If we wait upon the Lord and stop striving to make thing work out in our own strength and in our own timing, then we can get rest.  And rest renews our strength.

God can work out whatever we’re waiting for far better than we can.  If you’re waiting and weary, be encouraged by the fact that God wants to work out your situation in the best possible way because His plans for you are for good and not evil (Jer 29:11).

He loves you so much that He wants to help you and do things for you.  That’s God’s heart towards you because you’re His child who He chose to create.  “Strength and gladness are in His place” (1 Chr. 16:27) and He’s inviting you to come in.

Shagufta

But it seems like the enemy likes to lurk around the table. He’s looking to distract us. He wants us to get up and move away from God and what God has prepared for us. Has anyone gotten up from the table lately?

It never ceases to amaze me that my God who has seen my backside many times as I’ve gotten up and walked away wants me to come back to the table and fellowship with Him again and feed on His spiritual food. Aren’t you so glad that you can go back?!

Next week many people will gather around tables to celebrate Thanksgiving. Let it serve as a reminder that the God of the universe has prepared a table… for us. And not just here in the presence of our enemies but also in heaven. I look forward to seeing familiar faces at the table.

Shagufta

 I have a button on my desk, which if you press, says, “That was easy.”

I wish I could say life was easy, but most of us cannot say that. Even the people who look like they have a charmed life probably don’t behind the scenes.

What do we do when life is not easy?  As a Christian, there is only one viable option… which is to hand it all over to Jesus.  Easier to say than do…I know.  Too often I try to hold on to things.  (Worry about them, stew over them, etc.—as if that will really do any good.) 

I am trying to be better at handing things over to Jesus.  Daily and hourly, as needed, I am trying to make the CHOICE to hand the difficulties that come over to Him. (verbally in prayer if needed)

These things I hand over are usually things I cannot change. (My family’s health problems, aging parents, my Sister’s handicaps, etc.)  Sometimes I try to grab them back. 

I have to choose to hand them over!  Again and again!

Life is not easy.  It is difficult.  That is what Jesus is for.

Hand it over!

Blessings,

Thora

Too often, we think things are about us.

Actually, it all revolves around the King (Jesus that is).

 I heard a talk on this topic years ago….the fact that everything revolves around the King.  I was thinking back on this the last couple of days.  Everything important really does revolve around the King.

 When life gets busy, we easily start to think things revolve around us…what people do to us, say to us, say about us, what we think they are saying, what they are not saying, and so on.  It is way too easy to get wrapped up in simply how things affect….us.

 In reality, all things should revolve around the King.  He is the one we should all be focusing on.  If we were all focusing on Him, we would be worrying less about how things were affecting us.  We would not think we were in the center of so much happening around us.  (Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’s not about you.”)

 I’m asking God to help me remember it all revolves around Him!

 It’s not about me.

Blessings,

Thora

Forgive me for not remembering the speaker’s name, but 2 of her main points really stuck with me.

1.    We have to intentionally hold onto joy.

And

2.    Joy is the birthmark of a child of God.

The first point reminds me of how important it is to live a spirit-filled life.  Pastor Brian has said, “We need to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit…because we leak!”

And remember…joy is listed among the fruits of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

If we are asking God to fill us with the Holy Spirit and continue to surrender to His will and His ways on a daily basis, we will be spirit-filled and as a result, experience joy.  But this doesn’t happen by chance…we have to be intentional about it.

When I think about her second point…that joy is the birthmark of a child of God…I am reminded of what I have learned recently while studying the book of Acts, which was written by Luke.

Luke mentions joy throughout Acts, in relation to many different types of experiences – even including the apostles rejoicing after being flogged for sharing the Gospel.  (Acts 5:41)  What I’ve learned is that the apostles experienced joy in ANY circumstance simply because they rejoiced that the Holy Spirit was IN them, a privilege they had not experienced before the Pentecost.

I also think that this same joy in the Spirit is what allowed Paul to “be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11

These are examples of Christ’s followers exhibiting that “joy is the birthmark of a child of God.”

