The Secret Power of Praise**

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  We are preparing another annual celebration of the Birth of the Savior of the world.  I cannot help but wonder if this year, 2018, will be the very last year we are privileged to celebrate His birth here on earth.

My thoughts are on those who crossed the finish line of this temporal existence we call "life" before this Christmas.  Most didn't realize they would be ushered into the Presence of the One who came, lived and then laid down His earth life for them.  Eternity is truly only a heartbeat away for any one of us.

With this world and all it's problems growing darker and more hopeless by the day, the thought of His return is most comforting.  I am consciously aware of the sweet Presence of the Holy One. He always helps me arrange the pieces of my life experience and understand where they fit together.  The pleasant, the hard, even the "random pieces have a place in the mosaic of my life.  

I am thankful for my wonderful Counselor and would not want to open my eyes to a day here without Him.  I know He has called me into our love relationship and all I had to do was say "yes".  Is there any greater gift than the Holy Spirit of my Savior?  NO, nothing trumps His presence in my life, and   I am grateful. 

The New Year is approaching and it is appropriate to take a look back over the past year with all it's ups and downs, joys and sorrows.  I have experienced a year of more grace than I ever could have imagined.  It was hard, and I know the trials are not over yet.  Trials are part of the human experience and will continue until the Lord returns or calls us home.

The Holy waits for me to form the questions that only He can answer.  Under the weight of every trial I ask Him, "How did I survive?  I mean really.  And how can  face what is not resolved in the problems I see today or the trials that have yet to unfold?"

Then comes that long, long, seemingly endless moment of silence.  How can a second of earth time be so loaded with cascading thoughts barraging the human mind?  "Stupid question...you just got to figure this one out yourself...there's no answer to that...what's the matter with you anyway?"

There is always an antagonist trying to separate me from the Holy One.  Whether it's the enemy of my soul AKA Satan, or the flesh still under the curse of the fall.  Subtle interference, static on my line.

Then the Holy One speaks and puts an end to the confusion.  "In every trial and every temptation, there lays a reason to praise God.  Focus on that and the trial will become quite manageable."

I look back over the last year and realize the wisdom and the explanation of my survival.  The Holy One set my heart and mind to praise God when I was not sure if I could take my next breath.

The ancient Psalmist knew the secret the Holy One shares with me:

Psalm 146, "Praise the Lord, oh my soul
                     I will praise the Lord all my life
                     I will sing praises to my God as long as I live"

And Paul, offers us the same secret in his letter to the Hebrews,
 
Hebrews 13:15, "Through Jesus Christ, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His Name."

And again, Peter writes more of the same wisdom,

I Peter 4:12,  "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice (as in praise) that you participate in the suffering of Christ that you may be overjoyed when His Glory is revealed". 

The Peace of the Holy One floods my mind and the weights begin to lift.

For me, the pain of  loss was over-ruled by the praise and joy that I will see him (them) again because of our Savior and the Cross He bore.

In the heart wrenching sorrow of watching those I love go through hard and painful trials, I can rejoice and praise Him, knowing that the Lord, my God holds them in the palm of His hand and will use, in His masterful and Sovereign plan, each detail for their eternal best and His Great Glory. 

The Holy One has provided me with a picture:  Each trial has a door between me and the storehouse of God's Blessings (the resolution and comfort) that I need and desire.  There is a lock and there is a key.

What is the key that turns the lock that opens the door to the storehouse of His blessings?

Today He has whispered in my ear "It's praise!"

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?
                    

Peter, Do You Love Me?

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  It's Christmas.  It's a day to celebrate.  It's a day to be so thankful.  Thankful that our God came, wrapped Himself in flesh, lived to show us the relationship He desires, died to save our souls and now is seated at the right hand of all Power and Authority.  Yes, indeed, there is so much to be thankful for.

The Holy One enters into my mental celebration.  His voice is soft and gentle, "Priceless one, do you love Me?  I know you are thankful and all, but do you love Me?"

I couldn' help but register the Lord's end of the conversation He had with Peter on the day He appeared to re-instate the one who failed Him in His darkest hours on earth. He simply asked, "Peter do you love Me?"  (John 20:15-17)  It's interesting how even the the slightest things can be overlooked until Holiness points them out.

I notice that Jesus didn't ask Peter if he felt thankful, He asked him, "Peter, do you love Me?"

He didn't ask Peter if he felt "obligated.  "Peter, do you love Me?"

