A brand new page of a brand new book. As radical a change as being born again, as I did many years ago when, alone in my bed, terrified by the dread of death and, potentially, hell, I begged Christ to have fellowship with me. I asked Him to spiritually abide with me, to be my Eucharist. I craved communion with Him. He gave me a new heart. He gave me peace that He was in my heart.
Now, I'm a child again. And I say, I don't want to die without KNOWING you, REALLY knowing you.
I've stepped out of my comfort zone, left the boat and am currently walking on water. And, surprise, surprise, it doesn't seem as if I'm sinking. Actually, I seem to be floating or soaring... Sustained by His Word, receiving more revelation and more PERSONAL direction than ever before. Learning to lean on Him who loves me. Learning to trust, in humble dependence, in Him who takes sweet care of me. Step by step, I'm walking. Step by step, I'm drawing near. Giant step by giant step, HE's drawing near. Sweet. Beautiful. Loving. Glorious. Beckoning me. Drawing me. Caressing me with His eyes, full of Heavenly fire. With His voice, as roaring thunder, as the sound of many waters. Gently inviting me to surrender all. Gently. Sweetly. Still looking at me. And as I look at those sweet, loving, consuming, fiery eyes, I can't help saying, YES! I surrender all!
Not by might. Not by power. Not by force or obligation. But by My Spirit, says the Lord.
Isaiah 41:15
“Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff.
Isaiah 42:9
Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 42:10
[ Praise to the Lord ] Sing to the Lord a new song, And
His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and
all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 48:6
“You have heard; See all this. And will you not declare it? I have made you hear new things from this time, Even hidden things, and you did not know them.
Isaiah 62:2
The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
Isaiah 65:8
Thus says the Lord:“As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,’ So will I do for My servants’ sake, That I may not destroy them all.
Isaiah 65:17
[ The Glorious New Creation ] “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
Isaiah 66:22
“For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord, “So shall your descendants and your name remain.
Jeremiah 31:31
[ A New Covenant ] “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
Ezekiel 11:19
Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 18:31
Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Hosea 2:22
The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They shall answer Jezreel.
Joel 2:19
The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
Joel 2:24
The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
Joel 3:18
[ God Blesses His People ] And it will come to pass in that day That the mountains shall drip with new
wine, The hills shall flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah shall
be flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord And water the Valley of Acacias.
Zechariah 9:17
For how great is its goodness And how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, And new wine the young women.
If you hold on to the old, you can't receive the new.
Business as usual will leave you walking in circles around the wilderness of your backsliding heart.
Can you see the awesome promise in the passages I've quoted? This is GOD speaking to YOU.
Who has an ear to hear the message?
Who has a craving, a need for renewal?
Do you need an "extreme makeover"?
Can you see the fountain of eternal waters springing open, right in the midst of you? Beckoning YOU to drink freely and abundantly from it? Will you?
Yes you can! Amen and Amen. I love your love for the Lord and His Word and I can see He is pouring through you. Keep seeking His face, His Word, His Presence. Those who wait upon, trust in, lean upon, will never be disappointed with Jesus. As the song goes, 'There's no disappointment in Jesus. He's more than He promised to be. His love and His care comfort me everywhere. He is no disappointment to me".
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of the scriptures above...Isaiah 62...You shall be called by a new name. No longer called, abandoned, forsaken. You shall be called Hepzebah, my delight is in you...and your land married.
Hugs to my new found sister in Christ.
Romans 14:17 says that the Kingdom of God is not bread or water (physical), but is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Also, a major theme in the Bible is repentance to Christ-likeness (righteousness), but many pastors are ignoring such. I also like the following poem that teaches:
ReplyDeletePoem that Teaches
JUSTIFICATION frees from sin.
SANCTIFICATION frees from the power of sin.
GLORIFICATION frees from the presence of sin.
JUSTIFICATION is for the repentant sinner.
SANCTIFICATION is for the surrendered disciple.
GLORIFICATION is for the victorious saint.
JUSTIFICATION takes care of the past.
SANCTIFICATION takes care of the present.
GLORIFICATION takes care of the future.
JUSTIFICATION changes the attitude.
SANCTIFICATION changes the character.
GLORIFICATION changes us from mortal to immortal.
In JUSTIFICATION, Jesus is our Saviour.
In SANCTIFICATION, Jesus is our Master.
In GLORIFICATION, Jesus is our glorious King.
