Be Poor & Needy In Spirit

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 113. When I read it, I thought of the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. 5:3) My focus is on verses 7-9, but the whole psalm is an awesome praise.

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!”

Isn’t it interesting how, when we’ve burned ourselves out, and all that’s left of what we thought was so wonderful is ashes, that we can find the strength to cry and cry out to God? That’s when we realize that we’re poor and needy. Thank you. Lord, for helping me to learn that I’m no less poor and needy when I’m riding high…because I wouldn’t even have the horse if it weren’t for you. Oh, how much time and joy was lost because I didn’t know that much sooner. The flip side is that you are no less than those who have learned that, and have lived it for however long. You’re brought right in to the table and seated among the princes and princesses! And, yes, God will make you a mama, or a daddy, to countless children (spiritual); because that’s why we are blessed. Our descendants are as numerous as the grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. He decreed it when He made His covenant with Abraham.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Say To God; Bring It To Life

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 66, and teaches us the importance of speaking things out.

Verse 3 tells us: “Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.” Do you see the “WOW, Dad!” in those statements?! We need more of this kind of communication with our Heavenly Father. Just like in any other relationship, communication is necessary. It builds knowledge of one another, builds confidence and trust, and solidifies relationship.

Verse 5 says, “Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.” You can see what God has done for us just by looking out the window in the morning, listening to the birds, watching wildlife, taking in the beauty of the sunset colors, etc. I was discussing the early morning temperature with someone recently. I’d read somewhere that anywhere you go in the world, the temperature is always coolest between 3-5 a.m. I got to thinking about the desert heat. By 7 a.m. in June and July, it’s already unbearable. When you think about it, The sun coming up, were the temperature not 20 degrees lower, with a slow warm-up, would fry us by 5 a.m. That’s God protecting us.

Verse 9 assures us that God keeps us; and keeps us where we belong, too. I’m living proof; God will meet you at the gates of Hell and tell you to get your behind home! He does this by allowing us to feel the weight of our sin(s). Verses 11 & 12 tell us that. There’s mention made of men riding over our heads here. That made me think of Jesus’ words about how the rulers of this world lord it over one another. Look at some of the stuff you’ve had to do or tolerate, in order to support your sin and sinful lifestyle. The good news is that God always brings us from that place of lack (strength, truth and conviction, etc.) to a place of abundance. Plenty of room to stand firm, plenty of truth, love, peace, power, joy, and support. You only have to seek it. “Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)

Verse 13 had me laughing at myself. You know how you come running to God, ready to lay that thing at His feet-after it gets so heavy that it’s crushing you…and the thing isn’t really dead yet? Yeah, you know. It’s just playing possum with you; because you are not dead to that thing! You know that old saying, “It can’t hurt you if you don’t care about it?” That’s very true. (Romans 6:1-4)

Verse 18 tells us that God doesn’t listen as long as we’re cherishing that sin and sinfulness. He listens, but He won’t lift a finger to ease your misery. As I said above, it’s the weight of that thing that will bring you to your knees, . that will bring you to your knees before the truth; and before the Truth, the Life, and the Way. Yes, on your knees before Him. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) And that’s when He can help you! You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped, can you? Verse 19 tells us that God will meet you at your deepest, and greatest need (spiritual). He “attended to the voice (tone) of my prayer.” You know how Mom always knows if it’s really life or death, or just a hissy? Yes, DAD does too. Think in terms of the Great Physician. Just like a medic, God won’t ignore that deep gash in your head from which blood is pouring out profusely, and take care of your hang-nail first. Finally, God’s steadfast love is never removed from us! Rather, it is we who remove ourselves from it. So, if you feel like God’s not with you, it’s not because He left you. Start hollering, “DADDY, DADDY, DADDY,” just like that little lost kid in the department store.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Silence Can Be Deadly

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms 28. Psalm 28:1-2 are so powerful! “To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.” (your innermost sanctuary) This tells me that when I lift my hands up, I’m appealing to my Daddy’s heart for me. Hear me, Mom, Dad! And, answer me; answer my need for reassurance, admonition, correction, instruction, encouragement, etc. Remember Job? Yeah, God answered him, didn’t He? LOL My favorite line from that whole book is when Job says, “I’ll just shut up now.” I giggle every time I read it. And, yes, I’ve said that same thing myself; more times than I care to disclose. God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Your silence can be lethal. Interaction stimulates even infants in the womb. Admonition, encouragement, instruction, empower us with knowledge, wisdom, and courage. Correction reveals error and makes way for instruction and encouragement. It also reinforces standards and boundaries; helping to realign us with truth and integrity. All of theses empower bonding in love, and cement relationships. Relationship empowers boldness. Verse 2 Begins “Hear the the voice of my please for mercy.” You can tell by the way that voice sounds what’s going on inside that person. (fear, desperation, frustration, overwhelmed, etc.) Those pleas for mercy. Mercy is defined as: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. (definition from Oxford Languages) We need to stop the onslaught dead in its tracks and make it manageable. My oldest daughter was just overwhelmed by a Math lesson dealing with decimal places. I drew a chart for her, like the one I’d learned decimal places on, and showed her how to use it. She aced that section in her math class. She hadn’t been shown that in class.

