Are you more than 99.4% pure?

Have you ever seen the ads for Ivory soap proclaiming that their 
products are 99.4% pure? According to whom? 

This morning in my quiet time with God, He spoke to me about
what purity really means. There is more to it than you may think.
The verse He brought to my attention is found in the book of James.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated  full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. James 3:17

Look at the fruits of the wisdom from above. It is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated  full of mercy and food fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.  

Pure first. There can be nothing impure in a Christian's life. 99.4% is not good enough. God needs us to be 100% pure in our thoughts, motives and actions. He is talking about more than just sensual purity, but in every aspect of our lives as believers. Bitterness is impure. Anger is impure. So is unkindness, selfishness, gossip and backbiting. 

 You cannot have impurity  and live a peaceable life. There cannot be anything in the life that has even a taint of anything. It does not take much poison to kill a person. It only takes a little bit of gossip to ruin someone's reputation that they have spent years to build. 

God's wisdom is never one of revenge--eye for an eye-- wisdom like the world gives. It is first pure. Without purity, the stream does not flow as it should. The waters flowing from out of you will be bitter and undesirable.   Make sure to keep your wellspring clean and pure from all that will defile you. 

From purity flows the other attributes, ie. peace. If a person is not pure, they will not be at peace with themselves or anyone else. The irritating things in a life come from impurities, things that can cause infections and wounds. Guard your heart from the impurities of unrest, bitterness and all ungodliness.

Don't give in to pettiness and nit-picking. That is another indication of an impure life. People are not satisfied with what they have find it easy to be unkind to those who have what they don't have. Don't go that way. When someone is unkind that does not give you a license to retaliate and be like they are. My husband told me once,  "Don't  wrestle with a pig because you get dirty and the pig likes it."  In other words, if you are bent on nit-picking and fault-finding, then it will come back on you and taint your reputation making you way less than the 100% purity criteria for the Heavenly Father. 

Instead of retaliating with unkindness, go about the business of focusing on do good works, being kind and fair, pure and true. That alone will keep you out of trouble and away from that which will pollute you mind.  

I have a reminder that is taped to the side of my file cabinet in the office. It has such good advice. I am unsure of its source, but it has some profound thoughts.

Keep about the work that God has given you,
Don't flinch because the lion roars.
Don't stop to stone the devil's dogs.
Don't fool away your time chasing the devil's rabbits.
Do your work.......

Don't worry about others. That is God's job. You follow Him. You listen to His voice. He will always be right. He will always give you the best advice. He will always be what you need. Trust Him to do everything else that you need.

Thanks for reading.

Donna

Jesus Had Enemies?

Psalm 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 

I thought this was so good. I am not sure who authored it, but it was in a Psalm Commentary that I downloaded into my e-Sword.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” The good man has his enemies. He would not be like his Lord if he had not. If we were without enemies we might fear that we were not the friends of God, for the friendship of the world is enmity to God. Yet see the quietude of the godly man in spite of, and in the sight of, his enemies. How refreshing is his calm bravery! “Thou preparest a table before me.” When a soldier is in the presence of his enemies, if he eats at all he snatches a hasty meal, and away he hastens to the fight. But observe: “Thou preparest a table,” just as a servant does when she unfolds the damask cloth and displays the ornaments of the feast on an ordinary peaceful occasion. Nothing is hurried, there is no confusion, no disturbance, the enemy is at the door and yet God prepares a table, and the Christian sits down and eats as if everything were in perfect peace. Oh! the peace which Jehovah gives to his people, even in the midst of the most trying circumstances!"

Jesus told me that we will have those in this life who will not like us because evil hates righteousness. Sometimes people see in us something that they are lacking in themselves.  Instead of seeking the peace out for themselves, they lash out at those who possess it. There have been so many in the church world who do not possess the peace that this verse is talking about. A true follower of Jesus is at peace with his fellowman with as much as lieth within him or her. They do not need to be picking and finding fault with others. 

 If someone is picking at you, it means that you have something that they don't possess. Criticism comes from an unsettled heart...one not fully surrendered to God. There are no enemies among true believers. Oh, there are different personalities and differing opinions, but not outright hostility. That which is hostile is not from His camp. 

That is not to say that we will always agree with other believers. Even the Apostle Paul had bitter disputes, yet when he and Barnabas departed ways, God still used them both mightily.

Acts 15:36-41

36.  And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. 
37.  And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. 
38.  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. 
39.  And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; 
40.  And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. 
41.  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. 


