The Resurrection: The Life, The Truth, The Way!

My day began quite tumultuous to say the least. The storms that blasted into our area last night decided to have a family and take up residence. Their mighty winds, fierce lightening, window shuttering thunder, and pelting of hail left their mark on towns in North Texas. As I drove east early this morning we were frightened and leary of the roads ahead. We knew the golf tournament would be cancelled but took to the drive anyway. Our event was cancelled as more storm cells developed right over where we were. We were finally released and hit the road home! - -- - And it was not even 8:30 am yet!!!


Later in the day after playing Wii golf with husband and son I opened my electronic Bible today for the daily read I found 1 Peter 1. There is hope in these passages and security in knowing He is our Resurrection and Life! In these verses we see that Hope, Life, Ressurection, Holiness, and Truth! Verse three pours forth blessings unto the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ for His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Our inhertance in Him, which is incorruptible and undefiled is reserved in Heaven for us! All of this will fade away and the things of this earth are incorruptible but all things in Christ are eternal and free from the defilement of unholy things. He is guarding His treasure which is reserved for us as well.

Although we will have trials (v. 6) the genuineness of our faith will be proved and found to praise, honor, and glorify Jesus! (v. 7). Through this we see that in all of our life we are presented with opportunities to reveal our proven faith.

In verse 12 we find that even the angels desire to look into what is revealed to us in the hearing of the Gospel! Not by our own ways but by living under HIS influence and not the influence of this world....live sober (v. 13).We find a way to ward off the ways of this world by resting our Hope in Him (v.13 and 14).

In verse 15 we see the command to live holy lives in our conduct and our ways. Of all people - knee jerk reactor Peter himself would know this lesson well. And if/when we call upon the Father we will find Him impartial to those of us who have been redeemed! When we live for His inheritance and not that of our eartly fathers we reveal that we were redeemed by the incorruptible! Jesus had the glory from the Father so that we could place our faith and hope in the Lord.

I found that in our obedience we and love for one another we are purified and through His word, which abides forever others and God see that we are not of the corruptible seed!!!

The Word of the Lord endures forever!!! (v. 25)

I was so deeply moved by these words and the thinking of how Peter may have learned some of his lessons that my soul had to pour out just a bit more. Below is a little poem inspired by the Lord and the words in 1 Peter.

Abiding in His Eternal Word!

Peter has such a profound way of putting us in our place, which is looking directly into our Savior's face!


He points us to Jesus for resurrection and life. Commands us to love and live without strife.


He sees in our weakness our flesh is so strong, but gives us HIS words to prod us along.


Peter lived with reactions much like most of us; perhaps in his darkest moments we would have heard him cuss.


But he turned to the Lord and sought sanctification in HIS word.


He tells us this world will fade away and to live holy lives for Christ lived that way.


Calling us to live only for the things above, to relish in His incorruptible unchanging love.


We are commanded to obey and purify souls leaving no defiled parts, to love one another with ferverent hearts!


When we cling to the things of the Kingdom to come and not this earth which will be undone, we find that peace and solice reside in the will of our Lord Most High.


Reaching out to Him during times of plenty and times of not we will live out our faith we proclaim we have got.


Through Him we have eternal life to share in the Promise of the Resurrection and the Light!


Though the storm has arrived and our fears are revealed, we will look to the one who from death was healed.


Clinging to the will of the Father above will cause me to live in the light of His love.


Each time we call upon Him no matter what we fear, He will draw us in close and keep us near.


We will suffer and see trials of all kinds but thinking Truth will keep us loving with our minds.


Our thoughts will hold us captive if we give into their jeers and at the end of the day we will be in a heap of tears.


We most hold fast to the revelation that is in Jesus our Lord we will guard our hearts, protect our minds, and live out His word.


Holiness is not a gift granted in the absence of strife, holiness is revealed in how we live our life.


We will fade away just as the flowers of the field and to us the end of this earth will not yield.


There is only one who will cause us to live once more and upon His return to heaven we will soar.


If you only believe you will have life eternal and free, receive the Lord Jesus the very one who rescued me!


I know that I will live again! I know it will be all because of Him. There is nothing on this earth which will earn my way but I will bank all I have on the Life, the Truth, The Way!