Let us walk daily with the Holy Spirit so that we may rejoice in every situation.

Melissa

I think that at my memorial service, several good things might be said of me:  That I had honestly loved God and my family, that I was a hard worker, that I was compassionate, happy, friendly…  all those nice things people say during funerals.

But one thing I fear shall never be said of me, and that is that I was a patient person.

Being a “doer” and having always struggled with anxiety, you can only imagine how difficult it is for me to wait for anything.  I tweak and I wiggle.  I twist and pull at my hair and bite my lower lip.  I start to think about all the things I could be doing, instead of wasting my time waiting…  It’s pure torture!

So the other day, when I heard a commentary on the radio about what the Psalms tell us about this subject, I had to run and grab a pen (one that worked, hopefully) and a piece of paper so that I could jot down what the announcer was saying.

She said that, according to the Psalmists, we should wait:

• patiently

     Psalm 37:7b, Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.

•  expectantly

     Psalm 5:3, In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

•  actively

     Psalm 119:166, I wait for your salvation, LORD, and I follow your commands.

Naturally, I wasn’t too excited about the “waiting patiently” part, but I found the last two quite interesting, as they helped me realize that waiting is not wasteful, but rather a productive endeavor.

In fact, the Bible encourages us, time and time again, to wait upon the Lord, and it also tells us how:

•  That wait should be patient, less we run ahead of God’s plans.
•  It should be full of expectation, waiting for what our good and faithful Lord will do.
•  And it should be active instead of passive.

Oh, Ana, likes that last part.  You mean, I don’t have to sit and twirl my thumbs, but instead I get to do something while I wait?

Exactly.

See what this song by Christian singer John Waller says,

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

While I’m waiting

I will serve You

While I’m waiting

I will worship

While I’m waiting

I will not faint

I’ll be running the race

Even while I wait

Gosh, I think even uberly impatient people like me can do that.  Now, this is something I really like!

Psalm 27:14, Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Ana

As I sat in my car listening to this, I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in that kind of reality.  I went over in my mind all of the times during my daily routine I use clean water that is right at my fingertips.  I just couldn’t fathom the heartbreak of not having clean water to give to my child.

Then I started thinking about the joy these families must feel when they receive the water filter and realize they no longer have to worry about getting access to clean water.  What a wonderful experience to be there and witness this organization being the hands and feet of Jesus – not only providing clean water for physical needs, but also sharing the Gospel with these same families.

In John 4:13 Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman at the well:  Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  The water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Then the Holy Spirit gently reminded me…I don’t have to go to Rwanda in order to offer “the water of eternal life” to others.  God has placed me in my own little mission field…in my neighborhood and in contact with certain people in order to do the very same thing.  Sometimes in the busyness of life, it’s easy to forget that people we see everyday who do not know Jesus personally are thirsting for the water of eternal life that only comes from Him.  As followers of Jesus, we are called to share the Gospel with them so that they, too, can experience true joy and freedom in Christ.

Melissa

I couldn’t believe what was happening.

During a ministry trip to Honduras, a team from Vineyard North Phoenix went to visit a La Viña church in Valle de Angeles – the Valley of the Angels. What a beautiful place that was! Pastor Mario Fernandez began to share his message to this church, and I had the privilege to interpret it into Spanish.

As his message unfolded my heart began to race and my legs to weaken. My head thumped and my ears buzzed. Feeling short of breath, I was sure that, any moment now, I would faint – making a total fool of myself and bringing the meeting to a halt.

Despite being scared half to death, I managed to continue with the interpretation. Thoughts raced through my mind like swooshing arrows: Any time, now, and you’re going to faint. You’re going to mess things up. Look at all these people, hungry for God’s Word. Look at Pastor Mario. He’s depending on you to deliver his message. You’re a failure. You can’t do this.

I began to breath faster. Fear pushed all oxygen from my lungs and mind.

“I don’t think I can go on, Lord,” I cried in desperation.

Yes you can. I will sustain you.

I turned to look at all the men and women crowding the pews, eager and needy. “Lord, I’m not sure I can do this much longer. But I will go on for as long as You’d let me. If I faint, I faint. I’m among friends. I will trust in You.”

I gulped and interpreted the section of Mario’s message he had just finished saying. And then the next. And the next. And the next. Thought a battled raged in my mind the whole time, I was able to do the job I had come all this way to do.

I wish I could say things got easier as the message progressed. But they didn’t. However, in the back of my tortured mind, this thought was ever present: God will sustain me.

At the end of the service, I collapsed on a chair, quietly and in secret. No one knew what had happened, except for me, the enemy of my soul and my precious Lord and Savior.

I was so freaked out by what had happened, it took me a couple of days before I was able to share my experience with DaNetta, our team leader. Thankfully, the episode did not repeat itself during the rest of the trip. I truly believe this was a bizarre instance of fierce spiritual battle. Something I had to face. God only knows why.

This morning, during my devotional, I read this portion of a book called “Brakethrough Prayers for Women”, by Clift and Kathleen Richards:

“You are more than a conqueror. Use all the tools God has given to you – the Word of God, the shield of faith, the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of the blood of Jesus, overcoming faith, and the power of prayer – to vanquish every enemy in your life and to tear down the walls erected by the enemy to block your progress in spiritual things.”

I realized that during the intense 45-minute war I experienced in Honduras, each of these elements came together to my rescue: God’s Word, His Holy Spirit whispering encouraging words in my ear, Jesus’ love and power at work, faith, prayer, complete trust…

This encounter took me by surprise, but it didn’t catch me unprepared. And it reminded me of the essentiality of my daily encounters with God through prayer and the reading of His Word.

Ephesians 6:13 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

The Lord Jesus is indeed my Savior. In Him will I trust, and my heart will not fear.

Ana

Think about when you got saved.  Your spiritual eyes were opened to the truth, you received the truth in your heart, and then faith emerged. Your faith in God came from a heart-level revelation of the truth about Him.

If we doubt God, then somewhere in our hearts is a lack of truth/lack of knowledge and/or we’re deceived about something pertaining to Him. Solution? 1) Spend time learning God’s word,  2) ask God to show you more of His truth, and 3) ask Him to open your eyes to any lies you may believe about Him.

As some of you know, at the beginning of this year I began praying the armor of God every day.  When I get to the belt of truth I thank God for His truth and I ask for more.  Since I began asking for more truth I’ve gotten more revelation from God than at any other time in my 15 year walk and my faith in Him has grown.  Ask for more truth daily and as God plants it pray that the faith seedlings continue to grow.

Just like we wouldn’t expect new varieties of vegetables to sprout up in a vegetable garden without planting more seeds, we can’t expect our faith to grow and expand without more seeds of truth.   And since you’ve been weeding your heart (see Spiritual Weeds ) there should be more room for the good stuff!

Shagufta

But most would agree that weeding is something that should be done to maintain a clean yard where desired plants can thrive and not get choked out by weeds.  The same is true for our spiritual ‘yard’, which I would say is our heart.

In the devil’s attempt to be like God, he trys to plant seeds in our ‘yard’ but of course the devil’s seeds are always weeds in the making.  Earlier this year I had a dream about being in a spiritual warfare class.  The first point the instructor made was a warning about spiritual weeds sprouting up.  He said, “You don’t need water, only land.”  It made me think about how you don’t have to actively water ungodly things in your heart for those seeds to grow roots.  It’s like an unwatered, unmaintained yard.  The roses may die but the weeds still thrive.

Pastor Brian has told us that he daily prays Psalm 139:23-24.  “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (NIV).  This is a great way to keep your heart sensitive to God’s truth and to have your eyes opened to the devil’s seeds of deception.

God wants your heart to be clean like a tended yard because He doesn’t want His truth and love to be ‘choked out’ of your heart.  He loves you so much that He wants uninterrupted fellowship with you.  So weed away!  Crawling around on the ground is optional.

Shagufta