I Am Ashamed of My Past

I Am Ashamed of My Past

"I am ashamed of my past." Satan is happy to hear this, and I am quite sure that He was helping you created that very past that you are ashamed of. Do you know the reason he delights in our misery? It is because he will do anything in his power to distract us from Jesus. Listen to me, Beloved of God. As Christians we don't have to live defeated lives. Everyone has a past. Even Satan had one. He also has a heated future. Christians, on the other hand have a glorious future. There is no need to cling to the past. Jesus paid it all, all to him we owe. "Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow." The next time Satan try to remind you of your past, you, remind Him of the Cross!!!!

Excuses, Excuses,Excuses

Jesus said to them, “Follow Me. I will make you fish for men.  Matthew 4:19

"I wont become a Christian because of the things that Christians do".  Have you ever heard that excuse before? What about this excuse ?  "I refuse to become a Christian because all Christians are hypocrites."  EXCUSES!, EXCUSES!, EXCUSES. I will be willing to pay you money if you can tell me that you have heard these excuses before. "The reason that  I wont go to the grocery store to buy groceries is because  all of the employees at the grocery store steals." or "I  refuse to accept my paycheck from my employer because my boss is a liar."  Well, do I owe you some money? Of course I don't.  No, you will never, ever hear of anyone using those excuses. Why? Because those are things that meets their physical needs, but when their very need of salvation is at stake, they would rather allow the lives of others to dictate where they will spend eternity.

I am not making light of what we Christians have done to bring shame to the name of Christ. SHAME ON US!. We need to start living out the things that we profess that we believe, but by no means does this negate others decisions to follow Christ. In I Corinthians 11:1 Paul said "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." Did Paul say, imitate me as I imitate Barnabas? By no means did he say that,  and Barnabas was a great example of "a godly man". Paul imitated the one who died for his sins; the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 In order for someone to sit back and observe the behavior of another, and from their observation,  determine whether the behavior is wrong or right, it is obvious that, that person knows what is morally right. If they know the behavior is wrong, why do they use it as the standard?

 Let's examine this for a second, because I am not sure that they realize it, but in their own examination and conclusion about not following Christ,  because of their fixation on  someone;  who happens to be human just like they are; they have made man as the example of why "Christanity is not the real deal." Before Jesus ascended into heaven, did He say that man was to be the standard, in which another should live?  He most certainly did not!!! You foolish man, do you not know that Jesus entrusted Himself to no man, because He knew man's heart. It is not others who causes you not to follow Christ, it is because you have made a decision within your heart not to do so. You have shut God out of your life. Woe is you!!! The late pastor Adrian Rogers once said "if God is for you who can be against you, but if God is against you, then who can be for you". Amen

 The book of Romans speaks of such people who consistently abandons God. It tells of how God eventually abandons them (Romans 1:24,26,28). It tell us three times in Romans Chapter 1 that God gave them up to do whatever they were inclined to do. This is something to take note of because God will never abandon anyone who calls upon His name, but in Romans,  He leaves these people to do whatever appears to be right in their own eyes. That is scary. They have become their own righteousness and therefore they do not feel a need for God. Where do you think these people will spend eternity? Have you said in your heart there is no God? Who is your righteouness? Is it man? Where will you spend eternity? I pray that it is with Christ.


Everyone has as much of Jesus that they want.`Adrian Rogers

This Is All That I Have To Offer

I Thessalonians 4:16-18
 ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Today we buried my oldest sister Margie and I am hurting. Almost two weeks ago I was with her at the hospital when her doctor told her that he was going to let her go home on Valentine's Day and five days later she was dead. I'm hurting. There was five of us and now there are four. My oldest sister is gone and I am hurting.  Over the past few years my sister and I had become very close. I could confide in her and she in me, but that will not occur any more because now she is gone.

In the funeral procession today, my oldest brother Willie told everyone now that Margie is gone, that they would have to look to me. What can I offer? Nothing other than the Greatest Gift that has been offered to mankind. That is the Person of Jesus Christ.

One day while talking to Margie. I asked her if she were to stand before God and He asked her why should He let her into His Heaven, what would she say to Him and she told me that she would tell Him "because I asked Jesus to forgive me of all of my sins and I asked Him to save me".  My sister told me that she trusted in Christ. If this is the case, I am not to sorrow like those who have no hope, as someone told me recently "I am to trust that Jesus is faithful to keep what my sister had entrusted to Him".  Hallejah what a Savior!