He didn't ask Peter if he felt guilt-ridden, since that could have been a great leverage over Peter to push him into service.  "Peter, do you love Me?"

Peter got the point and now, so do I.  Jesus desires our lives to be lived, motivated and driven by our love for Him.  Thanksgiving is part of that expression of our love but that is also how we can get tweaked and twisted in the  motivation behind what we do. 

Obligation and guilt will not be enough when it comes to fulfilling our appointed tasks.  We can never begin to repay our Savior for what He has done for us, but in the quiet of this Christmas morning, I can reaffirm my love for Him.

As last year is winding down to close, and  the New Year is ready to unfold, I purpose in my heart of hearts to do what I do out of love for my Lord.  The Christmas message to me this morning comes from the heart of my Beloved.  The question He is asking must be answered from our hearts as well.   I believe He is asking each one of us, as He asked His beloved Disciple that day, "Peter, do you love Me?"

Our answer will precede our Heavenly assignment, and impact all we do.   My prayer this year is simple:

"Holy One, may everything I do, be done out of a pure sweet love for Jesus......"

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

 

"Empty Handed"

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  It's early but the wonderful smell of the traditional pine tree is familiar and sends the message to my mind that this is, indeed, Christmas time in North Carolina.  .

Life goes on, the seasons continue and that is a good thing.  Sometimes we can think it cruel that the whole world doesn't stop when something in our personal world ends.  The fact that life does go on, and the sun continues to rise and set is a constant reminder to me that we were created for eternity.  Ours, as God's Beloved,  is a timeline that has no beginning and no end.  As surely as the winter comes, it will give way to spring.....again.....some...day.

The winter has it's own kind of splendor, a beauty to behold for the eye that is looking for it.  While the cold outside chills my bones, the picture of the Nativity warms my heart.  This is the time and season to celebrate the Birth of the King.

The Holy One and I have been having discussions about what gift I have to give to Jesus this year.  I confess that I have nothing to give that He hasn't already given to me.  But then, Holiness highlights for me a "gift" He has given to me that I can give back to my King.  The Holy One assures me that it is OK and that giving what has been given is different than being "empty handed".

I find myself wondering in the depths of my heart,  "But will my Lord use it?  Will He value His gift in me (that lies somewhat hidden) enough to use it?"

The Holy One takes me back to His Word,  I Corinth 12:7, "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit, there are different kinds of service but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all men.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" .

My heart leaps for joy at the thought that my Lord just waits for me to give back to Him what He has given to me.  My Lord desires and is ready to use the gift He gave me to glorify Himself and for the common good. ( I.E. with benefit to others.)  I realize now, that He cannot use it fully, until and unless I give it back to Him. 

The Holy One makes it very clear, none of us have to come to the manger "empty handed".  We all have something to give back to the King.  A gift He desires to use if we would but bring it back to Him. 

What that gift might be from each one of us is personal and unique in it's manifestation.  Something we might describe as a "personality trait", a tendency toward something that is considered good, a talent being used for worldly gain.  Anyone of these might be the "gift" the King longs for you to give Him this year.  The scriptures identify many gifts the Lord would build up and develop in His people who are willing to bring to Him the least of what they think they have to offer.  A conference call to the Holy Spirit can bring great clarity to the subject.

This morning, I heard Him loud and clear.  I am prepared to give my gift to the King, knowing He will use it and I am so thankful to see that I do not have to come to the manger "empty handed".  None of us do.  What do you have to give to the King?

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?






    

What's Your Gift?

The Holy One calls me this morning.  The Holiday season is in full swing.  We are being barraged with gift ideas, stores competing for our limited Christmas budgets and all the guilt that goes with wrong priorities.

Is it just me or does all this whoopee seem to bring more tension than relief?  The day that we celebrate as being the most pivotal point in the history of man, next to the day, Christ Jesus resurrected in His Glory, has become such a weight and burden of back-and-forth gift giving that we just want to get past it.

Today the Holy One takes me back to the reason my heart should celebrate.  He takes me back to the time when all the angels held their breath as God became man.  Holiness wants to flood my mind with His peace, so He has to repair my thoughts.  He takes me to His Word and illuminates for me the account of the Wisemen.  Today I am to focus on the Magi in the drama that changed the world's understanding of God.

It's hard for us, who have been so blessed with the historic record of their epic journey, to read the few verses that speak of their part in the drama of the time when God wrapped Himself in flesh to walk among us and imagine what it was like for them.

The Magi made their way from a faraway land on the basis of a "prophecy" and a new star in the heavens.  They packed up their camels and set out on a journey to find a newborn King.  They travelled for a long long time.  No planes or taxis for these Wisemen.  Not even a map to navigate their way.    What must it have been like when the "One" they had been searching for was found?

As I ponder the effort and preparation it must have taken for them to launch such a mission, I am saddened by all the mindless, pointless distractions that get in the way of just a simple celebration of the birth of my King.

I know the Holy One is taking me somewhere in these thoughts about the Wisemen and me.

Matt 2:9
"After they (the Magi) had heard the king (Herod) they went on their way and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed"

"Overjoyed"!  Is this what I feel when I think of the Babe in the manger and what God does to lead us to Him?

It goes on to say, "On coming to the house they saw the Child with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh."

What makes this event so mind blowing to me is that these 3 wealthy Wisemen made their sojourn with no apparent "reward" for themselves like so many of us desire as we seek the King today.  This journey seemed to be made for the extreme privilege of finding the "One" the prophecy spoke of and the "One" the star revealed. 

All this took place before Jesus manifested even one sign or wonder as God in the flesh. Their worship came strictly on the basis of Who His is, not for one thing He did for them or anyone else.

Thinking about the motivation of the Magi, and the gifts they brought to honor the King, the Holy One calls me to assess my own heart.  He asks me, "What are you willing to sacrifice in order to find and know the King?   Do you count it a privilege just to have found Him?  What are you willing to give Him as you celebrate His birth?

I believe these are questions for all of us to ponder in our heart of hearts.  The events of the day when God wrapped Himself in flesh and walked among us are history.  What we do to seek and honor Him is a choice we must make in each new day.

The story of the Wisemen is one to be recalled over and over, not just as we celebrate the birth of our King but each day as we seek to find, serve and honor Him in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

Sin of the Soul

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  He always brings a refreshment to my soul.  Even as He is working to purify my "stinkin thinkin", His Presence brings relief.

The accuser of the brethren (as Satan has been described) hurls his insults at my mind.  The attack begins during the watches of the night, just under the radar of my conscious awareness.  The enemy begins early to try to infect my thoughts and make his evil presence known on the battlefield of my mind.

I am thankful that Holiness wakes me each morning with reminders that He rules my life; that the enemy can hurl his insults and take his potshots at me, but in the end my relationship with the Holy One always prevails unto victory.

Today, as the enemy reminds me of past failures that seem to relate to current issues, the Holy One speaks:  "The past does not dictate the future.  You are a different woman today than the one who got deceived years ago".  His gentle voice and sweet love floods my soul.  The One who knows me better than I know myself comforts me.  There is no guilt, no condemnation, no bitter words or even an innuendo that suggests rejection.

The Holy One continues,  "We see sin differently than you do".  Since the "opinion" of Trinity is the only one that counts, I press in to hear what  my Lord has to say to me on this subject.  "The sins of the flesh that you are so prone to focus on are temporal.  The laws I have given for the temporal, affect the best interests of your flesh life in a fallen world.  The more important sin to be dealt with is the sin of the soul and My Law in that regard affects the best interest of your Spirit life for all eternity.

I am always amazed at the simplicity of Truth.

The sin of the soul is willful independence from the One who created us.  The sins of the flesh are just symptoms of the sin of the soul.

Humans seem to be in the constant turmoil over the flesh failures, and  thinking that our Savior, Jesus Christ,  came to offer one more tool for the "big" issue of sin management.  Or worse yet, one more impossible requirement to an already inexhaustible list of what is required to have peace within.

Far from that, the Savior came to obliterate once and for all the "soul sin" that separates us from our Creator God, and that which is the source of all the "flesh sins" we see being carried out in ourselves and others.

God, Himself,  has offered the only way to cleanse the "soul sin" we are all infected with at birth; the soul sin that leads to soul death for all eternity.

Jesus was sent into this fallen world to bring the cure.  We always quote John 3:16 as God's great love for us but the next verse brings additional clarity regarding the Heart of the Creator for His beloved creation I.E. each one of us.  "For God did not send His Son into the world (of people) to condemn the world (of people) but to save the world (of people) through Him".

"For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

From God's end the problem is solved. The cure has been granted for any who would choose to take it. Jesus came and did what was necessary to save every person ever born from the "soul sin" that causes death of the person/soul for all eternity.

Now,  the big question we each, individually, must answer is: "will I take the cure?"

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?