The Sword of the Spirit

And the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.  Jesus is the Word made flesh.  The Word of God.  The Living Word.  Jesus said that the Spirit "would lead us into all truth".  The Spirit will reveal to us the things that are Christs.  He will remind us of a Scripture in our times of greatest need.

I have been very overwhelmed recently with my health and with things at home and at work.   I have been in need of a Word from God.  Recently, I have been asking God to help me to lean on Him, and to give me His Word to hold onto in my times of need.  He has come through with many words of hope and encouragement, but the main thing, is that He has brought to my attention, the very real need of all of us, to speak His Word out loud to our circumstances.  You may say, "What on earth is she talking about?".  Well, I am not talking of earthly things, but heavenly things.  You see, we need to realize that this Word of God, is really truly real.  It is active and powerful.  It cuts through marrow and bone.  It divides the truth from the lies.  When you speak God's Word in faith, something happens.  God is faithful, and He acts on His Word to us.

We need to apply this Word to our daily lives.  When we read it, we need to apply it.  I always ask God how He wants me to apply the Word I have just read, to my daily circumstances.  You see, the Bible tells us we must not just read the Word, but we must also act on it.  So, when you read the Bible and God highlights that Scripture in your mind, due to the Holy Spirit quickening it to your heart, stop and ask God how He wants you to use this in your life.  What is He saying to you?  How can this Word change you?  Is He reminding you of something to do?  Is He asking you to forgive, love, or do some other action, that you have been having trouble doing?  Is He asking you to be more holy in your thoughts, attitudes, and actions?  How does He want you to act in relational situations?  You see, there is so much more God wants to impart to us, than our just reading through His Word.  He wants to activate His Word in our lives.  He wants us to live His Word.

I remember when I first started applying God's Word to my life.  It was like the Bible became fresh and new to me.  I couldn't believe this was the same Word I had been reading all my life.  I had always loved the Bible, but it is one thing to read the Bible for study, and quite another to begin to apply that studying to your own life in a practical and real way.  As I began to step out in faith upon what God was sharing with me, I began a new adventure in my walk of faith.  It is truly stepping from faith to faith, as you learn new lessons from God's Word.  I remember a pastor once saying that "the more I read the Bible, the more I realize how little I know."  It is like you are plumbing the depths and coming upon more depths of knowledge and wisdom and understanding.  If you have become bored in your reading of God's Word, I challenge you to begin doing this applying it in your life.  And if you are applying it in your life, and are still bored, than I challenge you to begin to ask God, "What is it I am supposed to be getting out of this?"  He will let you know.  Believe me, when I think there is no more to glean, He always shares something fresh and new, for me to explore and get excited about.  I will always be learning from Him.  His Word is indeed active, living, and powerful.

Two friends have quoted the same Scripture to me recently.  It is in Isaiah.  "They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength like the eagles.  They shall walk and not faint, they shall run and not grow weary."  But there is another addition to this.  Teach me Lord, teach me Lord, to wait.  My patience has grown weary, in this battle for health.  I have grown weary of waiting, but when I recently got these Words of Scripture, God is the one who reminded me of the waiting part.  He has told me it will take time for my healing, but I want it now.  Paul, when He went to God about his physical need, was told that "My grace is sufficient for you."  And Paul said "He would glory even more in his affliction, for God's glory to be revealed."  You see, my attitude has not been aligned with God's Word to me.  I have been impatient of the time it has been taking.  God's grace is sufficient for me too.  I need to remember that.  So, I too, will allow God's grace to do its work, so that God's glory will be revealed even more.

God has been reminding me of how much I am doing.  He helps me each day, to not get into "Poor, pitiful me mode", but to encourage an attitude of praise.  Isolino
 
Let the Holy Spirit speak to you through God's Word.  Let the Holy Spirit open your spiritual eyes with God's Word.  Ephesians 1:17 - 20 says:  "[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of  insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him.
By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones).
And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,
Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [Own] right hand in the heavenly [places].