His name is the Resurrection, The Life, The Truth, The Way....do you know Him today?
Chel

Lover of My Soul

Jesus is the Lover of my Soul!

Psalm 94:19When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

HE has calmed me when the storm was raging about me!!!

Psalm 19:7The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Isn't it just like our God to allow us simple people to know of His wondrous ways and impress His law upon our hearts?

Psalm 23:3he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

For His name alone is worthy of all honor and praise!

Psalm 31:7I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.

He peers deep within me only to reveal that which is most vulnerable and give strength and healing with love alone!

Psalm 63:5My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

A hungry soul is a sad and lonely one. I am grateful for His provisions physical and spiritual!

Psalm 116:8For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,

Praise you Father for loving me! Praise you Jesus for rescuing me from myself! Praise you Holy Spirit for your daily guidance!

The Softest Rock Around

I heard an interesting quote on the radio the other day....Who'da thunk a ROCK would be the softest place to land when you fall?


Just ponder that with me for a moment...


Being on the Rock can help elevate you to see things from new heights.


Being on the Rock will give you a new perspective.


Being on the Rock will always give me a sense of security.


Being on the Rock means that my ground is a firm foundation.


Being on the Rock reveals that I need more than my own two feet to stand.


The Lord realizes that there are times when are not able to stand or times when we have trusted in sand. He then created the sofest place of all, the Rock, fall upon that if ever you should fall.


It does not matter how you have ended up where you are now. Trust in the Lord when you headed to the ground and realize that He is the Softest Rock Around.

Sweetest Name of All: Great Physician

Today I am in need of the Great Physician. I have a lot of sick loved ones on my heart today. Yesterday we spent the entire day treating my son's asthma. It had been fairly non-reactive for a few years but the last few months have been tougher than we knew. He was in the danger zone in regards to his capacity to exhale and is now on more medications than our grandparents were. It is just not right that children have to be ill. But he is a trooper. This morning he is not feeling well because all the congestion - we did not know he had - is breaking up and upsetting his stomach. I CAN IMAGINE!!


He has had this dry irritating cough for a while now and we finally saw a doctor that treats asthma. Now we finally have a peak flow meter which if you were to do associate "Thermometer with fever" you would associate this "Peak Flow Meter" with breathing capacity. I wish I had one of these sooner. His primary physician treated me like a worrying mother instead of someone in tune with their child's ability. The doctor would listen to his lungs and say give him allergy medicine. ARG!! Anyway, I did not write this to complain but to explain the depth at which I need the Great Physician for our home.


Another need for the Great Physician is a friend named Beth. She is in her late thirties and is fighting brain cancer. She celebrated 2 years of life after the death sentence, Praise God, but she just had surgery Monday. Her 4 girls are stressed and worried, the oldest is 11. The doctor's were able to remove all they expected they would which is great! She has Glioblastoma Multiforme which is the most malignant form of brain cancer, terminal but treatable with physical abilities lasting longer.




See the Glial cells in our brains out number the neurons 50 to 1 and without the glial cells neurons would die. This particular cell in our brain is just one more awe striking chord of our Lord! These cells can change shape and form which is one reason it is hard to extract all the malignant cells. But these cells conduct no electrical impulses; however, they do support and insulate the neurons which do.


Beth's entire family is crying out to the Magnificent Creator, who thought of us even down to that odd little brain cell, for the healing hand of the Great Physician! We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made. Can you imagine for a moment the thought and care which went into creating that one little cell that has no direct influence on our abilities? But their sole purpose is to support the cells that do! Our matter is so intricately designed that it screams loudly, "I was created by someONE with the utmost intelligence!!", the Most High of all!



My daughter has a friend that is still only 15 years old and she has breast cancer. This family is dire need of the Great Physician! And this girl's friends need to understand what truly living like it is last day really means. It does not mean going to parties and "living it up" because you don't want to miss anything. This little girl had been pushing the limits of life prior to this diagnosis and my prayer is that they will get a full understanding of living. I am not certain of her time or treatments but I do know that no one deserves these things. I just pray they find Jesus and HIS party not what this world offers.


My Mother-in-love has a prayer need of this Great Physician also. She had broken her wrist several weeks ago and it still has not healed properly. She does have osteoporosis and is 65 so she does not heal as fast as she once did but it has been 8 weeks with little improvement.