Although they had their differences over John Mark, we read in II Timothy 4:11


11.  Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. 

After a number of years passed, Paul saw the good in Mark. He became a blessing to him. Paul turned the one who was disputed into a valuable asset. What a wonderful lesson about how you see others who are different than you!

So how do we handle the situation with our enemies?

• Jesus offers peace in the presence of enemies...those who oppose you and what you stand for. He stood quietly when falsely accused before the rulers in Jerusalem. We do not have to defend ourselves. God can do a much better job than we can.

• Jesus offers blessings beyond measure to His own. A lot of people can't see that. They do not know what living a live of full surrender really means. They do not know what it means to be calm in the midst of the storm. They have not learned that He is at the helm when there is total surrender.

• Your blessings of joy and mercy will overflow to others by dwelling in His presence. The surrendered ones have been consecrated into His service.

• Endurance of our enemy's onslaughts  bring patience with its perfect work...the work of the blessed ones overflowing with joy spilling out onto others as little bits of stardust upon a darkened life. Darkness cannot comprehend joy. 

• Those who believe in Him shall possess joy even in the midst of the trials. Joy everlasting will be your portion. That is Jesus' promise to believers.... 

Thanks for reading. I would love to read your feedback.

Donna

His Mercy Extended

Psalm 136:23  Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever: 

In my talk with God today, we spent a little time talking about mercy again. It is a lesson that He has been teaching over the past few weeks. 

We talked about His availability to us. He is approachable. He is always there to meet your needs no matter what they ma be. You can never exhaust His mercy, love and grace for you. That is a real profound thought! 

I grew up in a large family and found it very difficult at times. There were times that I wanted to talk to my mother, but she would motion me away from her because she was busy and the things that I wanted to say to her were left unsaid. Her actions left me feeling rejected and unwanted at times, however, now that I am older, I understand that she was just trying to cope with the responsibilities of the family. But Jesus is not like that. He is always approachable and extends His arms of mercy to all of us all of the time. We can never be anywhere that He has not been. He is always there to listen when we need to talk.  

Psa 139:7-12 reads:

7.  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 

8.  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art  there.

9.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 

10.  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11.  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

12.  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 

In other words, there is not one place we could go, one situation that we will face, there is nowhere that God  hasn't been. He  knows what you are feeling. He cries when you cry. He laughs when you laugh. He weeps when you weep. He rejoices when you do. He hurts with you. He grieves with you.... Every human emotion that you feel, He has experienced already. He has been there and He has already conquered all, so nothing that you feel surprises Him. We can have confidence in serving the God who has been there and always will be.

When Jesus went back to Heaven, He left a body of believers to do His ministry through them. Down through the generations of time, those who serve Him and love Him will serve others as He would have them to do.  We as believers are the only Jesus that some people will ever know. Since He dwells inside of you, you become who He is...more and more like Him every day. That is why He says to you sometimes, "That is not what I would have said...That is not what I would have done...that is not the attitude I would have shown." 

When you mess up, it is the mercy and grace that He offers you so that you will know how to offer it to others who do not experience that for themselves.... others who do not deserve it... 
By your allowing Him to call the shots, others are seeing Him and  He is drawing them to Himself. It does not matter what people do or don't do. If He asks you to show mercy to someone, then quickly do it even though it is hard to do. 

Mercy is more than feeling sorry for someone. It is reaching out to them even though they may not react the same way He would. It is seeing a need and filling it. It is doing for God's Kingdom when no one else is doing it. Others do not matter in this respect. You do what you are asked to do and leave the rest to Him. 

When you are in Him and He is in you, that means that you become one with Him, just like you are one with your husband or wife, only He is one differently. A mate is one physically, emotionally etc,  but Jesus is one spiritually and eternally with those that serve Him. 

His mercy endures forever, so should your mercy endure.....
His mercy is extended regardless of the circumstances, so should yours be exended...
His mercy is extended regardless of what people say and do, so should yours be.

Mercy and grace extended to whomever and whenever....That is Jesus' motto, if you will.

Thanks for reading.

Donna

You Want Mercy, HUH?

Lately in my quiet time God has been  talking to me about mercy.

The verse He used today was:
Hos 10:12  Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy;
break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, 
till he come and rain righteousness upon you. 