Psalm 28:3 is a powerful revelation about inappropriate places, people, and things. Some I thought of were bars, parties, gossip sessions, adult conversation, and age inappropriateness. That stuff comes back on us; we’re sowing seeds, and we will reap. That 9 year old that acts and sounds like a 37 year old comes to mind. Jesus did not take us to Hell; He went there for us. Psalm 27:7 is the next powerful one here. It gives us a revelation of two things. First, you must trust God to be helped by Him. (How can you believe and obey Him if you don’t trust Him?) Secondly, you must be trustworthy in order for your children, mate, friends, and others to feel they can be helped by you. (Why would, or should they turn to you if they can’t trust you?)

Proverbs 28 tomorrow.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Richest Girl In The World

…Is Daddy’s girl! Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to “lay up treasure in Heaven,” and to set our affections on those things. They are higher than anything we’ll ever find here. And, they are the ones that will endure forever.

My first treasure is my Jesus and my Heavenly Father! Then, there’s the privilege of communicating with them; the privilege of prayer. My children, grandchildren, family and friends are great treasures. I have some beautiful people in my life! There is the sun to warm me, the wind to cool me, the stars to count -because sheep can’t jump that high, the moon to dream over, the water to hydrate, wash, and entertain me. (I love to swim and fish) I know, I know-those are temporal things; but God sends them at exactly the right time, every time.

There are those few moments in the morning, as I’m saying my prayer…this warm hush comes over my spirit, and I can almost feel the Lord wrapping His arms around me. What a way to start the day! I could go on with this list, but it would never end. When I think about having to fight for every breath I took, and being able to breathe deeply now, I’m overcome with tears of gratitude. Healing and health are two great treasures. And, I’m not getting old; just older. See, already I’m winning that battle! LOL

I have the peace and joy of the Lord, within, and once everything gets down to a dull roar, round about me too. That’s the second most awesome thing to possess in this crazy world; the peace and joy of the Lord. Peace and joy in the Lord, all the time, is the most awesome! We walk by faith; and when you have that, you’ve got all you need.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Abide, Then, In Perfect Love

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to make our Lord, Jesus Christ the one abiding presence we are conscious of all the time. This means we need to abide, then, in perfect love; because that’s what Jesus is. God is love, and Jesus said when we see Him, we’ve seen the Father.

The message tells us that it is God’s eternal life flowing through us that is the miracle working power. Please read the message at twolisteners.org – it’s a powerful one. When we have that life eternal flowing through us, we have wholeness within; real life within. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3 -NIV) This spills over into every aspect of our lives, and touches the lives of others.

Fear is the greatest obstacle to remaining in this consciousness of God’s presence. Why? I believe it is because we do not know God personally. We try to be good Christians; but forget that we are Children of God. He’s our Daddy! As I’ve read, especially in the Psalms and Prophets, I’ve seen more and more clearly God’s heart for us. In Jeremiah 4:19 God says: “My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.” (BSB) That battle is the battle against fear and condemnation, against doubt, and detachment. Nothing can separate us from the love of God; but we can, and do stray-especially when we’ve done something wrong and are afraid. But Jesus said, “”I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1John 4:18-NIV) Being made perfect in love includes knowing our Heavenly Father’s deep, deep, steadfast, and awesome love for us! The more intimately you know Him as Father-I call Him Daddy-the less fear you will have in your life! The more, peace, joy, and power you will gain.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Saturday Silly – September 14, 2019

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The husband woke up with a start as his wife poked him in the ribs, almost shouting, “Honey, it’s time; the baby’s coming.” As soon as he was dressed, and the “delivery day,” suitcase was in the car, along with mommy and baby, they headed for the hospital. How exciting!

About 3 1/2 hours later, the labor pains increased in intensity. Mommy was already tired of this ordeal. “Oh, I wish this baby would hurry up and get here already,” she said. “Where’s your faith,” asked Daddy. “Hang in there, Honey; God’s got perfect timing,” he said. She gritted her teeth, moaned, and squeezed Daddy’s hand as hard as she could when the next pain came.. “Ouch,” exclaimed Daddy. “Do you have to squeeze that hard?” Mommy wasn’t impressed with Daddy’s attitude. You promised you’d be here for me, Honey,” Mommy said. “Remember, we’re in this together.” “I know, I know,” said Daddy. “I just need a little break. Think I’ll go get some coffee, if you don’t mind.” Then Daddy realized that he’d forgotten his wallet. “Honey, do you have any cash on you? I forgot my wallet in the rush to get here,” said Daddy. Mommy, still a little miffed, and very much in pain, replied, “Silver and gold have I none, but what I do have, in Jesus’ Name, I give to you.” Daddy doubled over instantly, and dropped to his knees, clutching his tummy. There he was, in pain as that stomach flu hit him and caused those awful cramps. Daddy woke up from his dream with a start. He looked at Mommy, who was sound asleep and smiling. “Lord,” Daddy prayed, “please don’t let me forget my wallet when it’s time…and please help me be a good helper in the delivery room.” LOL

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, is about when faith fails. It’s a good one, and I hope you’ll check it out at twolisteners.org. When I read it, I thought of Peter trying to walk on the water…and later, healing a crippled man with those very words: Silver and gold have I none, but what I do have, in Jesus’ Name, I give to you. That inspired this little story. I wish I’d thought of that when I was having my babies…I’m kidding, their dad was awesome in the delivery room.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu