We are All Called to Encourage~

  I love getting a card in the mail or a encouraging email. A phone call, they always come just at the right time, when I’m feeling discouraged or in pain or stressed, someone out there knows because the holy spirit has spoken to their heart and told them. How do you feel when you’ve had a tough week at work, and the kids are off the walls and you feel you don’t have time to accomplish everything you must and your being pulled in a dozen directions, how do you feel when someone takes the time out of their busy schedule to reach out and encourage you?

 We are not meant to walk this journey alone, life is full of pain, trials and disappointments. God has places certain individuals into our lives to encourage us, just at the right time. What is worth more gold, or a true friend speaking love into your life and edifying you in your spiritual walk, and your day-to-day life? Many scriptures in the bible talk about encouraging one another 1 Thessalonians 4:18, Hebrews3:13, Hebrews 10:25.

This is not just a spiritual gift, but as Christians, we are all called to edify and encourage one another in the faith. Do we want our words to bring down someone or uplift them in their time of need? Encouragement is like a refreshing fountain of spring water that gives renewed strength to those who hear of it. If we are to break down the word, encouragement for what is means En= means to put into and the Latin word cou means heart.

I’ve learned to follow Christ example. My mom was the one who set such a beautiful example of what living a life of encouragement looked like, this was her spiritual gift too, but like me tried to show other believers they don’t need to have a gift of encouragement to edify someone. She instilled this into me ata very young age and im so grateful to her for this.

  Encouraging our spouses, friends and family can also be a outreach. What would the world say about is if all Christians were known as encouragers? Think about that for a moment, the scriptures are clear John 13:34,35 says that all people will know we are his disciples if we love one another!  that what Christ’s life was LOVE, isn’t that the greatest commandment he gave us after Love the Lord your god with all your heart and all your soul and your entire mind and love your neighbor as yourself!

 We aren’t suppose to live secluded lives , we are to  be in the world, not of the world, but sharing Christ’s love, the best way we can do that is by showing love and encouraging others give them that hope we have. We aren’t suppose to brush aside those I need, Or brush our hands on their mess, as brothers and sisters in Christ we are to walk alongside them. Thessalonians 5:11, Romans 1:11,12.

 I remember a few years back having a conversation with this lady who was going through a very difficult time in her life. I gave her a card of encouragement and she broke down in tears. She said this means to much to me thank you, but I could never do what you do. I asked her what she meant and she said the way you encourage others, I told her we do not need to have a gift of encouragement to reach out, just a willing heart and eyes open to see those who are hurting. She agreed and I gave her something to reflect on.

  So many Christians take this route, well its not my gift, but you don’t need this gift to make someone smile, to listen to their pain, to pray with them or read the scriptures with them. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal who is hurting and what you should say. the holy spirit will reveal to you just what you need at that time .BE a encourager! I promise you that you too will be blessed by stepping g outside of yourself and you will see what a difference living a life as Christ looks like, Feeling another’s pain, and bearing their burdens. God wants us all to step out of our comfort zones and find those who need to be edified, don’t wait for someone else, if God has places them in your path, they are there for a reason and it’s a opportunity! Live a life of encouraging others, for you will be surely blessed!

King David~Having A Heart Like God~

  Have you ever asked yourselves, what does having a heart like Jesus look like? Do you desire to grow in your spiritual walk? I know I do, I thirst for Gods righteousness, and it is something we should all desire. Does your heart bleed for the lost the hurting and the broken? Do you strive daily to become more like him and mirror His love for mankind? You may feel like its too lofty of a goal to obtain, or you may think it does not concern me, why should I even bother?

  Spiritual maturity is about becoming more Christ like, displaying the character Christ, yet we are imperfect humans who have to daily work out and strengthen our walk. Think of a person who is trying to get healthy and get into shape, they eat healthy, and they exercise on a daily basis to strengthen and tone and get their bodies into shape.

   In the same way a person who is working on building their faith up and growing in Christ Jesus reads Gods word daily, studies it and applies what he has read, he prays and communicates with Jesus on a daily basis, talking and building that relationship up. He spends times with other believers so he can be encouraged and encourage them.  The more you grow in Christ the more your heart and life will mirror Christ!

