see today, our leaders do not have the fear of the Lord.

So, here is my prayer:

 Lord, forgive our leaders of our nation. They have spoken against you, and have not had the fear of the Lord. They do not acknowledge your son, or lead the nation according to your righteous ways. Instead, they promote the ways of evil, by promoting the murder of millions of babies. They promote sexual immorality, and turmoil. Oh Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do. They do not understand your holiness, or your power, for if they did, they would fear you. Lord, have mercy on our nation. Will you destroy our nation, when there are righteous people residing here? Lord, let the righteous arise; let them stand for your holy truth. Lord let us take refuge in You, for you are the only way. We love You, Lord. We praise you Lord. We want nothing more, than to live according to your ways, according to your truth. Open our eyes to your righteousness, that we may be holy and acceptable to you. I pray that on the day of your judgment, we may be found holy, blameless, and spotless. Cleanse us from our unrighteousness. Fill us with the boldness of your spirit, which we can lead the way of the righteous. May our ways glorify You. You alone, Lord, are worthy of all praise and glory. We love you, Lord, and it is in your name that we pray this prayer. Amen.

Let us cry out to the Lord, that He may have mercy on our nation during this dark hour.