The first part of the verse says to "reap in mercy". If you want to reap mercy,
you must first plant mercy. That does not mean that you let people run over you.
It  means that you show mercy to those that need it (or don't deserve it).
So many time we can get bent out of shape if someone wrongs us. Perhaps we
do not see the whole picture. We do not know what they are going through.
Try to put yourself in their shoes. Look at them from God's perspective. 
Maybe they have just had some terrible news. Maybe things are not at
peace in their home and they are acting out by taking it out on you.

My friend and I had a long talk about mercy lately. Someone had wronged me
and I was struggling over it. She said to me, "How many times have I messed
up and you forgave me and we continued being friends? That was mercy." She 
went on to say, "If you want mercy, you must forgive and extend mercy as well
or your Father in Heaven will not forgive you." That one made me think long
and hard! I needed to forgive in order to show mercy. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: 
Matthew 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." 

The dictionary define mercy as:
1. refraining from harming or punishing offenders, enemies, etc.
2. a disposition to forgive or to be kind.
3. Kind or compassionate treatment
*(Webster's New World Dictionary, c.1972 The Southwestern Company, Nashville, TN)

Notice, it says, "blessed" are the merciful.... Jesus is saying that we are to
be blessed. How? Well, to name a few:

• We will have a clear conscience.
• We may make a former enemy become a friend.
• We will be forgiven by the Father in Heaven.
• We will reap benefits of righteousness.
• When we mess up, we will be given mercy and forgiveness.

There are so many stories of people whose have been changed by
someone offering forgiveness and mercy...the unmerited favor and 
kindness to undeserving people. 

None of us deserve God's forgiveness and mercy, yet we freely receive it
from Him. He wants us to extend mercy, too. When we do, we will be blessed.

Further in the verse, it reads " the Lord will rain down righteousness on you".
So, mercy bring forth fruits of righteousness.

Is  there someone in your life that needs mercy shown to them right now?
Grant mercy and you will be blessed beyond measure. Try it and see! 

Seek Him first, show mercy, and reap the righteous results. It is as simple as that.

Thank you for reading.  I would love to read your feedback.

Donna

It Won't Always Rain.

I have a music CD by Marci Webb in my office. She sings a
song that comes back to my mind from time to time. The song
is entitled, "It Won't Rain Always". 
I was thinking of that today when I got up and saw the sun
shining through the murk after a few long overcast, rainy, 
foggy days.

Though it seems like it sometimes that the rain will never end,
It will not always rain. God promised that when He put the
rainbow in the sky.  There will always be seasons--summer, 
winter, springtime and harvest. He promised that He would
never flood the earth again. It is a law of nature. It cannot
change, nor will it ever. Winter always  gives way to the 
brilliance of spring. 

It is the same way with life.  Life is not always dark and 
stormy. There are moments of sunshine and warmth.  
Think what would happen to us if we never had to face any
storms and always had happiness and blue skies. We would
not amount to very much. We would shrivel up quickly. 
We need wintertime in our lives. We need storms from time to
time. It makes us grow and really appreciate the sunshine even
more when we see it. 

On the flip side of this coin is how we look at life. If we see
everything as a negative, dark cloudy life then that is what we
will get. But in the midst of the storm, if we look up when everything
else surrounding us looks dark, there is the glimmer of the lining
behind the dark storm clouds. 

An old chorus comes to mind. "Behind every dark cloud shines the
smiling face of Jesus. In every dark cloud look for Him; He'll be there..."

The sun is always shining regardless of our circumstances. Above
the clouds, the blackness of night, the sun always puts forth its 
brilliance. Never changing, always steady... Just like our God.

Trusting that you will feel the warmth of the Sonshine in your life!

Thanks for reading.

Donna

Running on Empty?

My son had an embarrassing situation lately and he gave
his permission to share it with you. He learned a lesson from it
and so can we.

Let me give you a little bit of background so you understand the story. 

Sam bought a used car a few months ago. It has a lot of idiosyncrasies, one of 
which is a fuel gauge that does not work properly and a gas tank that will leak if
you fill it too full. He has to find that right level so he doesn't waste fuel and he
has to keep track of how many miles he travels so he knows when it needs fuel.
Most of the time he does fine, but there are those few occasions when he 
forgets. You can guess what happened. Yep! He ran out of gas.

It was not the only situation that he was facing at that moment. The roads were
nasty. Since we live in the country, the roads are not kept up as well as  the
county or state roads. He had to go pick up his paycheck, but it was a long, long
ways to go to get it.

You see, when he topped a hill, there was a truck stuck in the middle of the road.
He had to turn around in a drive way where he got stuck! Finally he got out, but
his car stalled and would not start no matter how hard he tried. So, he called for
his dad to come and help him.  

Long story short, it took 3 very frustrating and tense hours for his dad to push him
home. After struggling for a long time to get it into the driveway, the neighbor came 
over with his tractor and pushed his car into the driveway. 

After the neighbor left, my husband tried to start the car without success. They tried 
repeatedly to do things to get it started...and nothing worked. They began replacing
parts, charging the battery, and whatever else mechanics do, but the car still refused to start. They were baffled. Finally, someone got the bright idea to put some gas in it and see if it would start. VOILA! It cranked right over and ran like a charm!

So, what is my point here?  In the spiritual realm, if we do not have the right amount
of fuel in our tank, we will leak out and eventually sputter and die. We have to daily make
sure that we have our tank filled with "God time". 

Just like my guys who were frustrated and tense and baffled, we will be too if we do not
have the fuel of the Spirit in our lives. We can replace all the parts we want to. We can
guess and second guess our problem, but unless we first check our fuel level and
allow God to fill us and keep us filled, we will be just wasting time.

"Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."
 Matthew 11:28

Come to Me instead of doing it all on your own. Come to Me instead of letting everyone else tell you how to do it. Jesus has the answers that your are looking for. Just come to Him and rest. You don't have to struggle on your own strength when your fuel tank is empty. Go to Him and let Him fill you with His peace and rest. 

Thanks for reading.

Donna

Just think of stepping On Shore

This past weekend has been a bit tough for those in our church in that
we lost a saint of God just past midnight this morning. We know where
Bob went...right into the arms of Jesus. There is no doubt that is where
he is today with all of the sorrows and sadness of this world behind him.
He left it all behind and winged his way heavenward.

He left his companion of about 62 years behind. She was faithful
in  caring for him and loved him through his difficult days
when he gradually faded from this life and into the next world. 

The church body grieves with her. He was one of us. What I mean
is that Bob was part of our church. He was a member of the family of
God...one of the redeemed that is talked about in God's Word...one
whose sins were washed away and now is seeing Jesus face to face.

Although we grieve for Bob, yet we have the eternal hope that we will see
him again someday. The way the world is going, it may be sooner than we
think. 

Bob lived his life in such a way that there was no question marks left here
on earth.  That is a challenge to all of us. Make sure all question marks are
erased with the assurance to those around us. It comforts the grieving ones
to know that where he went is just beyond the veil of where we are headed.

But another thing that I wanted to add to this is that God prepared the church
last night for what we were about to face. He visited our service in an unusual
way. He settled down among us in a sweet presence and touched our hearts
with His special presence. We all knew that it was Him. It was a holy hush, so
quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It was Heaven touching earth because
God knew that our hearts needed Him to do that for us. At the same time, he
was preparing to take Bob to be with Him. 

The God of all comfort was there meeting our needs and welcoming a saint into
His arms.

Thanks for reading.
Donna

Standing in the Dark

My son, Brad experienced a car breakdown, so we had to juggle schedules

in order to accommodate his work schedule on Wednesday evening. God used

that circumstance to teach a lesson. 

Let me explain a little about it so that you will be able to understand the meaning

of what I am talking about. 

Bradley works part-time as a meat cutter/ deli worker at a local grocery store in a

nearby village. His shifts on Wednesdays are the closing shift that ends at 8:00 p.m. 

Often a police officer will come in right before the shift ends, buy a cup of coffee

and stay around while the money is counted and the store is closed up for the night.

When his vehicle is working, it is not a problem, but on this particular evening, 

we had to leave prayer meeting early so that we could pick him up when his shift

ended at 8:00 p.m. 

The temperatures were in the single digits, so I felt concerned for him because I

knew that he was alone in the dark, freezing night waiting for us to pick him up.

His cellphone battery was dead, so if something would have happened, there

was no way to call for help. 

We pulled into the parking lot 5 minutes after the store clerk left. Brad was 

standing alone in the dark shadows on the side of the building shivering in the 

chill of the arctic cold night air. However, he was not alone. Sitting in a squad 

car about 50 feet away was a policeman keeping an eye on him to make sure

he was safe.

Bradley knew that we were coming, but he didn't know the exact moment

that we would arrive. He knew that the policeman was there for him, but he had

to stand in the darkness alone.