    Therefore, a very good example of a Man who desired and thirsted for God was King David. He had a simple beginning as a shepherd boy. God called him a man after Gods own heart. David was just like us, he had hopes and dreams, he had struggles and he had sins. Just like us all. Can we learn from King David, can we see our lives in some form when we read about him in God’s word?

   What does the world look at, when they size up someone; they look at the outward appearance, the success of that individual. God looks at our hearts! It says it right there in 1 Samuel 16:6,7 The lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”

   So we go on and we look at the kind of man David was. We could go into depth and do a complete character study, but I want to keep this simple and to the point right now. David had a lot going for him. He was handsome, smart, a leader, and a warrior, so it sounds on the surface that he was all around what God would want to do his work for him. Then we read further along in Samuel and it talks about the many sins of David, murder, adultery, lust. so he was a sinner just like us, not a saint. Yet God called him a man after Gods own heart.

   You ask how can that be, why would God use the man who had fallen so many times, Sounds a lot like us, we sin repeatedly, but Gods forgives our sins. he does not hold them over us, he wipes them clean, when we repent and are sincere God looks inward and looks at the condition of our hearts, that’s what he did with David. Were there consequences for his sins, yes, his son died, he had enemies, and he dealt with famine. Despite all he had done God still called him for a great purpose. I recall the quote , don’t remember who its by but it says” God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called” God doesn’t look for perfection, but for a willing heart ,a hear that thirsts for righteousness’ heart that’s ready to follow the call into the likeness of Christ!

Many times, we feel inadequate, in my own journey I know I have. I wonder of David ever felt like that? He trusted God to lead the way, anytime he went into battle; it wasn’t his armor he was outing on, but           Gods armor .Ephesians 6:10-17.So why do we question God when he desires to use us. We are not stepping out into battle on our own strength; the battle belongs to the Lord. When God calls us he will equip us, even with all our shortcomings, like David he did not deserve God’s blessings, but God saw David’s heart and knew that David thirsted for God and to be more like him, David knew he had fallen short and he repented and God did bless him.

   Do you question God when the Holy Spirit pulls on your heartstrings, and you know without any doubt that God is calling you for a greater purpose than you are serving? Do you fight it, question is because of your past or your sins you find yourselves inner struggle within yourselves your heart questions am I capable of what you are asking of me?

   You might have taken a detour gone off the path that you know God wants you on, so you doubt yourself. We are equipped already with every good work with what God wants of us, why do we turn our backs to his voice at times.  I loved the quote by: John Newton:” I’m a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior” I desire to grow and mature in Christ. I hope that’s your desire as well.im still learning, we all are , were on a journey, one we won’t finish until we get to heaven one day study his word and apply it daily to my life. It’s my compass, it’s the first place I go when I have a problem. Ill fall short like Kind David did, but I want God to look at my heart and see whop I desire to be like? Him

   No man can be put on a pedestal .king David was no different he sinned, but he sought forgiveness and to grow in his faith. He thirsted, he desired God saw through his mess, through his flaws and failures and called him by name.

What does a man after Gods heart look like? A heart that obeys, a heart that is humble, a heart that prays, a heart that thirsts for God’s word, a heart seeking to grow. If we want that, our desire to learn will grow rapidly our passion will be evident to those around us in Acts 13:22 it talks about having a heart that desires to please and obey God!

 We need to have communication with our creator that is wrapped up into growth and applying what we learn practically into our daily lives and sharing what Christ is doing in our lives, Encouraging others to do the same. I want to make a difference, I want my heart to look more and more like Christ, being his hands and feet. Earthly success can be good, but it has no lasting legacy

  .David was a warrior, a leader, a builder, what surpassed all those accomplishments was his desire and passion to know HIS God! His praises were in his lips! He knew he was far from perfect, earthly success does not define charterer, our hearts speak of the man or woman he wants us to be. Its not about what we accomplish, but whom we are becoming in Christ that matters most to Him. Let us follow David’s example, he was just like us! Let’s not strive for success or knowledge, lets strive to have a heart more like Jesus!

A Dessert Experince~

There are times in our lives, when our journey comes to a halt, the voice of God seems to be far off and distant, were looking  asking the questions , but no answers are being given. Everywhere we look its as though were walking through a dessert, a barren landscape, water can’t be found and you feel like your wandering in the middle of nowhere.