If any of my love ones or anyone else for that matter were to looked to me, the only thing that I have to offer them is Jesus Christ. I pray that they will take hold of this and run with it, but if they do not I will not be deterred. Because Jesus is my refuge. I am no fool. As I look around there are a lot of my  love ones who have died and I do believe that they loved me but they are no longer here, but Jesus have always been by my side and He promised me that He would never leave me nor forsake me and He is faithful to keep His promises. So love ones, Run to Him! Run to Him! Run to Him! It is Christ alone who can bear your grief, show you grace and extend to you mercy.

 Lately I have been wearing the word mercy out. When I feel the darkness trying to consume me,  I cry "Jesus have mercy on me", and He does. Jesus did not choose to raise my sister from the dead like he did Lazarus or the widow of Nain's son but He said to me in her death "Gladys my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness." What will I do? I shall likewise be like Paul and say  "I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  I am hurting and weak but Jesus is strengthening me daily.

In the car today I whispered "Jesus I Love You".  He loves me too. Even So, Come Quickly Lord Jesus. And this is all that I have to offer.

Inside Outside

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7)

I have been really silent about my weight loss. Because at first I thought it was going to be another failure. I have never been a slim girl. I was just blessed with a small waist and small chest which helped me not look as large. That all was wonderful in my younger years but as everyone knows as we age we tend to put on weight. The first time I put on weight was in 2005. I was tired of carrying the weight around so in February of 2008 I started working out about 4 hours a day 6 days a week. I ate whatever I wanted but managed to go from about a size 16 to a size 4 and from 200lbs to 145lbs in about 6 months. But working out had pretty much become my idol and I planned my days around my workout schedule. So I really didn't have much of a life. I also had plenty of time to follow this difficult regimen because at the time I was unemployed. Well August of 2008 I started a job and had a hard time keeping up with my strenuous workout schedule and by the middle of 2009 all my weight had came back plus more. And by 2011 I was weighing in at 216lbs and I was wearing sizes 18 and 20. My blood pressure was sky high, my childhood asthma was back, I was very depressed, my anxiety was out of control, I hated looking in the mirror, and food had become an idol in my life. Where in the past I use to plan my life around working out I would now plan my life around my next meal. I was very depressed and felt a void in my life. So this past Christmas 2011 I happened across the YouVersion App on my iPhone. I would read and listen to the Word of God on a daily and I begin to feel that void start to fade away. I started hungering for more so I started back attending church, listening to only gospel and praise & worship music, listening to Christian pastors, reading Christian books, and having regular daily email chats with other brothers and sisters in Christ. This all led to me recommitting my life to Christ. I begin to reevaluate unhealthy relationships and letting go of many habitual sins and strongholds in my life. I temporarily deactivated my Face Book page and I really took some time to fall in love with Jesus. When Christmas came around I ordered myself a Christian book called Thin Within: A Grace-Oriented Approach to Lasting Weight Loss. I had this book years ago but never made it through the first week because it really gets to the root of things and at that point in my life I was weak in my faith and I wasn't emotionally or spiritually ready to deal with those issues. But years later I was finally at the point where I was ready to deal with my junk and baggage. Around the same time my Mama was trying to find a way that she could lose weight and happened across this free online program called Lord's Table which is very similar to Thin Within but more in depth and it last longer. I loved them both so I decided to do both programs since they were so similar. And believe it or not I begin to drop weight not from dieting or tons of exercising. Just by building a healthy relationship with the Lord and eating only when hungry and pushing away from the table when my stomach was comfortably full. I still have my days when I relapse and eat past my comfort level but that's the good thing about God's Grace he forgives me when I stumble. I also have a wonderful Lord's Table mentor who is with me every step up the way and prays for me and my journey on a daily. My Mama and I are each other accountability partners and we are very tough on each other but we also build one another up when we mess up. When people mention my weight loss my response is always "God is allowing the changes He is making on the inside of me to show on the outside." I get many confused looks when I say this but I can't take credit for any of the weight loss all glory goes to God. ~Naturally Reecee

Why Do I Love Jesus

"We love because he first loved us." (I John 4:19)

The love that I feel for Jesus is indescribable. I remember the first time that He entered my life. I had never experienced anything like His love before. I could run to Him and confide in Him any time,  day or night  and I never doubted for a moment that He would betray my trust, because that is not in His character. Come next month He will have proven Himself to be faithful to me for 26  years. Who would have thought that I would be one of the chosen few.

I remember when I was in high school, I doubted that Jesus even existed and I even went so far as to say that I bordered on the line of an agnostic or an atheist , but Jesus look who loves you now. When my mama used to listen to gospel music, I would be so embarrassed and then to top it off, when the gospel music would end at 11:00 am, she would turn the radio off, because she said " We are not listening to the devil's music in my house". I thought that she was being old fashioned but now I guess I am old fashioned too, because the only music that I thirst for is music that sing the praises of Jesus.

The love that I have for the Lord is not a honeymoon type of love but it is a settled love. I love looking at the clouds because it reminds me of Him. When it rains I look forward to seeing a rainbow because it reminds me of his promise, never to destroy mankind with a flood again. I love to read the bible because it is a love letter to me and it is a mystery to the ones who do not love him. More recently I fell in love with Jesus even more, because I started seeing a change in my daughter that only Jesus could have done and it was genuine.

I told her about a bible study that I was doing by Setting Captives Free called the Lord's Table. She told me that she would do it with me and instantly she was changed in the presence of a Holy God. She is constantly reminding me of what I taught her as a child and how thankful she is for the sound doctrine that she was taught. I cherish these things and they bring me to tears. At any given moment I become "happy". That is what the older people when I was younger would call joy for the Lord.

I feel like David when he asked God " what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps: 8:4).  God is faithful. None of my labor is in vain. I was like Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army, because I too said said "Lord I will not stand before you without my children". The Lord wanted me to pray for my children and he is so faithful, His word never comes back to Him void. I am leaving a legacy behind and this is what I prayed for years ago. I always told my children that I never desired for them to be rich or famous but I wanted them to do great things for the Lord. Not that I wanted them to be a Billy Graham or a John Calvin, but to me any Christian who submit to the Lord, has done great things for Him and this was and is my desire

God is honoring me because I honored Him. I am in love with Jesus.  I love Jesus because He is faithful. I love Jesus because He is Omnipotent, I love Jesus because He is the Savior, I love Jesus because He prays for me, I love Jesus because He did not leave me as an orphan, I love Jesus because He is coming back for me, I love Jesus because He allows my deceased love ones to be in His presence, but most of all the reason that  I love Jesus is because He first loved me. It was His love that wooed me unto Him and it was His love that caused me to love Him in return and it is His love that is keeping me. Hallelujah, what a Savior.

Don't Forget About Me

Luke 15:20: And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him

My dad is just a blur in my memory. I can barely remember visits with him as a child and that suited me just fine. My mama  was the only father and mother that I knew. After I married and had children, they had questions about their grandfather but there wasn't much that I could tell them about him, because there was not much that I knew or cared to have known about him. I did take them to meet him once and that placated them for a while, but a few months ago I got a message that I had been dreading and it said "your daddy wants to see you".

I avoided the meeting like the plague. I was tempted to just meet him and get it over with, but every time the thought came to my mind, I would have memories of my mama going to clean houses in the snow to put food on the table and I would become filled with guilt of betraying her and she was no longer alive for me to ask her how she felt about me meeting him.

My mama took care of both of her parents until they died and I made a vow that I would honor my mother just as I was commanded by the Lord to do in Exodus 20:12. For me to honor her was not just to take care of her but to respect her when she was alive and to respect her in her death also.  So for me the best thing to do was to forget about the whole situation of meeting this man. As you can see to even say the name dad is foreign to me. I have to be honest and say that even to say the word as it relates to him causes me to have heart palpitations.

But I could not get the thought of him out of my mind. I would wake up in the mornings thinking about him. I would lay down at night thinking about him and then I realized that it was not an issue of me betraying my mama but it was the issue of would I obey my Heavenly Father, whom I said that  I love above all else. I made up my mind quite quickly that I would obey God.

I asked my daughter and granddaughter would they go with me to me him and of course they said yes. I told him that we would come to his house this past Saturday at 4:00 pm. As soon as we arrived at the door, we could hear the excitement in his voice. He greeted my granddaughter first, my daughter hugged him and I stood there almost paralyzed without knowing how to greet him and finally he extended his hand and I shook it.

We stayed for a while and we talked about many things. Finally the time came for us to leave and out no where I asked him what was his plans for Christmas and he said that he did not have any and I asked him if he wanted to spend Christmas day with us and he said that he would love to. So we will be having a new member of the family with us on Christmas day.

As we were leaving I did follow my daughter's lead and hug him before we left, and as we were leaving he said the strangest thing. He said "don't y'all forget about me". That was very strange because he was the one who seemed to have forgotten about me all of those years ago when I was a child. That was the reason that my heart grew cold toward him, because he forgot about me when he stopped coming around.

But something wonderful happened for me in spite of him not coming around. I gained a Heavenly Father, who taught me how to be a daughter. The Lord has shown me that I can still honor this man even though he was not a daddy to me. I won't forget about him, because the Lord took me in and became that Daddy that I never knew and he taught me how to be a daughter. I am able to show him unconditional love, by being a godly daughter who can honor him because my Father took His word and applied it to my life and now I am ready to honor my prodigal father. 

I made a promise to God that with His help that I will honor my earthly dad until the day I die. I thank God that He did not forget about me. The only thing that I want from my earthly dad is for him to come to know my Abba.

Twice Pardoned

Acts 20: 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

We were having family time last night and as we took turns telling the Lord of what we were thankful to Him for, my granddaughter Darcel said " I'm thankful to God for not allowing me to die like all of those other babies who died because their parents weren't married, even though they still went to heaven, they had to die in order to go there, but he chose to  let me live." I then asked her, since God had spared her life what did she think he wanted her to do with it?  and she did not hesitate to say that " He wants me to live my life for Him".

That was an awe inspiring moment for me. You see, my daughter was not married when she became pregnant with my granddaughter and I must admit at the time I wished that the situation would have just faded away, because of the shame that I felt,  but anyone who knows me would tell you that I love my granddaughter with every fiber within me and also that I think my granddaughter is one of the greatest blessings that the Lord have ever bestowed upon me.

We live in a day and age when all that we can think of is a quick solution to every problem that comes into our lives and unfortunately abortion is a sad solution that even Christians are turning to. This is what my granddaughter was referring to when she talked about God not allowing her to die like those other babies. She has been taught since she was a small child that her parents were not married but she was given to us from God. I'm proud to hear her say since God spared her life she would sacrifice her life for Him.

I'm thankful that Jesus can relate to my granddaughter and to other children like her because he was ridicule because Joseph was not his real father. I'm thankful that Mary took on the Higher Call of God and gave birth to the Messiah who extends eternal life to all who will believe in Him. My granddaughter is very much aware that Jesus spared her life not once but twice. She knows that God could have allowed her to go to heaven before she had a chance to be born and she is also aware that Jesus spared her life by dying in her place and therefore she has been twice pardoned. We are so grateful to Him for her and we will do all that we can to help her to live her life for Him.

Whether you have been pardoned once or twice, you too, Live your life for Him.

GOD'S LAST NAME IS NOT GOD DAMN

  GOD’S LAST  NAME IS NOT GOD DAMN


"Thou shalt not take The Name of The Lord thy God in vain; for The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain." (Exodus 20:7)

"My Name continually every day is blasphemed" (Isaiah 52:5 )

"they blaspheme that worthy Name by the which ye are called" (James 2:7)

The story is told about a missionary in the Orient who witnessed a twenty year old native of that land, go up and bow before an idol, then he took a knife and cut his tongue out of his mouth and put it before the idol and right after that, he died at the idols feet, surrounded by his own blood. 

The Almighty God does want us to cut our tongues out of our mouths, but He does want it to be set apart for Him. There maybe someone who does not care for Billy Graham or for the Pope but I am willing to bet money that, their names are not used in a disrespectful way. Because we respect them and honor them because of WHO they represent. These men are not  to be reverenced but the One whom they represent is to be.  I am sure that if anyone heard someone "damn"  Billy Graham or the Pope,  the nation would be in an uproar, but we are not in an uproar over the disrespectful way the name of the Lord is use.  I am sure each of these men will tell you that they would rather for you to have respect for God, rather than for themselves, because it is God who is Holy and it is God who is sanctifying them each day.

The Jews had so much respect for the name of God that they made it a tradition not to even utter His name, but they substituted it for the name Adonai. They has so much respect and reverence for the name of  God, that they put a hedge of protection to keep them from using His name in vain.  

My personal feeling is, that of all of the profanity that is used, the word God damn is the worst of all, because you do not have the authority to make God damn anyone to hell. He sent Jesus to keep sinners out of hell and it is by their choice that they are damned to hell. The bible say that hell was created for Satan and the demons. Man through his disobedience chooses to go there. 

There are many glorious names that the bible tells us that God can be called, and God damn is not one of them.  We do not have to be like the Jewish people of old who would not utter the name of God for fear of using it in vain. God loves when we call out His name. This shows our need for Him and our realization that He does not want to damn anyone.

Try this one on for size the next time you are tempted to use God's name in a profane way, remember that He is Sovereign and He, not you have the authority of damning anyone. 

God's Last Name is Not God Damn, but for your rejection of Him, He can Damn you to Hell.

Good Friday or Black Friday

I've heard so many tragic stories about people who were assaulted on Black Friday. A father and his sixteen year old pregnant daughter assaulted an employee at Walmart because he could not give them  the product that they wanted. A father asked the customer behind him to hold his baby and when she did he beat the customer ahead of him because he was tired of hearing him talk. This really does sound like a "dark day" and a lot of people got injured because of it. Was it worth it?

 Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, this is when retailers offer great sales to start the Christmas Holiday. It is ironic that some people would harm others when they go out and shop for Christmas, which is the day that is set aside to celebrated the birth of the promised Messiah.  I'm sure if we could ask Jesus what He thinks about the way we prepare for His birthday, He would say, "no thank you".

We anticipate Black Friday all year. I ask again, is it worth it? I don't think that it is worth it, but there was a day that was worth it all. The only person that was assaulted was Jesus and He was assaulted for us. This day is called Good Friday. On Good Friday if you look around churches, you would not find a fourth of the people sitting in pews that was out on Black Friday. It is a shame and a disgrace to God that He would give up His only Son for us and we still reject Him. We claim that on Black Friday we are preparing to celebrate Jesus' birth, but what we are worshipping is an idol, because we have made Jesus in our image and we are guilty of idolatry (Exodus:32).

Do you not know that the retailers will get back double fold what you paid for those marked down items on Black Friday, but what did God get back when He sacrificed His only begotten Son? He received wretches that was worthy of death. This does not seem fair. Will you FOREVER  seek things that will only bring you temporary happiness, when God is offering you "the water that will become in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John:4:14). My heart longs for you to receive this gift. This is my only reason for starting this blog and now let examine the two Fridays.

It appeared to be a Black Friday on what we now call Good Friday,because with Jesus dead it was impossible for the long awaited promise of God to be fulfilled, then came Resurrection Day (John 20: 1-8).  You see on every Black Friday that we have had, it led to some kind of tragedy, but Good Friday lead up to Victory, because the Lord defeated sin and death, and that Black Friday over two thousand years ago gave us hope.

There is a Black Friday that comes once a year and people fight to get into the stores for the sales and there is a Good Friday that comes once a year and it leads up to Resurrection Day, no one has to fight to enter into God's Kingdom, because it is freely offered. Jesus said "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15). Will you please listen?

Deal Of A Lifetime

 Deal of A Lifetime

I got the deal of the day at the supermarket today. Produce and meat was marked down and I got a steal. I saved at least twenty dollars on my grocery bill. Wouldn't it be great if you could save money like this every week? It's like getting something for nothing. I don't know of a grocery store that I could recommend, where you could get  your groceries for free but I know of a great place where you can get a deal of a lifetime. I went there and the supermarket does not compare to it.

God has given us the real deal in His Son, Jesus.  Now this is the deal of the day and it is absolutely free!!!  Did you hear me? Are you paying close attention? This deal is free!!! Here's what you need to know in order to cash in on it.  Romans 3:23 tell us that  "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". This "all" means you, me and everyone who has ever lived, has sinned against God. Romans 6:23 tells us "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. I don't know about you, but when I go to work, at the end of my eighty hours what I expect from my employer is my paycheck, which is the wages that I have earned. Likewise the wages that we have earned with God because of our sins is death.

God is such a wonderful and gracious God, even though we have wronged Him, what does He do in return?.  He gives us something for free, that does not mean, it did not cost Him anything, because it did cost Him greatly.  It cost Him the life of His Son, Jesus whom,  He raised from dead on our behalf. But, we benefit from it.  Romans 10: 9, 10 says "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Verse 10 tells us For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved".

That is the real deal of the day. No it is the deal of a lifetime!!! You can be saved right now, right where you are, if you really believe this, you can pray this simple prayer below. The deal that I got earlier today does not compare to this one that you will receive in Jesus. I still had to pay for my groceries even though the deal that I got at the grocery store was a good deal.  But, God's deal is much better because there is no money to be paid. It's Free!!! Something free does not become yours unless you accept it. If you are sincere and you  really believe that God has done this for you in the person of Jesus Christ, you can pray the prayer below and you too can be a part of the family of God. Will you pray this prayer and get the deal of a lifetime or will you forever search for deals of the day that will only last for that day?

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I am sorry for my sins. I ask for you forgiveness. I believe in your Son, Jesus. I believe that He was born of a virgin, suffered and died for my sins but, arose from the grave and is alive and with you in Heaven at your right hand right now. I accept you Jesus as my Lord and Savior and I ask that you save my soul. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

 Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5b (ASV) 

When my daughter was a little girl whenever it would storm she would ask for permission to sleep with me. She would tell me that she was afraid and ask me to hold her. Of course I would oblige her. After holding her and feeling assured that she was no longer afraid, I would turn my back to her and attempt to fall asleep. She never failed to tap me on the shoulder and say "mama turn your face towards me". When I asked why. She would say: "because when your face is towards me, I am no longer afraid". Out of the mouths of babe. It's quite natural for a child to want to be comforted by their parent. And if I an earthly parent can comfort my child how much more can our heavenly Father comfort and care for us. There were limits for me during the storm in my daughter's life. I grew tired and sleepy. God never grows tired of us. Neither does He sleeps nor slumber. So if you are going through a storm in your life and you are feeling afraid. Turn your face towards Jesus. Never take your eyes off of Him. Jesus will hold you tight and cast away all of your fears. 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. (Helen L. Lemmel 1922)

Thursday June 27, 2013 Glimpses of Grace

Thursday June 27, 2013 Glimpses of Grace


He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.  1 Thessalonians 5:24  (NKJV)



There are times when things aren't going in our lives as we expect them to and we grapple with the faithfulness of God.  Sure there are times when we can feel His peace and sometimes even  rest in it. His peace can be a solace for us if we would take God at face value. But we allow that great enemy known at the "fear of the unknown" to overcome us. Those are the times when we act like   the child who needs to get his parents attention and he says over and over again "Hey look at me, look at me."

Beloved of God, we don't have to remind God to pay us attention. He is very attentive to us. He was the one who put us in the Lamb's Book of Life. He knows that we are still on this earth because He has not taken us to heaven yet. God is actively involved in our lives and He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. We must take courage and rest in the providence of God. God is watching over us and He has His hand on us.

 Do you recall the arrest of Peter in Acts 12. Remember Peter resting peacefully peacefully in his jail cell, while being guarded by many soldiers. An angel woke him up, told him to get dress and then set him free.  The reason why Peter could sleep peacefully can be found in John chapter 21. After Jesus' resurrection, he was once again reunited with His disciples. In a conversation that Jesus had with Peter,  He told Peter that  when he would become old someone else would dress him and carry him around.

Did you catch that insight? Well on the night of Peter's arrest, I think he remembered the Lord's words to him. Peter knew that the Lord was faithful to keep promises and that He was faithful to carry out what He started in someone. Peter was a living witness of the faithfulness of God. That's why Peter had peace and could sleep in the presence of his enemies. Peter knew the kind of death that he would die. He knew it would not be in a jail cell.

What did the angel say to Peter? He said "get dress."  He didn't tell Peter to let someone else dress Him, but Peter was to dress himself.  On the authority of God's word, He can be trusted.  The Lord will answer our prayers. He is faithful even though when we are faithless. Each day we  get a glimpse of the Lord grace. It is something that we don't deserve but it was all made possible because of Christ love for me.  



 God's faithfulness is shown in strengthening and protecting those He has called, guarding them from the evil one, sanctifying them wholly and preserving them entire -- spirit, soul and body -- without blame at the coming of Jesus. This confidence of God's children in regard to their future is not in their faithfulness, but in His.~R.A. Torrey