So, how does this incident apply to us and what lessons can be learned?

Sometimes we are like Bradley standing alone in the darkness.

• We know that God promised that He would take care of us. 
• We know that the answer is on the way. 
• We know that beyond the darkness of the veiled earth is our safety.
• Our guard who will not let anything happen to us without His knowledge. 

However, Bradley had to trust that we would keep our word and that the policeman

would do his job....just like we do with God.  We endure the darkness and coldness

of this earth because help is on the way and we are promised Heaven and home 

forever. 

Just some thoughts to think about.

Thanks for reading.

Donna

Today is the second day of January 2013. After all of the whirl of
holiday activities is behind us. It is nice to sit back for a few minutes and
take a breather before we attack the laundry, piles of dishes, etc.

When I look back on 2012, I wonder how we ever made it through it.
There were tragedies that we faced, difficulties on a daily basis, so it 
seemed. However, we survived it and are here to tell the story through
God's grace.

One lesson that God has been teaching me this past year is to trust
Him. That is much harder than it sounds. So many circumstances came
our way as a family and it seemed that our boat was about to sink. Then
the Master of the storm stepped on our behalf in marvelous ways, showing
Himself to be who He really is, The Awesome and Mighty God!

I am reminded of the passage in Mark when the disciples were in the 
boat with Jesus. They were scared silly, but they didn't need to be. Jesus
was right there with them. 

Mark 4:37-39

37.  And there arose a great storm of wind,
and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 
38.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep
on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, 
carest thou not that we perish? 
39.  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto
the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was
a great calm. 

We do not have to be afraid of anything in 2013. Jesus is in the
boat with us and He is saying, "Peace be still..."

Now there are some encouraging thoughts.

Donna

Happy New Year!

We are beginning a brand new year filled with adventure, danger,
and excitement. We can look at it with fear and trembling or
rest in the blessed hope that only Christ gives.

The last year, 2012 is behind us. For our family, we saw a lot of sad times,
intense moments, harried times, but we also had moments of
laughter and happiness and made some wonderful memories.
A friend once told me that life is what you make it to be. If you want to be
sad and lonely, then that is your choice. If you want to be happy, it is a choice
that you make. Every moment is a choice. When we choose to follow Christ
we can be assured of true happiness in spite of the circumstances.

But what about things that happen beyond our control?

• Tragedies happen to everyone.
• Death snatches our loved ones and we mourn for their loss.
• Job security is a thing of the past.
• Unexpected things happen that drains the checking account faster than you can blink an eye.
• I am sure you could add to this list of things that happened already.

Remember Who is in control here. God is never taken by surprise.
He knew what was going to happen before it takes place. He will not allow
anything to come into your life without His knowledge. He knows
how much we can take and He will not allow things to totally break us.
Sometimes we may think we cannot take any more, but through the
difficulties, we can see His hand in the worst of situations. It doesn't
matter what your struggle is, He has your eternal good in mind.

Sometimes we do not understand what God is doing in our lives.
We cannot see through the veil of darkness.  Beyond that veil that
is so dark lies Paradise! Paradise-- where God dwells--- will be our final
resting place, not the cold, damp, dusty earth here below.

One day, I was talking to God in my quiet time with Him. Let me share
a portion of what He said in my prayer journal.

"Every trial that you win becomes like a diamond and glistens in the noonday sun.
When you look back, you will see where those diamonds are. Your pathway is strewn
with diamonds of victories. The tears that you have shed for others glisten like the
dewdrops on roses in the early morning sunlight. Every prayer that you have prayed
for others shows beauty beyond compare. Every kind deed that you have done shows
splendor and beauty beyond compare. I take the mundane, difficult things in your
life and turn them into beauty. But all of this does not happen unless you patiently
go through the trials and tests that I send your way to strengthen you. 

When you feel discouraged, look back at the pathway that I see...strewn with
diamonds and other costly gems bordered by beautiful roses and flowers beyond description.

Yes, life is hard for the believer, but don't look at it that way. Look for the beauty
that I am creating in you. 
Your path of endurance glitters in the noonday sun so that others may see it and
 find their way to where I am. 
I am where you will be one day... I have prepared a place beyond your wildest dreams.
So, endure! I will be with you and deliver you when you call on Me. Trust brings results...wonderful results for all eternity! " 


So whatever happens in 2013 will prepare us for Paradise forever!


Happy New Year!