JUSTIFICATION is our title to Heaven.
SANCTIFICATION is our fitness for Heaven.
GLORIFICATION is our entrance to Heaven.
-Author Unknown
There is a prophecy about Christ’s joy in Psalm 45:7-- “Therefore God, Your God, has set You above Your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy.” Joy is promised by Jesus Christ for all believers in Him, His love, and His commandments. Jesus Christ spoke of His joy in John 15:10-11 and 17:13 in which He claimed the ability or power to bestow His joy into His believers. Joy is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit for believers (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus Christ’s followers should be joyful people. It is the best testimony about the wonderfulness of being a Christian: that one is able to be very positive in a very negative world. So many individuals are usually sad or indifferent; just surviving. If you would work for someone who is joyful, wouldn’t you probably become joyful? Luke 10:21 tells us that Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit after seventy-two disciples returned from to witness. If we have the same joy, we will want to praise God. Jesus Christ did in that verse. No one will be the same as before after committing his or her whole being to Jesus and knowing Him as personal Savior and Master.
ReplyDeleteIt is not easy to describe this joy which the Apostle Peter referred to in 1 Peter 1:8 as an “inexpressible and glorious joy”. It is far more than the happiness which relationships with humans and animals can give. Certainly there are legitimate pleasures in the world that can be enjoyed more fully when one has the joy of the Holy Spirit. But the joy of the Holy Spirit is set apart from all the levels of purely human joy. It is the result of faith in God. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”. Divine joy is much better than the best happiness in secular situations/activities. In English, the word “happiness” is not in the KJV Bible and the twenty-five verses with the word “happy” give no indication that happiness is from the Godhead. Doesn’t that sound exciting to you? Don’t settle for less than joy just because you are lonely. God’s best for us is always worth waiting for.
Joy from the Holy Spirit is not dependent on our outward circumstances. Also knowing about the joy in Heaven should help all Christians to tolerate any kind of persecution. Also, about 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ’s hope for future joy in Heaven sustained Him in His painful crucifixion. Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus “endured the cross for the joy set before Him”. The Apostle Paul recognized this when he wrote to the Thessalonians: “In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit”. Spiritual joy endures even in hardships, because it is developed from within by the Holy Spirit. In Philippians 4:4, just before he was to be beheaded for teaching Christianity, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice in The Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” When I share that tough command, I add, “In any situation, things could always be worse and there is always something to be thankful for, right?” So having joy is a matter of choice and proper relationship with God. A famous anagram is appropriate:
J-- Jesus
O-- Others
Y-- Yourself
{in that order chronologically}
Dear long time Internet friend, I hope that your spiritual essay will encourage and help many. I will be sharing it to many next Tuesday. Is that ok with you?
ReplyDeleteDearest Glenda and Bill,
ReplyDeleteYour comments are so helpful and encouraging! Thank you so much.
Bill, if you have time, visit Glenda's page. She writes amazing poems! I know you'll like them and Mercy will enjoy them, too.
And by all means, share my blog address and entries with anyone who has an ear to hear (and even those who don't, because what if GOD wants to use this little message to bring the dead back to life?).
The more, the merrier...
I'm here to give... of the abundance of JOY God has given me. Because absolute surrender is the place of highest joy we can ever know.
Welcome home, Carina. Welcome home :) Bless you sweet sister.
ReplyDeleteHappy to be here! As you can imagine, once you make a decision like this, all hell breaks loose, so this last couple of weeks I haven't been able to write as much as I would have liked. But I've been thinking about you a lot. You know, it seems the Lord is giving me a ministry quite similar to yours. More and more, I'm finding myself ministering to ladies going through great afflictions. And it feels great to make a contribution to get them back on their feet again.
DeleteHi Carina,
ReplyDeleteYou recently left a comment on my blog and I just replied @ S. Kim Henson. You're right, you can write up a storm when inspired. Great post here.
I related so much to your words. I wanted to say thank you in case you didn't see the comment I left you over there. I appreciate your honestly. I can certainly relate.
Thanks again!
Hi Kim!
DeleteSorry I didn't get back to you. I did see your comment, but this week was complicated to say the least.
Thanks for your encouragement! It really helps to know God can do something through this little servant. I really want to make a difference in people's lives. :)
I did two postings in my new blogging site:
ReplyDeletewww.livingforjude20-25.blogspot.com . Thank you for your example of a way to blog again, sort of like we did in Yahoo 360 in 2005-2006.