Tag Archives: Lord

by

Count the cost


1 Chronicles 21:24 Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.”

If you backtrack in this story and read a few verses back you see that the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. The Lord did not specify that David was to buy the land but David was wise in the ways of The Lord. If you go back to the beginning of the story you see that satan started the whole mess by tempting David to number the people which was not Gods will.

Today is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for. So many possessions, so many friends, good jobs, good health, nice houses, loving families, the list goes on and on. But how attached are we to these things? How important are they to us? What is our focus? Is the reason we get up each morning and go to work so that we can keep our stuff and increase our stuff until we have to get a bigger house to contain our stuff? I’m not against having nice things but when their maintenance and accumulation becomes our focus, above all else, we have ourselves an idol. If there is something in your possession that you are unwilling to give when The Lord lays it on your heart to give to someone else then we have an idol. We must always be aware of the fact that everything we have is Gods. He gave us the ability to make wealth. He gave us the talents that we use to make wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:18)

Luke 14:26-30 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?    Why do you think He put these two trains of thought together? At first He is talking about what it takes to be a disciple and then He switches gears and talks about counting the cost of building a building. I think He was warning us, and the people He was talking to, not to commit to following Him without first knowing how “expensive” it can be. But the reward is much more. SHALOM. PEACE. JOY. REST. LOVE. HOPE.

Below are stories of people in various parts of the world, who have died or have been imprisoned, this week for their decision to follow Jesus.

11/27/2013 Nigeria (AINA) – Suspected Muslim herdsmen slaughtered 37 Christians in coordinated attacks on four Plateau state villages early this morning after Boko Haram terrorists killed at least 34 Christians in Borno state earlier this month, sources said.

11/27/2013 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a seven-year-old boy in northern India was brutally tortured and murdered because of his family’s Christian faith. This inhumane murder represents just one particularly brutal incident of Christian persecution as anti-Christian sentiments in India continues to grow.

Eritrean security forces recently raided a prayer meeting and arrested 185 Christians in Maitemenay, a northern suburb of Asmara. VOM sources say the believers had apparently gathered to pray about the worsening exodus of Eritreans from the country.

Matthew 10:34-39 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

The cost is high but the rewards are higher.

by

Not about me…or you


Image

Mark 11:1-7 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethpage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.” So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?” And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.

In the other gospels they identified this animal as a donkey but not in this one. I picked this one because it specified that this colt had never been ridden before. I looked online to see if donkeys were super easy to allow a rider for the first time. I found that they are not any easier to train or break than a horse. In fact, they say that you can’t break them by force but instead they must be coerced or bribed into submission. So, naturally, I’m curious about why Jesus picked a colt that had never been ridden before. I know that every prophecy about Him was fulfilled and it was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” And He did just that.

Several months ago, maybe last year, I was talking with my friend, Jana, about the women’s center I am helping her with. And while I was telling her how I am always thinking of how the people I come in contact with can help with the women’s center The Lord told me I was the donkey. I was like…really?! A donkey? Couldn’t I be something a little more glamorous…I don’t know like an eagle or something? But no, I am the donkey. So then I started praying about what that meant. The first thought was the donkey that Balaam rode in Number chapter 22 because it talked and that was what I was doing…talking to everyone I met about the women’s center. But I never got confirmation from The Lord.

Then I was listening to James McDonald one day that week and he was recounting something that happened to him. There was a lady that was upset with him and called him a donkey in a letter. He prayed about it for a week and never got clear understanding about how he was a donkey and what he should do about it. On Friday, of that week, he went to lunch with a pastor friend of his. James did not tell the pastor friend about the letter. As they were walking back to the car after lunch, the friend said The Lord is pleased with all the ways you are serving Him and helping people into the Kingdom. Then the man said, you know even the donkey knew it wasn’t about him. So there it was. That was my answer. It’s not about me. My job is to bring The Lord in…in whatever way I can. Through this blog, through the women’s center, when I begin to preach and teach, and through every ordinary, mundane, daily interaction with people. And it’s your job too. As christians we are the Lords emissary on earth. We are His designated agent. And Who better to represent?

Are you representing Him in the way He would have you?

by

Slow Fade


Slow fade by Casting Crowns

Be careful little eyes what you see
It’s the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go for it’s the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white turn to gray
And thoughts invade
Choices are made
A price will be paid when you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
it’s a slow fade
It’s a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear, when flattery leads to compromise the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say, for empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
The journey from your mind to your hand is shorter than your thinking
Be careful if you think you’d stand you just might be sinking
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white turn to gray
And thoughts invade
Choices are made
A price will be paid when you give yourself away
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
it’s a slow fade
It’s a slow fade
Be careful little eyes what you see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love, oh be careful little eyes what you see

If you have been reading my blog you might have seen a pattern. It seems like I am a broken record talking about staying close to Jesus. That is because I have experienced the slow fade…away from Him and into a very bad place.
I was saved on Valentines day in 1999. I was on fire! I was in love with The Lord. I had quiet time each morning, listened to Christian radio, went to church every time the doors were open, and was evangelizing my workplace. During one of my morning times with The Lord, He showed me my calling by illuminating the scripture! It was most exciting!

Around 2002 personal events and a church split stopped me from going to church. I still kept in touch with my church friends, for a while. I kept my quiet time up for a while and then that went by the wayside. Since my mind was not focused on Jesus and His word, like it should have been, it began wandering to places it should not have gone. Thoughts gave way to conversations, which gave way to meals, which gave way to an affair. Culminating in me leaving my husband, of 28 years, and 2 teenage children in 2009.

I cannot stress this enough!
You must stay connected with The Lord!
It takes intentionality and it will be well worth all your efforts.