Let’s Be Faithful One To Another

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 55. The importance of faithfulness to one another is addressed in this psalm. This is important, not only in friendships, but in all our relationships. There’s a heads-up here on just how easily and readily the enemy uses those closest to us to wreak havoc and destroy. How easily we can fall to his devices.

Verses 4-8 give us a picture of the heartache and spiritual distress caused by unfaithfulness. “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me, and horror overwhelms me….” That death doesn’t have to be a physical death; the end of a close relationship is death to a lot of things. Things like trust, joy, peace, and security are destroyed. Verses 12-14 are eye openers. “For it is not an enemy who taunts me—then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng. ” (ESV) Do you see the reference made to being within God’s house? That’s so unfortunate! God’s children especially should be on alert against those wiles of the devil. And of course, he knows the ones who know you best can hurt you the most.

Verse 15 is also a powerful one. “Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.” (ESV) That lets me know I need to be aware of what thoughts I’m entertaining-daily, hourly, from minute to minute. This is where Proverbs 11:27 comes to mind: “Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.” (NIV) When we entertain thoughts of envy, malice, judgment, bitterness, etc., our hearts become filled with them. Your mind and heart are your spiritual dwelling places. What goes in comes out. When we determine not to impute or assume the worst (no evil intent) to anyone, but seek the good in one, about that one, in that situation, etc., we will be inclined to do good unto that person, and in that situation. You can’t do good without it coming back to you. We reap what we sow.

Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” (Matt. 20:26) That’s so easily accomplished, and means so much more than we allow it to, or acknowledge it does. Romans 13:14 says it best: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Make It A Lifestyle

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms 33. (ESV) We’re told to rejoice in the LORD, and that it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. That lets me know that I can make praise, joy, and thanksgiving a mindset, or attitude. Every praise, every psalm, and every thanksgiving offering begins with a word from your heart. Joy is like anointing oil poured over our spirit; there’s no reason a child of God cannot have joy-even in the deepest darkness; the most adverse circumstance. Remember Paul and Silas singing praises in the prison cell at midnight? Yeah. Joy isn’t always laughter and hullabaloo. Joy is very often being still able to enjoy life, rising out of a deep assurance of, and trust in God. “In the world you’ll have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Simply make a point of rejoicing and giving thanks anyway…every day.

One of the things that gives us that deep assurance is that all of God’s work is done in faithfulness. He doesn’t do what He does to get a rise out of you. He’s not seeking anyone’s approval, of even a desired result. God’s not a manipulator. He does what He does, because it’s to be done. The sowing and reaping principle applies here. Jesus said, “Make the tree good, and the fruit will be good.” (Matt. 12:33) God knows that the fruit will come naturally.

Here’s a powerful revelation. “He spoke and it came to be.” Now apply that to yourself, your mate, your children, you life. What are you saying? “You’ll never amount to anything!” OR “Look what you can do!” See the difference. One is negative and destructive; the other, positive and empowering. “for which is easier to say…” (Matt. 9:5) Here’s the second revelation from this verse. (V-9) “He commanded, and it stood firm.” Another word for “command” is mastery. This comes in when we’re talking about respect and self-respect. If you are going to demand respect, you must command (as in master) respect and self-respect. To be respected, respect and be respectable. Then you will stand firm. Whenever we master God’s word, we reach the next level of strength and glory. Verses 10 and 11 of this psalm are out saving grace. And, thank you, LORD/Lord!!!!! No nation can stand against the LORD; for His counsel stands forever, and “the plans of His heart to all generations. Amen and Hallelujah! When we parent our children, and deal with our loved ones the way God does, they’re less likely to fall victim to false doctrine, falsehood, and strange counsel.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Only You Know The Answer

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 13. In this one, King David is asking some questions. Psalms 13:1 asks the question: “How long, O, LORD? Will you forget me forever? (Isaiah 49:16) God tells us: “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. *When you think about your soul being a city, this applies; God’s speaking of Zion. The next question is “How long will you hide your face from me? God says, “How long will you keep your eyes closed and your back turned to me?” (Ezekiel 12:22) Now we’re getting into that pity party…”How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” God’s answer: “How long do you want to?” (John 5:6) And, here comes the finger-pointing, blame game, excuses, excuses…”How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” God’s answer: “How long will you bow to him?” He’s been condemned (John 16:11), and He can, and will be driven out (John 12:31) You know the answer to that one, because you have, in Jesus’ Name, authority over him. The above answers are all TRUTH.

Now, King David prays, “Consider and answer me, O LORD, my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘”I have prevailed over him.”‘ We know the answer to that one too, don’t we? Yes! Read (Luke 6:46-49) and (Isaiah 61) This is the WAY.

Oh, wait! What’s the last verse in this Psalm? “But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” That’s right; it’s a done deal! Sing to the LORD a new song. We don’t sing dirges, we sing Praises! And, Hallelujah! This is LIFE!
Proverbs 13:4 tells us that the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. So seek God and delve into His Word. Proverbs 13:9 tells us that the wicked will lose their light and be left in darkness. So, don’t fret yourself over them. Seek God and praise Him because you know who wins in the end. Proverbs 13:17 tells us the faithful messenger brings healing. Is God’s Word a faithful messenger? Finally, Proverbs 13:24 tell us that the rod of reproof is crucial. God’s rod of reproof, corrects us, showing us our error, and how to do it right. We are disciplined, or discipled to seek God and learn from Him, the truth, the way, and the life.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Power Of Life & Death

Today’s message is part two of Psalm 12. As I was studying this, I found a connection between (Psalm 12:6) “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times“, and (Proverbs 6:16-19) “There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.”

