For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

Jesus became “our passover.”

Jesus exemplified humility and love.  He walked in obedience to His Father, and came to “serve” not to be served. His acts were selfless, and pure. His walk were that of a man, with authority from His Father to perform miraculous deeds.  His purpose, to avail Himself for our purpose and to fulfill the scriptures, so that we would be saved. 

Our amazing Savior and His examples was and remain counter-cultural. It seems that in this world of egotistical giants, it would appear that humility is a lost art. This world values high achievements, and tend to base decisions upon outward appearances.  Many believe that elevated positions are the basis of reward, and seemingly applaud the foundation of self-inflation.

There is nothing wrong with hard work that ultimately brings financial gains, when it is in the proper perspective. Blessings from God come to those who factor Him into all of the equations and paths of their lives. 

Of course, blessings are all in the eye of the individual. There are many who are financially pregnant, yet spiritually bankrupt, and miserable. There are many who are poor, yet spiritually rich, and overflowing with joy.

 The emphasis on society today is the me me me generation–embodying the overused cliche of “instant gratification” complete with the petulant and pridefully arrogant population who choose to ignore God, and all of His Glory.  They tend to their own world and concentrate on superficial worldly begotten gains, totally unaware of the rewards that count.  The rewards of eternity, and, completely ignorant of seeking the Kingdom of God.

God and His timing is proficient, and always for our benefit. God will honor us when we obey Him.   He will bless us when we wait for His timing, and His direction, and yield to His authority.  He wants us to be happy, and He wants us with Him in paradise.  He wants our attention, and our love.

He sent His Son to save us.  Jesus, our Savior, our loving God.  His walk, His humble examples, His loving and gentle ways are still very much alive in all of us.  His Spirit lives on through us. 

This Sunday, as we remember what He went through, and did for us, all in the name of love…how about loving Him back, fully , completely and totally.

Let’s start with a huge slice of humility, the rest will come naturally if we allow it…

Rejoice in the glorious victory of His resurrection! 

Have a blessed Paschal~

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Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.   (Colossians 2:12)

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³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  (Matthew 25:31-40)

We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us…Neither death, nor life…shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:37-39)

**All scripture is quoted from the KJV Bible unless otherwise noted***

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3 NKJV)

Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.  (Proverbs 15:22 NKJV)

None of us has the capacity or the knowledge of our awesome and heavenly Father.  Neither do we have the ability to grasp his deep and profound perspective of all things.  God often uses the perspective of others to show us His will which consequently will provide “counsel” to what we need or what we are seeking.

His eyes are always watching and in so doing sees good and evil. Since He is always on watch, the Creator of our souls, He knows our inner thoughts and knows the inner chambers of our hearts. 

The almighty and powerful God reaches us in so many ways… His voice can be heard by those who wish to hear. His counsel is valuable, beyond our scope of understanding, but again, we can understand and hear when we want to.

He will use others to relay messages to us.  Or, His words will jump off the very page while reading the Bible.  Still, at other times…the silence will bring us the answers we crave.  It’s all so reassuring and peaceful. 

A friend of mine always laments, “I wish I knew what to do, what should I do?” She could have the answer she seeks, if only she sought!  Yet, when I tell her, “Pray, listen for God’s voice. Seek His wisdom, and His blessings for which way to go” –her response is consistent, “Why would I bother God with this? He is way too busy for this nonsense.” No!  That isn’t true.  God is never too busy for us. God is never too busy for guiding us unto the right decision, or the correct path, thereby, quelling our anxieties. He, alone, can dispell any doubts, and bring about a tranquil state of mind.

“I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last I am He.” – (Isaiah 41:4 NKJV)

In the Book of Revelation, three times the title is appropriated, –the First, and the Last–for Jesus. He who was from the beginning and always shall be knows how to rescue us from all of our troubles, or doubts, or concerns, or decisions and pathways of life.

God will never leave us, He will always be with us. So, when we speak with Him, He is thrilled to have that relationship with us.  He came looking for us, His love transcends time, and His love went beyond the grave into an enormous victory, resulting in defeating death, which is to say the “enemy.”  He rose victorious, for us.  Thank you Lord.  So, with that kind of love and commitment, it is without a doubt obvious that He wants us to seek His counsel, and His blessings in all decisions.  Or, just to say, “Hello Yeshua, I love You.  I just wanted to say hello, and thank You so much.”

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)

Each one of us will face fear at some point in our lifetime, the thing is “what will we do with it?”  That is the question. If we claim our position as God’s children, we have the power–in Jesus’ name–to overcome fear when we apply His word to our lives.  “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love…”    (1 John 4:18 NKJV)

With God’s counsel, His hand in ours, and His word, there is nothing to fear, there should be no anxiety present, and the answers will flow freely in due time.  Peace, love and actualization.

For remember this, God does hear, does listen, and does apply help in all facets of our lives–but, it must be according to His will, His purpose, and His time.  Not our will, not according to our purpose, and certainly not in our time frame.  When we cling to this way of thinking, and our faith connects to His Spirit–then, and only then, will we be able to see the fruits of our labor, and the peace and solitude of His love be visible for all to see. 

He’s waiting, are you ready?

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!  (Psalm 34:8 NKJV)

The value of Wisdom

My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
² So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
³ Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
⁴ If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
⁸ He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints.
⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path… (Proverbs 2:1-9 NKJV)

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Scott Birge – many thanks for the gorgeous picture.  God is smiling at you!

And He saith unto them, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.  (Matthew 8:26)

In New England there are many snow storms, or Nor’easters as they prefer to call them. So, we are not surprised to feel the wrath of winds, ice, and see mountains of snow piled high as our front door.  Having said that, this past week we had yet another storm.  It started out slow, but continued to drop precipitation at a steady rate. Within a relatively short period of time it changed over to heavy rapid falling snow. 

Upon awakening I glanced out into our backyard and didn’t like the sight staring back at me. The huge fir trees were packed with the “heavy wet snow” and were leaning forward in a menacning way. I thought, “Dear Lord, please protect us from these trees, and protect all within these walls from any harm, in Jesus name, amen.” After that brief prayer,  I turned and proceeded into our kitchen.  I barely had time to pour water into the coffee maker,  when we felt the entire house violently shake in conjunction with a deafening, and frightening crash!  My husband, mother and I said in unison, “What the heck was that?”

We ran to look outside, when there it was.  The menacing tree that was looking at me moments earlier was splayed across our screened in porch, right outside our bedroom door in a suffocating fashion. Its huge branches poking through the screen, the top of it hovering over our skylight, stretching from one end of the roof to the other.  This huge, magnificent looking tree, that stood over 35 feet high toppled unto our house.  We stared for a moment, and after I knew that everyone was okay…including my elderly mom, and my little pup, we all said, “Thank you Lord, thank you Jesus! Praise God.”

Within three hours a crew came to clear the tree away.  Except for a little piece of the gutter, and three ripped screens, there was no damage!  The man who cleared it away was shocked, he said, “I’ve never seen anything like this, this huge tree barely made an impact on your property. This is really something, I can’t believe this!!”  To which I replied, “God protected us, only moments after I said a prayer for Him to do so.  So,  believe it. He did it, His capable hands, and His loving heart responded to my prayer.” 

So, thank you Lord, You are my amazing Abba Father, You are the refuge and the rock of my being. Your wings spread high overhead, and cover me with Your protection and love. Your warmth radiates as Your Spirit bathes me in Your light. You hear Your children, and You protect them always.  I love You…thank You, my Lord of Lord and King of Kings.”

God is around…He is with us always.  He hears us, He sees us, He is with us.  Our comforter, our provider, our everything.  Ask, seek, knock…and then watch how God works.  Don’t take my word for it, take HIS~

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. ( Matthew 7:7 )

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:24 )

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.                     (Matthew 28:20)