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.

Till We Meet Again

Today, I went to a memorial service for a very good Christian man.  He loved the Lord with all his heart, and he and his wife, have given so much to others in serving their Lord and Savior with all their hearts.  His name was Jake Miller, and his wife June depended on him so very much.  Someone mentioned that you couldn't say "Jake without saying June, too."  That is how closely they worked together and served with such joyful hearts.

I lost another dear friend this week, in my accountant Robert Miller.  He and his wife have been helping us with the shop accounting ever since we have had the business.  His wife Joan, helped him so much in his business, and kept him on track.  My heart was heavy, as I know Bob just kept going forward, even when he should have stopped.  He really worked until the day he died. He loved doing what he did, so very much.  He personally called me, two weeks ago, and told me he wanted to do our books, one last time.  I told him he didn't have to do that, but he said, "Yes, I want to do that for you."  His dear wife, called me Tuesday, and said, "she just wanted me to know they were doing all they could, to get the books done for me, and they wanted to do that for us."  How do you repay a kindness such as that?  How precious is their friendship, that in the midst of their pain, they cared so much for us?  I am humbled by such devotion to duty.  Such kindness in broken hearts.

I met June and Jake after going to some meetings, and they shared about their ministry to the people at the local rest home (it is no longer there).  I went a few times, to be there, as I have a heart for this type of ministry, too.  At the time, both Roy and Jolynn were pretty young, so they had to come along with me.  The people there loved seeing young children, and they would always want to talk with us afterwards.  June and Jake poured out so much love upon these precious people.  They were patient, and kind.  They helped me so much and they, too, enjoyed having the kids there to be a part of these services.  I always felt bad, when I could no longer keep going, but we had moved and it was harder to co ordinate the time factor.  I always prayed for their ministry, because it is so very important.  They continued going to the rest home in San Andreas,  when the local one shut down, due to the highway bypass going up.

But do you know how June remembered me today?  By our business.  She was so touched by how we had taken care of them the two times we worked on their vehicles, and when she saw me, her face lit up, and she said, "I know you, you're from Gold Rush, and you took care of our vehicles for us those two times we needed them fixed. You know when the last time when the car was so crushed.  Thank you so much for coming today."  I about cried.  I had thought she'd remember the times I had been with them with the rest home ministry, but instead, she remembered us from our business.  I took that in such a positive light.  You see, a friend shared a passage of Scripture with me today, from her Bible reading, that I had thought of a while back.  It is in Colossians 3:23 & 24 "Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men.  Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward.  [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah)."  What a privilege to know that in doing our work, we had shown Christ shining through.  Thank you, June, for that precious compliment.

So, I remember these two men, men who shared the same last name, but as far as I know, were no relation to each other.  Men, who did their best to be upstanding and righteous in how they did their work.  Men, who left a legacy behind them, of integrity and love.  I find it interesting that the heritage of their names, means that at some point in time, someone in their family was a miller.  That is someone who ground up the grains people needed to live on.  They gave them their "daily bread" so to speak.

I want to live my life in such a way, that the "daily bread" that I give to others will be Life giving bread.  Just like my friend shared with me, the Life giving Bread of God's Word today.  I want others to be lifted up and encouraged to find hope and healing, life and abundance through the words that I speak.  I want those words to be Life giving from God's throne of grace.  I pray that each of you, want to live your lives the same way.  Giving something good to others, so that in some way, each of us will have a part in touching a hurting world with the Life of Christ.  Our lives don't end at death, it is just the beginning of eternity.  Where we end up is our choice.  How we live our lives now, does count for something.  What you choose to do, does matter.  You touch someone's life every single day.  Your choices affect others, either for good or for ill.  Two little girls made the difference in the life of the woman, who Roe vs Wade was about.  They brought the light of Christ to her hurting heart.  It changed her.  They didn't know who she was.  They just wanted to love her, like Christ loved them.  "Love covers a multitude of sin."  God's love covered the multitude of sin we on this earth had brought forth.  Let us cover each other with the love of Christ.  I love you all.  Thank you for sharing these memories with me.  God bless you all.