You can go ahead and read the rest of that chapter, as it is very good!  Dear ones, God wants us to believe for big things.  He wants us to believe for good things.  He wants us to keep hope alive in our hearts.  He wants us to be alert and awake to the schemes of the enemy, so we can come against them with God's Living Word.  Jesus!  Speaking His dominion over our circumstances.  He gave us back dominion in this world.  Let us take His authority, as He gives it to us through His Word, and speak His Word over our circumstances to bring His Kingdom into our midst.  God bless you all with hope, joy, excitement, love, and most of all, a revelation of Who He is, in your lives.  Who He is in your circumstances.  Don't let hope and joy leave you, due to worry, fret, and fear.  Let God's Word speak Life to your circumstances.  Let Him bring forth answers to your prayers and dreams and hopes.  Go forth in peace and joy.  Go forth with praise.  Go forth with God's glory being revealed in your lives.

Dreaming Of The Future

I love magnolia trees, especially these purple and white ones.  They have a wonderful fragrance as well.  Ever since I found out about magnolia trees, I have been a bit in love with them, and wanting them for myself, in my own yard.  This weekend, on our road trip, I saw so many gorgeous magnolia trees, and this one, that I took a picture of, was one that Isolino stopped especially for me to capture.  Thank you, honey.

My kids were sick of hearing me say, "There's a magnolia tree", and at the end of the trip, I told them I wouldn't talk about the magnolia trees for the rest of the trip.  I think I failed at that, as I did mention about one tree I saw, but it was a gorgeous tree with a full bouquet of magnolias on its limbs.  But that is what our dreams should be for us.  We should be talking about them, dreaming about them, and praying about them.  If God has given you a dream, a promise, or a Word to hold onto, you should be holding on to that with all you have, and meditating on what God is doing.  It is like what I sense with the magnolia tree.  I may not have one now, but someday, I am dreaming that I will have a garden full of the plants and flowers and trees that I love, that will be a blessing to all who come and visit there.  It is like what I get to do, when I go to my good friend Cindy Winn's house.  She has a garden that is tended with such loving care.  She has plants that she has tended for years, and is now seeing the fruit of her labors, and she shares this delight with her friends and church family.

This garden is full of whimsical designs and plans, and she has given lots of thought and care to how and where things are planted, to give them the best chance of survival and the most delight to her garden.  She has water features all over the garden, as well, and to hear the soft movement of water while you walk in the shady places, is like a chorus for your soul to burst out singing psalms to God in.  Each time I have visited her lovely garden, I find new delights to flood my senses with.  Each season has been planned for, so each season you visit will have its own treasure to take home with you.  This is how we should tend the dreams, promises, and Words that God has given us.  We should plan for each season of their lives, before they come to fruition.  Plant that seed deep in your heart.  Water it, tend it, prune it, love on it, with the words God gives to you to hold you to the vision.  Watch it grow.  In God's Word we read that "My people perish for lack of vision".    Where there is no vision to implant God's plans, we will die spiritually.  If we do not have something to work towards, we lose hope in a good future.

God has given me some big dreams to hold onto.  I don't know how He would do what He says He is going to do, but my job isn't to worry about how all of it will come about, but to believe Him.  To trust Him to work the details out, while I work on keeping close to Him.  I know many of you have been given dreams to hang onto.  Things you can't share, but that God has placed in your hearts to believe for.  Hold onto Him.  He is Faithful and True.  He will hold you to the course, as long as you don't give up.  Believe me, you don't want to miss out on what He will do.  His plans are always more than we can imagine.  Whatever He has placed in your heart to believe for, it will be more than you were told to believe for, because that is how God is.  He is BIG.  I am sure you've heard the term, "You can't out give God"?  Well, I believe that is true.  He is always giving more than we can even dream of expecting.

My dear ones, may you be blessed with your dreams exploding within you.  May you have hope flooding you, even during this time of economic upheaval.  Let God restore your dreams to your heart.  Let your task be to open yourself up to having dreams again.  My dear ones, without hope, our hearts and minds get heavy with all the distractions around us.  We lose heart to believe for a better future.  Don't let that happen.  Tend to those dreams with the love of God in your heart.  Let Him guide you on the journey of making those dreams come true.  God bless you tonight.