Thursday, June 12, 2008

~ Thankful Thursdays with JC ~

Father God thank you for:
~ lemonade at Toomer’s Drugstore in Auburn
~ bunnies enjoying their breakfast of dew drenched grass as I walked by
~ the zinnia blossom that is both yellow and pink... it is a feast for my eyes
~ my health
~ the ability to stand and walk for long periods of time in hot temperatures
~ safety in traveling by bus to and from Auburn
~ with many precious teenagers on board
~ the dad that took time away from his business to go with us on the field trip
~ FREEDOM that I enjoy in Christ Jesus

Amen.

When I agreed to contribute to this blog, I really though this would be easy because I have grown in God’s grace. I am not swayed by whatever may come my way because I don’t deal with issues on my own nor do I beat myself up or fret over my faults or my circumstances. I communicate with God just like I talk to anyone else; it is just natural. As I was thinking about what to post this week, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about his children not letting Jesus live his life through them. He reminded me of several conversations I’ve had or been a part of regarding the economy, gas prices, elections, and general doom and glum stuff. Being alone I watch people and what I see is Christians that are not enjoying the journey. I didn’t know how to communicate this until church this morning. The part of 2 Corinthians 3:17 that we hear quoted is usually, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” That is not the whole verse. The verse is “Now the Lord is the Spirit, & where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom.” My pastor said the meaning of the verse is, “When the Spirit is in control there is freedom.” It was a WOW moment for me!!

You see when we do anything, even wonderful, Christian activities outside of the Spirit’s control there isn’t peace, joy, freedom. God isn’t obligated to anoint and bless that which He does not initiate. But, my dear reader, He will assume full responsibility for every aspect of the life fully yielded to Him. Anything outside of His prompting is done in the power of our flesh as directed by our emotions and usually is pride motivated. God wants us to be sometime instead of do. To be is to be in His presence, spend time with Him, and invite His son to live His life through us and nothing else. Regardless of what you hear about works there are no works that are going to make Him love you anymore than He already does. He sent His son, end of story, there is nothing left for Him to do!!! Now it is up to you.

Someone reading needs to know you can stop trying please Him, you can quit striving to live a Christian life, you can’t do it and you were not meant to.

AHHHH, but Jesus said, if I go away, I will send the comforter (the Spirit of Truth) to be with you and in you. He will make your body His dwelling place and that spirit part of you will come alive in a way that you can only experience because it cannot be written. It is impossible to describe. I encourage you to read the Gospel of John. All you have to do is be willing and say, YES. Say yes to being willing to rest in Jesus, abide in Jesus and let Him work out all the details that have you so bound and stressed out.

Father God in the power and precious name of Jesus, I call the spirit part of every reader to attention and I ask that you strengthen the spirit of each reader. Father I ask you to gently help them to become willing to walk in your grace and not according to their own abilities. Set them free from the bondage they may be experiencing in trying to live a life that is not within their own power to live. Thank you for hearing my request whether I speak it aloud or type it on a page. You always hear and you always respond. Thank you, thank you, thank you for loosening the bonds that are holding your children captive to the enemy’s lies. In the precious and powerful name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

6 comments:

Angela Nazworth said...

Beautiful post! God loves our praise

Tiz said...

JC
You truly are a Grace Walking
Princess. Love you bunches!!!
Bethy

j said...

JC, always annointed, always a blessing!

Much Love!

Jen

Louis la Vache said...

Re Jennifer's comment at Daryl's about the City Scene/Sky Watch combination: here's another one. :-)

Deb said...

This has become a daily morning coffee read for me. Seriously. I read this blog before the newspaper.

Thank GOD!

"...Christians that are not enjoying the journey."

They're mostly concerned about their past traumas and their future goals, etc.

So many people are trying to be "perfect Christians", and in the process, when they do mess up, because hey, we're all human, they instill guilt within in their hearts and self-loathing sometimes. Guilt & fear are all not of God. Who brings that on? Who tells us that we've messed up and God will be angry at us? Who puts the seed in our head that we're not good enough? Satan.

Rebuke him and know that Jesus' unconditional love is everlasting and cannot be penetrated if we "believe"!!!

+++

Kimmie said...

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Though an host should encamp againsy me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me; in this will I be confident.
Psalm 27: 1,3,


Hugs,
Kimmie