Sowing & Reaping

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 85. It’s very encouraging, and hopefully, it will strengthen your faith and your commitment to God.

“LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.” These are verses 1-3 of the psalm. (ESV) This is a reminder of our salvation; of God’s love for, and toward us. Look closely. God covered ALL of our sin, and withdrew ALL of His wrath, turning from His anger. That means when you do mess up, you can go boldly to the throne of grace, confess to Him, and be, not only forgiven, but be instructed and helped to make it right. (Heb. 4:16) Is that awesome?! Yes!

Verse 5 asks the questions: “Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?” That was answered in part, in the first three verses. God does not punish the generations behind us for our sins, or for the sins of our fathers, and so on. (Deut. 26:24) There’s a promise regarding generational curses in (Jeremiah 31:29). “In those days they shall no longer say: “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’” That’s a promise that we can, and will overcome those generational curses, and all the dysfunction that comes with them, in our own generation, if we’re willing. Yay, for me and my kids, and so on, and so on!

Verses 8 & 9 are the key to making that happen. “Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.”

The last four verses of the psalm show us the sowing and reaping part. “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.” When we show steadfast love, we reap faithfulness, because we’re empowering trust. “Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.” The world around us (from inner circle to community) reaps the benefits, as well. “Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way. When we follow in God’s footsteps, which Jesus gave us a picture of, we’re leaving footprints for others to follow.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

How Beautiful On That Mountain

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 48. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised! Verses 1-3 of the psalm God’s holy mountain, beautiful in loftiness is mentioned. Mount Zion, the city of the Great King is referred to. *In the Hebrew Bible, the Land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem are both referred to as Zion. Other religions use the word Zion to mean “utopia” or “holy place.”*

God’s Holy Place, the Holy of Holies, is where we, through Jesus, have access to the Father. He is a priest and King after the order of Melchizadek. Melchizedek means King of righteousness, and King of Salem means King of peace. (Hebrews 7:25-26) That place is where the presence of God is, and we truly do come away beautiful in loftiness from there-every time we enter in. In speaking of far north, we have to look up and down-seeing Heaven as far North, and hell as South. (Spiritual realms) *two (temporal and spiritual) realms-one being a shadow of the other. Heaven is the fortress there, that we can boldly access when we need to. (Ephesians 3:12) Verses 4-8 give us an idea of what happens when those kings (powers and principalities, and hosts of spiritual wickedness) see us up there. (Eph. 6:12), (Luke 10:19-20) Verse 9 bids us to contemplate God’s steadfast love within the temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Just this verse will change your whole life if you let it. Verses 12-14 will make you leap for joy. “March around Zion, encircle her, count her towers, consider her ramparts, tour her citadels, that you may tell the next generation. For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even till death.” *another version says “He will be our guide beyond death/guide us beyond death. (ESV) A citadel is a fortress that commands. A rampart is a protective barrier. One of the definitions of tower is to rise or reach a great height. There are places in the Bible where, I believe, Zion refers to the children of God. So, whenever we spend time in the presence of God, and as often as we study and walk according to His Word, we are growing into exactly that kind of “city.” (Matt. 5:14) Now are you getting a picture of awesome YOU?! Hallelujah! And we’re to tell the next generation, “This is God!” “This is what God has done, and is doing in my life and yours!” When we do this, we’re not only being obedient, but we’re sowing seeds of hope, fearlessness, and boldness toward God, and about the things of God. Just think-if our children could feel such joy and peace, and grow like that whenever they enter our presence…The world might be changed tremendously overnight.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Bold As A Lion

Today’s message comes to us from Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28:1 tells me that I am bold as a lion. As a child of God, I should be. Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. I’m being conformed to His image. My God says I have nothing to fear because He is my refuge and my strong tower, my help in times of trouble. Jesus also promised He will never leave me or forsake me; but He’s with me always. There’s also that first verse in Psalm 27, where King David asks, “Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid?” God is our light and our salvation.

Keeping that in mind, Proverb 28:2 gives us a clear picture of whom should be our leader; or what kind of leadership we should have: “When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue.” Turn a couple of things around here: “When a land has many rulers, it transgresses.” This speaks, not only of idolatry. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” (Psalm 33:12). When you think about opposing views (Mom says no, Dad says yes), too many things on the agenda (Distraction), and everyone trying to run the show (everybody’s job gets done except his/her own-and you have constant friction as a result of personal agendas), what you have is a big mess waiting to happen. All that stuff inspires confusion, anger, bitterness, envy, and malice. (2 Cor. 13:11) – “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” As parents, you cannot create a stable and peaceful environment if you’re not of one accord, and constantly oppose each other. Stability, knowledge, and wisdom go hand in hand; each one empowers the others.