There are many more and I could go on as well as many of you. I know this turned more into a prayer request rather than a Hallelujah but I know that He is able!!! The Great Physician is more than able to handle each of these needs and all of your as well.


God bless each one of you and may the Great Physician show Himself in your lives today as well.



In Christ,



Chel

HE IS

Since I finally found the song HE IS, by Aaron and Jeoffrey - the father son duo, I wanted to post about it. I have pasted the words to their song here as well as the youtube video.

Please be sure your sound is on if you are going to listen. Or you may play the video linked here; either way, I promise you will be blessed.





In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our High Priest
Numbers, The fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice
Judges, law giver
In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer
First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign
Ezra, true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire
In Hosea, He is forever faithful
In Joel, He's the Spirits power
In Amos, the arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary
In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zechariah, our fountain
In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven
In Romans, He's the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servants heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick.
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd
In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

He is, He is, HE IS!

The prince of peace
The Son of man The Lamb of God The great I AM
He's the alpha and omega
Our God and our Savior He is Jesus Christ the Lord
and when time is no more He is, HE IS!

Words by Jeoffrey Benward & Jeff Silvey©1994 Star Song(All rights reserved.)

God Who Restores! My Restorer!

Continued from Abiding Branch!!!



But the biggest thing ever, did I say ever? I meant EVER!!!!!!RRRRR!!!!!
My hubby and I attended the Family Life Conference called A Weekend to Remember!!!

No, as so many have asked...I did not drag him there! It was HIS idea!! Yep! (heart string strung! ***insert harps and violins***) tee hee

It was Valentines Weekend!! And we stayed at the Gaylord Texan! Beautiful and wonderful!
The best way I can describe any of this is that when you choose to love your husband in the same way Christ loves you it means more than you can imagine.

(side note: If you are in a relationship where your life is being threatened please understand that Christ took that so you would not have to. When the world and its evil ways are taking your life and trying to steal your very soul that is another thing all together.)

God has called me to this man and this is where I will find my joy and peace. When you are abused there is no peace in that home but you can have peace within. Hang in there. You can seek help and even safety without divorce if you can't bring yourself to divorce. God did not intened for you to be a punching bag or piece of merchandise. He loves you so much! And God is the best husband you could ever have!!

1. You trust God in all things!
2. You learn to love with the Love of the Lord - unconditional.
3. You forgive! (FUDGE Forgiveness Under Divine Guidance Everyday)
4. You learn grace!
5. You die to self!
(not necessarily in that order.)

A couple of things I noticed about myself: I had begun to protect myself from being hurt, which led to isolation. You know the story, "I am so lonely yet I am married." God showed me I was not dying to self in the Name of the Lord! I was so focused on forgiving him and protecting myself that I kept my heart to myself. He could have my forgiveness but not my heart? That won't do;

I was not fully trusting God!

I withheld a natural tendency toward affection, not even knowingly most of the time. I was not living to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength! Not to mention squelching the Holy Spirit!



While whining about his walls of independence, I was building some of my own called preservation - self preservation! ***see the pattern***I don't know about you, but that to me is the opposite of dying to self. I was hanging on to my own life for dear life.

Jesus said that who ever would seek to save their own lives, would lose it. Whomever lost their lives for His sake would live! I was dying a little each day!!! Not a good place at all!!!



I needed restoration in a big way!!!! I mean huge! Life gets in the way and people just get tired. Now, I know it is not all mental, I have physical reasons for feeling so tired too!! (the health concerns in my previous post)

On Saturday, we were to write a love letter to one another. I wanted to approach the Throne Room first and visit with my DAD. So, I asked Him for the advice I needed as a woman and I opened my Bible to Psalm 86. The Words were the balm of Gilead to my heart and soul!

We needed restoration. Both of us had some repenting to do. I had prayed and prayed for a marriage that would stand the test of time and endure all things. Sometimes you just don't know what you are praying for, and you had better be ready for the answer.

It is a good thing though, because HIS ways are not our ways! If we knew what He would use in and through us for His glory, we might not take that path. Glory to God! We should be joyful in our trials and consider it an honor to die to self even for our spouse! It is a privilege we take too lightly, at least I have.

I knew the God Who Restores could do anything He wanted to!!! But the word restore is a word that implies the re-breaking of a bone to restore it fully! God had been doing some re-breaking!!! But the pain had long passed. As a matter of fact, it was hard to feel.

Bottom line is that all this time I had felt a numbness that I could not explain. But when all the walls had come tumbling down I felt the weight! But I felt!!! I had been in a body cast of sorts and God wanted my husband to remove the bandages like a veil on a wedding day! God healed me and my husband was able to reveal me. My veil was torn!!!

God offered a new path, a new season in our lives together. He provided an unhindered path to approach one another. Choosing to be true always and forever is not what this world would have you do. But this is a choice that you have to make. This choice will change your attitude but more so it will penetrate your heart! Our choices led us to this weekend we will always remember!! And to a vow renewal ceremony we would not forget!

The renewal of our vows seemed sweeter to me than the vows on our wedding day! This time we actually knew each quite well and did it anyway! lol We knew each other 3 months before we wed! SERIOUSLY! But this time we had shared half our lives together and still said, "I do"!!!

I am choosing to act the way I want to feel and not act the way I feel! We have been married almost 17 years and we are fighting to keep what the entire world would destroy!

When was the last time you sat down with the God Who Restores?
Do you need to pray for your marriage to honor God no matter what it takes? Be ready this prayer works!
I promise you one thing you can't do this! This was WAY more than I could handle, alone that is. I said I couldn't do it and God said I was right. I could not and you cannot do it without HIM!!! One thing I have learned the hard way, get-out-of-the-way and let God do HIS job. When you get out of God's way there is no telling what He will restore.

I am praying a restoration for you too in whatever area you need it in your life. If it is God, a friend, a relative, a parent, or a spouse, whomever you need restoration, you have my prayers.

I want to hear how God is revealing Himself to you!! Please share!
In Christ,
Chel

Painter Extraordinaire! Elohim

ELOHIM: CREATOR GOD (HEBREW) The "strong one" who "constructs and forms".

Welcome to the Sweetest Name of All meme. I would love to hear what you have heard from the Lord lately and a name of His that just seemed to stand out more than another. Leave a comment and make your post. If you use Mister Linky below you can share your post with the rest of us. Please copy my button and use it to link back to this post.

God truly is a Painter Extraordinaire! He sets forth on each canvass of our lives and paints the most exciting and beautiful pictures right before our eyes. Take a look at what He painted for me the other day:

This sunset literally took my breath away. I was amazed at the crane sitting perfectly still at the water's edge and the ducks politely parting the waves. The sunlight appeared to kiss the horizon and everything seemed at peace in stillness and confidence. This can only be attributed to the finest artist of all, Elohim, the Creator God. His creation astonishes me so often. From watching the sunrise from the middle of the ocean to this sunset over a golf course, the beauty at His fingertips is marvelous.

When I see the beams of light in this picture above I am captivated. When I was a little girl each time I would see sunbeams pouring out of the clouds I would think that was the way that souls knew how to get to Heaven. And each time I saw those beams I thought God was taking people home to be with Him. Perhaps that thinking came from losing my mother when I was 11 years young. She helped me to see the beauty in things and people that we would normally not see. I know that God was at work in our lives and the one who paints this sky just for me is also creating a perfect place for me in eternity.

This last photo caught my eye after I saw it on the computer. I felt it would turn out pretty when I took it, but I did not imagine the use of light the Master Artist, Elohim, would portray. The light, which gently makes itself known from beyond the trees, gave me a sense of warmth and security. There is no way someone less than Thomas Kinkade could capture this moment in time with this lighting and I am not convinced there is a living soul who could. I find myself looking for the majesty of the sun behind the trees and yet I can't quite reach it. All this just instills the wonder within me for Elohim.

Romans 1:20 tells us the intention in creation.

Read the New American Standard Version: "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. "

New Living Translation:

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

I see this and I know I see Him, at least His hand's work. This creation of just a few moments most assuredly points toward our Creator God. If we can see something this beautiful this side of Heaven, I can't wait until the Carpenter has completed His job on our mansion and returns for us, His Bride!

I beseech each of you to find beauty in your day and praise Elohim that He took the time to share it with you, His most beloved of all creation!

In Jesus Name, Chel