Sitting Down With God

T herefore, receiving, as we now do, a kingdom which cannot be shaken,  let us cherish thankfulness so that we may ever offer to God an acceptable service, with godly reverence and awe.  Hebrews 12:28 (Root in WEY NIV) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  Psalms 100:4 (KJV WBS) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  In every circumstance of life be thankful;  for this is God's will in Christ Jesus respecting you.  1 Thessalonians 5:18(WEY) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.   2 Corinthians 4:15(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV NIV) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God....

                             “The devil is a lie!”  We have all heard this saying, at least once in our lives.  Recently, I have been in some personal situations and have been party to other people’s personal situations.  I just want to say right here and right now, “THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!”

I have heard the voice of God so clearly lately.   It is almost uncanny.   I feel that the Lord wants me on the mission’s field.   I also feel that he wants me to gain a better understanding of his Word and that he is preparing me for the days ahead.                 Just last night, I was telling Mrs. Lisa (my coworker and Pastor’s wife) about my desire to be a missionary.   I told her I wanted to go somewhere, but that I didn’t know exactly where, yet.   I want to go and work in the orphanages and share God’s love with the world.  

Dear Readers,                                 I apologize that there has been such a gap between this post and the last post.   I started school and have been trying to get my schedule in order there.   The last few weeks have been busy and I pray that this note finds everyone healthy and blessed.                 I have had on my mind the last few weeks a certain scripture out of Matthew.   Matthew 10:34-36:

Alright, I finished up the notes.  This session is very short, and as I said before there are more verses to choose from and I hope that in your own personal study you find more.  Please feel free to share with me what you received from the study.  What is God telling you in your own personal study?  The notes included with the scripture are from my own personal revelation and from the Life Applicaton Bible-NIV version. Our group is going to start the first session of Fear of the Lord DVD series by John Bevere.  As we watch them, I will keep everyone updated.  God Bless!! Love in Christ, Kristine

Here is Part 2 of my notes on Fear.  I hope you enjoy them.  There are hundreds of scriptures to choose from.  Add to the list!!! Prayers for your day, Kristine!!

I am about to start a Bible Study at my home, and it is my turn to pick the subject.  So in the next few weeks, we will be talking about fear;  the spirit of fear, Fear of God, and just plain being afraid in our day to day life.  I thought that maybe ya'll would be interested in my notes for your own personal study.  So here is the first sessions notes.  I hope that you find them comforting and encouraging.  God Bless!

I am probably the most impatient person I know.   I have this annoying habit of wanting everything done the way I want it, when I want it and most often, that is “Right Now!”   I have prayed and prayed on this and still I catch myself falling back into Ms. Impatience and Frustration.   Does anyone know someone like that? (Wink, wink)

Thought Questions: *What is prayer? *Why do I pray? *How do I pray? *When do I pray?                     Recently, I have had several situations occur that have brought the four above questions to my mind.   Every day we come across people in our lives that need our intercession.   You know we don’t just pray for ourselves.   But, even when we are praying for our own personal needs the above questions really matter.           What is prayer ?   The American Tract Society Bible Dictionary defines prayer as being, “ the offering of the emotions and desires of the soul to God, in the name and through the mediation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ .”   Isn’t that beautiful? The offering of the emotions and desires of our souls to God.   I don’t know about you, but I know my soul desires many things.   Some good, some...

“Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.” Deuteronomy 4:22             It is very easy to become overwhelmed and anxious in the world today.   If it is not one thing it is another.   Every person has something that they can be worried about.   Each and every one of us has a problem that seems to jump out at us from an unseen adversary.   We take one step forward and something comes up and knocks us fifteen steps backwards.   At times, it feels like we make efforts that never see fruition because there is always a stumbling block in our way.             I am here to tell you that the battle is not your own.   No matter what is getting you down, no matter what is bringing you to the breaking point, God is in control.   He is fighting for us even when we feel no one is there but us.

                              Everyone loves the game of monopoly.  It is a game full of challenge and based upon who has the most property and money, and that person ends up winning the game.  But, with a roll of the dice or if you end up getting a faulty chance card, you are on the fast track to jail, do not pass go and do not collect $200.  You get to sit out and watch others buy up the rest of the property and you might even lose out on being the victor.  You are Ms. Broke Bags sitting in jail watching others have fun with the money that should have been yours.                 This made me think.  Uh Oh.  There I go thinking again.  Haha, just kidding.  Seriously though, How often do we get caught up in worldly gains? The fast track o...

                               I decided to sit on my front porch this afternoon and read out of my Bible while I was out there.  It is getting ready to storm and the wind is blowing and you can hear the thunder rumbling.  I thought of all the storms that have occurred in my life.  I say this metaphorically.  Because when we go through any trial or tribulation it is a storm in our life.  It may not really be raining in the world but you feel as if the one and only rain cloud in the world is hanging over you.  I sat there and I kept thinking that with every rumble of thunder and gust of wind my God is a good God.  He is an amazing God.

Have you ever played with a kaleidoscope?   They are tubes made from all different kinds of materials and inside of them are mirrors that reflect off of pieces of glass, plastic or whatever else is put in them.   When the light reflects off of the mirrors and the colorful pieces; images appear that you can see.   You can turn the kaleidoscope and the image will change.     These are beautiful images you see.             I want you to look at something with me.   In order for this to work, you have to have all the pieces working in sync with each other.   The main component consists of pieces of mirror that cause light to reflect off of the broken pieces.   Now I want you to imagine that your soul is the colorful pieces the light reflects off of in the kaleidoscope.   When all the parts work together correctly, a beautiful image is created.   However, if you turn it or manipulate it e...

I work for the Department of Corrections, and our motto is "We Never Walk Alone." We know when we get to work that we might get into a potentially dangerous situation. Tonight, I was in the breeze way with a coworker, talking, and I looked up for the briefest moment and laid eyes on our shield. Above it states our motto. It clicked in my mind, wow, if I applied this to everyday life, I might get along better throughout my day. As a Christian, I know that God is with me all of the time. I know that Christ lives in me, at all times. When I am at work, I am never with an inmate by myself. If circumstances demand that I am by myself, an officer is only a short distance away, if needed. The cameras are always on us and help is never far away. I trust in my officer, that if a situation was to present itself, that they will be there when I need them the most. If I can rely on them to be there for me when I need them, why do I have to remind myself that I can call on God for any tro...

    I have a question for myself that might apply to you too.  Do I truly trust God with all I have?  This means trusting Him when everything is going wrong.  Do I trust Him when my car won't start, when it looks like rent won't get paid, when a family member gets sick, when I get sick, when I am layed off of my job, when my grades aren't what they should be, when the lights are going to go off and my bank account is sick?  Do I trust Him with everything?     Trust has many definitions: 1.) the assured resting of the mind on the integrity, veracity, justice, friendship or other sound principle of another person 2.) confidence 3.) reliance 4.) to give credit to 5.) to risk     1 Corinthians 2:5 states, " So that your trust might rest not on the wisdom of man, but on the power of God."  If I am looking at it from a world view;  No, I will not be able to pay my bills without money, or pass a class that I am...

       Okay, I am just going to get real with everyone.   I want everyone to get a pen and a piece of paper.   Now spell God.   Spell Lord, and Spell Jesus.   On my paper, I see, “G-O-D, L-O-R-D, and J-E-S-U-S.”   Now maybe I am mistaken, but on my paper I see no “I’s” anywhere      I am sure you are wondering what my point is. Well, I have no problem telling you. As Christians, we have become too "I" centered. What "I" want. What "I" need. Add "Me" and "My" and we could have a party.        It is time to take "I" out of the picture. Hmmm. What do you have left if "I" is gone, or "me", or "you"? What does that leave? It leaves us with a new beginning, with a new realization and with a new perspective.       Everything we do should be revolved on a He. I am not talking about the cute guy at the grocery store. I am not referring to our husbands or boyfrien...

WALK IN THE LIGHT:           Lesson Eight, “ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 We make choices everyday that make the difference between walking in the light of Jesus and going toward darkness.   Jesus is the light of the world.   If we walk in Him we will be free of sin and have eternal life.             Spiritually light refers to illumination of the mind, reason and will. Light is an example of Holiness. The opposite of light is darkness, which symbolically means, sin and death.   To walk in light you are choosing to be Holy, to live in truth.   You are willing to step out of the darkness and change what you do on a daily basis.             When you are walking in darkness you may stumble or fall...

EMBODY THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT:           Lesson Seven, “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-26. NIV.           We should make the effort to be a representative of all the characteristics of the Fruits of the Spirit.   The Apostle Paul gave this list to show us what Christ-like attributes we need to enter the Kingdom of God. ·         Love - "Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display its...

WALK THE TALK           Lesson Five, if you say you are of Christ then let your actions reflect your words.   Each step you take is a witness to the world.   Do you want others to love Christ as you do?   How you speak and how you act are reflections of Christ in you.   I want to be a reflection of something good to others.   I want to know that when I talk about God they aren’t thinking about other things.   I want to know that the focus is not on what I do wrong on a daily basis.   I want them to see the loving God I serve.   I was raised in the church.   I fell off the wagon when I was a teenager and young adult.   I lived as far from God as I could be.   I started going back to church when I was in my early twenties and I fell off again.   I was trying to serve two masters and you can’t do that.   So now here I am back again.   I want to be the person God intended me ...

GAIN FREEDOM FROM THE WORLD:           Lesson Three, You can’t straddle the fence.   You can’t be of the world and of God too.   You have to make a choice.   You either live in the world or you live like Christ is in you. Galatians 5:1 ESV, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”           When you are of the world you are a slave to sin.   I know that before I dedicated my life back to Christ that I was a slave to sin.   My heart had gotten so hardened against what was right, that being wrong seemed right to me.   My conscious no longer worked.   I couldn’t hear God’s voice if he was standing at my ear with a megaphone.   In the world, I battled alcoholism and drug abuse. I battled debt and insecurity.   I was angry all the time and my hope was in earthly things.   I got so far dow...