When we look at this in terms of the power of life and death being in the tongue, and in terms of what is in the heart determining what comes out, or manifests itself in our lives, we get a powerful revelation. This gives us a checklist to help guide and direct us in our dealings with others. This is especially important when we’re parenting children, and dealing with loved ones. But, Jesus also said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matt. 5:9) This checklist helps us to bring peace and life to a situation, rather than death and destruction. I’ve outlined them below.

Haughty eyes -When we think that we’re better than others, lording over them in arrogance. We’re not better than anyone else; we’re all better off than others at various times, in various situations, and ways because we are children of God and have His love, wisdom, and power and protection. See, that’s not anything that we did, or do, on our own.
A lying tongue -Lying weaves a web that everyone can be destroyed in. I believe this is something based in and brought on by fear. Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life; so we can see by this, that truth is the way to bring life, and to empower it.
Shedding innocent blood can also be done by a vengeful spirit, cruel words, and malicious intent. These are all destructive of spirit. “A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) This is why we’re told to guard our hearts; the issues of life flow from the heart. (Proverbs 4:23) “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Jesus told us that the good man out of the good stored up in his heart brings forth good, and the man out of the evil stored up in his heart brings forth evil. Words are seeds; and they take root in the heart.
A heart for wickedness is vengeful, malicious, against God and His law, likes to destroy, make trouble, and instill fear, doubt, dejection/manipulate your emotions.
A false witness is a slanderer, and instigator, troublemaker, and a gossip.
A sower of discord does the same thing through manipulation. Numbers 4-6 are all connected.
Feet that hastily run to evil belong to a scoffer or mocker, to one who has a heart for evil. This person joins in with evil-doers, has a mob mentality (many against one), and vengeance is this person’s first choice in response to an offense. Proverbs 12 gives us the promise that the root of the righteous will never be removed. This means that every generation of a child of God will have a remnant; from the very first-which was Adam and Eve, to the very last generation of this age. Praise God! This proverb is filled with teachings about justice, truth, mercy, and grace, as well as teachings about right attitudes, speech and counsel, and actions. Verse 11 admonishes us that working that field we find the pearls in (the Word of God) and implementing the things we learn from it, will bring us victorious life.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful break…I know I did. Sometimes, you don’t realize how much you need a break until you get one. At any rate, Inspirations is back for another year; God willing.

I’ve been studying Psalms and Proverbs during my generational curses study. I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned from them. The Bible is filled with stories of good kings who were followed by bad ones, and vice versa. Generational curses can affect anyone of us at any time, because we’re all under the original curse brought by Adam and Eve. I’m actually studying, and learning about parenting according to the admonition of the LORD/Lord.

We don’t really think much about it, but God is the absolute best parent anybody can have. When I began to deal with my issues according to God’s Word, I became able to actually make the right changes. I’m going to start with Psalm 1 and Proverbs 1.

Psalms 1:1-3 tells us: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Sometimes the counsel of the wicked is the things we learned and habits we adopted in our own families, growing up. If you had parents who were alcoholics, drug addicts, or perhaps suffered from depression or some other mental illness, you probably were exposed to “counsel of the wicked,” to sin and maybe even scoffing-if you’re parents were non-believers and maybe hostile to Christianity. The key phrase in this scripture is: “his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” This is what keeps us on the right paths, what teaches us the right ways, and what shows us when we’re going wrong. The promise is that we will prosper, or have success, in everything we do.

In Proverbs 1:1-7, we get the reason why we want to study God’s Word, and learn from Him, how to raise our children. When you grow up wounded within, you need to be the parent to that wounded child, and allow God to raise you up. That means you deal with the child within, the way God does; in the admonition of the LORD/Lord. The first thing I did was to study 1 Corinthians 13 – Love is…because God is love. I think this fits the message perfectly. Thank you, Chris Tomlin, for this beautiful song.

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Binding Up the Broken Hearts

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we prosper as our souls prosper.

Psalm 147:3 tells us of the Lord: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” This is what Jesus was talking about when He asked which is easier to say-“take up your mat and walk,” or “your sins are forgiven you.” The first one suggests condemnation and “do this.” (sober up, get a job, etc.) The other says, “You’re ok, I love you, and I’m here to help you.” That first statement is the reason addicts, alcoholics, sex addicts, workaholics, etc., relapse.

Those addictions are not just bondages, they are symptoms of deep wounds that someone is trying to bandage. You can bandage a wound, but if you don’t clean the debris out, it will get infected and fester. Infection eats its way inward to the entire system. Pretty soon, it’s deadly. People have lost limbs and life from wounds that weren’t cared for properly. When it comes to changing your life, this principle is the one that will work. We have to cleanse the wounds that have broken our hearts.

Vitamin C is a great thing. It helps our bodies to heal, restoring our cells and tissue, even nerves…everything, really. The Spiritual Vitamin C is Compassion, Caring, Correction without Condemnation, and sound and trustworthy Counsel. Also, we need the right Companionship. When these are brought into play in a person’s life things can begin to change because as the debris is cleaned from those heart wounds, he/she begins to recognize the soul. Some people have been so battered and beaten down in and by their life that they don’t even know they have a soul; let alone its beauty, divinity, or power. We need to remember this, and especially when we’re ministering to hurting people. It’s also a great thing to focus on when we’re finding ourselves feeling as if we’ve fallen short, or we’re trying to deal with a personal flaw.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Copyrght by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, May 14, 2019, 12:26 p.m.