 You cant see over the horizon, It’s just miles and miles of dessert s in every direction. You stop and ask where is this cool spring, where is the water to quench my thirst? Have you ever felt this way in your spiritual walk? I know I have at times.  As Christians, we all have felt this way at one time or another. You listen for that small voice of God, you have set aside all distractions and you try to come into his presence daily. Yet you cannot deny the deep fear that is eating you inside. Its like a heavy load that your carrying on your shoulders.

   This heavy load is pressing down on your spirit. You are not sure you can take another step without falling down. This load is heavy, it makes it difficult to keep on this path, your doing all you can to stay on the straight and narrow, but at times your realize you’ve not allowed Christ Jesus to sit on the throne. our own desires and plans seem to overshadow his will and then you find yourself confused and conflicted at why things are playing out the way they are. Can you relate? Are you unsure of God’s presence, you know what He says, you believe it in your mind, but in your heart you feel disconnected from him?

   You try to push aside all the negativity of emotions. Its truly a dessert experience. Its dry and lonely, there are some who stick by, and encourage, while others have judging eyes. Its all you can do to focus on the here and now, not sure what tomorrow will bring. It’s the fear you carry around, and you’re tired of this load., You long for that cool spring of refreshment for your soul, to renew your thoughts and revive what your believe in, you don’t want it to stay doormat inside. You want more than anything to experience the beauty and fullness of all God has in store for you. Keep trudging along in your dessert. One foot in front of the other, the only prayer you can speak on your lips is “Lord help me”

   Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28 Come with me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest, for my burden is light and my yoke is easy. Jesus alone is the everlasting water. His supply never runs dry He can soothe the dry and parched lips. He will renew your spirit; he reaches out to the point of where you are now and give you his hand to hold and gives you the shade from the hot sun. He leads you by the still waters, and takes your load from you, you lay it at his feet. He says take of my everlasting well, for it never dries up!

   I will provide for all your needs, he knows, he knows just how tired you have been, you are now in his embrace, you have walked the dessert dunes for what seems like such a long time, and now you find your rest. Were Safe in his embrace now. We all need to take time out, step back from the business and the distractions and refocus our attention on Him alone! take ourselves out of the driver’s seat, and release the grasp we have on expectations, and let him renew our minds and our vision, then we can get a renewed more focused perspective on what we are to be doing for him, and ultimately remember its not what were doing, but who we are becoming in Him!

Poetry~ Gods Provsion~

   For those who know me best, know what a love of poetry I have. I love reading it and I love using my gift to write it. The poem I want to share with you talks about what don and I went through last year, not knowing where we would live, but seeing Gods provision come through in such a amazing way. My prayer is that you will be encouraged by what God placed on my heart at the time I wrote this.

                                                               “Gods Provision”

 It was a long and tiresome journey, traveling unknown territory. Just living in the moment, knowing you would provide God, just what we need, our daily bread. When our soul was, weary and worn, when our eyes had cried, as a child asking lord where you are in this, yet we stayed diligent in our prayers.

 The Lord did not turn from our pain, from our prayers, each was heard, and each tear he kept.

 This journey took us into the miry pit, as David questioned God, but he did not sin. We knew deep down, we had seen repeatedly prayers he answered, we had seen what is impossible for man, and He made a way through the dry and parched land. We learned so much, when you have nothing on earth God is you are everything. There were blessings in disguise, God worked in ways we never could understand.

 He took us by the hand not been in our time, or even how we planned .But Gods taken us out of a dry and parched land. In our weakness, he made us whole, in our doubts, he sustained us and through our tears, he wiped them dry. He brought peace out of chaos, where we were lacking, he brought forth growth .our desire to pray, our passion to grow, out of the darkest night, he relit the flame and refueled the fire in us.

  Our desire to read, He has taken us to new heights, what a eye opening revelation. Poor in spirit, but so richly blessed, blessed beyond words, for Gods provision carried  us through the darkest night and the driest lands, he made the path straight and gave us the strength to stand again, victorious in him!

 He brought us to a new place to call home, until he shows us otherwise, this is where we will Serve God~