Proverbs 28:4, 5, and 10 remind us that our duty, and especially as parents, is to fight wickedness; to strive against it. The knowledge of the LORD brings us the understanding of justice, we’re told in verse 5. Verse ten is a revelation about sowing and reaping. “Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.” Parents will suffer the consequences of misleading their children into sin. (teen pregnancies, drugs and alcohol, sloth, disrespect, idolatry, etc.) Proverbs 28:13 is a powerful revelation about what might be hindering your progress; especially in terms of overcoming. Proverbs 28:18-19 remind us that integrity (truth,honesty), which requires boldness, by the way, delivers us from sin. This is also a two-fold thing. Integrity should also help you recognize your sin, and help you overcome it. Proverbs 28:23 tells us that correction is better than flattery. We prosper as our soul prospers. You are your land. Be bold as a lion in maintaining its standards and boundaries!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Oh, What A Joy It Is

eden08122015

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to put our lives into God’s hands and trust Him.

Learning to trust His will for us is not an easy thing. He has promised that His will is to prospers us, and not to harm us. I have seen, more and more, God’s will for us, in learning God’s ways with us. You see, the first step in overcoming your past, truly is to be born again. Jesus said so. When you’re born again, you become God’s baby. So, let God raise that baby.

In studying God’s Word, and learning His ways with us, we can apply those to the way in which we deal with ourselves. An example is the spilt milk. You might have had parents that got angry and yelled at you, and imputed wickedness to you – “You’re always making messes!” God’s way is much different. He sees your heart, fearful and trembling inside you, and probably ashamed for being clumsy (self-condemnation). God rushes in to save you from that fear and condemnation. He says, “That’s okay; accidents happen. Let’s clean it up.” Now, He’s helping you to clean up the spilt milk. And, when it’s over, you get a pat on the back and a high five for it. The Bible tells us that God lifts us up and sets us in a broad place. That means you have room to grow; like you just did. God empowers us to come boldly to Him for help. He empowers us to walk uprightly before Him, by making things right, or setting things aright again. He builds our spirit up-always! Isn’t that awesome?! And the more we live in His ways with us, the stronger we become within. The stronger we become within, the stronger our walk in His Way becomes.

Love you from Café du Mondieu

Press Onward…It’s Really A Key

eden08122015

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we’re running an endurance race, and not a sprint. We’re bid to hold onto our courage, and press on to the next level.

The message speaks to us of being protected, shielded from self-loathing, from bitter remorse, and from self-defeat. When I read it, I think of Peter, of Judas Iscariot, who committed suicide over what he’d done. Peter wept bitterly over betraying Jesus. I bet he had some serious struggles within himself during the following days and weeks. We go through the same struggles with ourselves; especially when we feel like we’ve failed the Lord. It’s so easy, when we fall down, to just lay there and wallow in self-pity, bitter remorse, self-loathing…yeah, that’s the very stuff that leads us right over that cliff called self-defeat.

The way to overcome that stuff is to open our eyes to the truth about that short-fall, that failure, that weakness. What it really is, is a KEY that opens the door to learning, gaining strength, improving, and stepping up to the next level. Jesus said, “I’ll give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. That truth is a key to freedom from all that self-defeating stuff. It will open the door to courage, to boldness, to confidence, self-assurance, and most importantly, PEACE within.

This song by the Gaither Vocal Band is so precious to me! I can’t even begin to tell you what it does for me. I’m always so moved by it. I think it fits perfectly.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Doubt Fades in the Light of Intimacy

eden08122015

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God longs for us to know Him as intimately as He knows us. While that degree of perfection in intimacy is seemingly impossible for us to achieve, I believe with all my heart that we can come pretty darn close to it. I’ve had days that were near perfect in regard to feeling and experiencing that oneness with the Lord. I wish I could say that I get it right every day, but I am not perfected yet. There’s a statement in the message that reads like this: “It is not sin for one who knows Me only as God, as Creator, to doubt Me, to question my Love and purposes. But for one who knows Me as you do, as Friend and Savior, and who knows the world’s God as Father — for that one to doubt My purpose and saving Power and tender Love is wrong indeed.” I learned two things from this. The first is that God does not hold us at arm’s length. Neither, therefore, should we hold Him at arm’s length. Nope, we need to snuggle right up under those loving arms of His. We can wrap our arms around Him and just rest there, in His embrace, whenever we want to. He loves it! Secondly, when things aren’t going as smoothly-especially within-as they should be, I need to examine how I’m relating to God. Am I out there at arm’s length, or even further, from Him in my heart? And if so, why? What am I trying to hide, avoid, or what am I afraid of, etc.?

Do you know that God makes you so bold, that you can even laugh out loud at your own self?! Yessir, He does! And He loves us so, He’d a whole lot rather see us laugh it off, get back up, dust ourselves off, and keep on going toward home full tilt, rather than watch us taking timid little steps as if we’re walking on egg shells. That stuff will cripple you altogether if you’re not careful. You get into sorry mind sets and pathetic attitudes, all based on fears, because you’ve gotten too far away from your strong tower. Remember who prowls out there, waiting to use that fear against you. There’s only one solution to that problem, and that is to get right back into God’s presence and spend some time with Him. One of the reasons I love my daily visits with the Lord so much, is that every moment in His presence infuses my spirit with His life, His love, His grace, mercy, peace, and joy. Isn’t it awesome that God can pack a day’s worth of “go gettem” into a few minutes of your time?! Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your awesome love and mercy!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu