Service-The Privilege Of Kings

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to serve all; to never think any job beneath our dignity. We are reminded that we are showing our love for our Lord, Jesus, in our service to others.

As I read the message, the words of Mother Theresa came to mind: “If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.” That’s such a powerful revelation! That tells me that in serving, and thereby serving the Lord, I am freed, first from the fear of man’s disapproval, and then from the need for his approval.

Service is the privilege of kings and queens. We are crowned with responsibility, hopefully, humility, and leadership. As children of God, and brothers and sisters in the Lord, we all take that leadership role at various different times, and in various different ways. But, the kings and queens who humbled themselves to serve with love are always the ones whose kingdoms endure. When you think of this in terms of your personal kingdom of family and close friends, you can see how this affects the legacy we leave behind. My Dad was one of the greatest examples of humility and service I’ve ever known.

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Thank God For That Turn-Around

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we don’t need to fear when we falter, fall, or fail. We are on God’s Highway. That one is a One Way highway. Don’t we all know that Satan built one right alongside of God’s?! Thankfully, God fixed his little red wagon; He put a turn-around on the devil’s little road, and called Him Jesus! Praise God, Jesus goes up and down all along the way. Turn around, and He’s right there, waiting with arms open wide.

Matt Maher does this awesome song. I hope it blesses you as much as it does me.

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Seek It Within Yourself

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to trust in the goodness of God. When we become children of God, we have that goodness put into our hearts. We are created in His image, and after His likeness; so we now can begin to grow into that image and likeness. (Genesis 1:26) “Be perfect therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” said Jesus. (Matt. 5:48)

“I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 31:14) This is what God longs for us to have every day of our lives; souls that are feasted on the Word of God, and wholly satisfied by and with His goodness. The way we obtain that is to seek the goodness of God within us. As we discover them, we lose things like that sense of condemnation (by self or others). We lose things like fear; especially, of things like rejection, failure, loss of control and freedom, and even loss of time. We also begin to actually lose lack (within and in our lives); and begin to experience more and more fullness of spirit, life, peace, joy, all the awesome things God has for us.

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) The first thing to do when things go wrong, is to look for that kingdom within; for that goodness of God in you. Perhaps you need patience, or courage, or comfort, or just an idea. It’s there within you. Getting quiet and just waiting for the Lord, for a minute, brings the peace we need to see those treasures; the goodness, and good things of God. I hope you’ll take time to read the message at twolisteners.org – it’s one that can revolutionize the way you see yourself.

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It Is Wherein We Must Dwell

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we must dwell in God’s Presence. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17 ESV) When things start to go sour, when fears begin to assail, when tears begin to fall, that place within us where God’s Spirit dwells is where we must run to.

Dwelling there is a matter of presence of mind, persistence of will , and perseverance in effort and practice. We must be aware, and catch ourselves when we feel the tugs and bonds of the world pulling at us. We must choose and make a conscious effort, then, to reenter that presence of the Spirit of God. Finally, we must make it daily practice to start the day, and end the day in that Presence. In the Garden of Eden, God walked and talked with them in the cool of the day. (Genesis 3:8) (Lev. 26:12)

This is such a beautiful way to enter in to the Presence of the LORD/Lord. I love the whole album; but this is one of my favorites. Thank you, Paul Wilbur.

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One Step At A Time

Today’s message from God Calling – A. J. Russell, reminds us that the way we walk is one of uncertain future and faltering steps.

The Way is, however, not one of uncertain future. Nor do God’s steps falter. We are bid to put all fear aside and trust Him wholly. “Know,” says the message. We are admonished to walk assured of God’s promises; that He is leading, and that He will reveal Himself and His will and way to us.

The key to walking in assurance and power is to walk one step at a time. I don’t worry about whether or not God’s going to wake me up on this side – because I know that whether here or there, I will be with Him; and He will be with me. He is with us always, knows the end from the beginning, and has already prepared the victory for us. We have but to walk it out. And, the reason we do that, is to learn our true identity in Christ Jesus, and to master that identity as kings and queens in the earth. When we keep that mindset, holding fast to the truths in the Word of God, it gets a little easier to walk in assurance. One day, you realize that you’re no longer even wondering about the future, because you already know God is your future.

Someone asked me recently what I thought of all the suffering I’ve done. I told them, “I see it all practice to help me as a queen. -“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” (Matthew 2:15) You see, Jesus came to serve; not to be served. That’s the mark of a great ruler; don’t you think?

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The Kingdom Within First

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, addresses money values. It goes hand in hand with my post from September 10th. If you haven’t read that, I hope you will. This message builds further on that one.

The message speaks about seeking God’s Kingdom first, and securing our will, or setting our will, on that. Lining up our will with God’s is crucial. The next thing we’re told, to desire nothing less than that; and to desire nothing less than to advance His Kingdom. Matthew 6:33 “-Seek first the kingdom…”, and Matthew 6:22 are referenced.

Matthew 6:22 is the one I want to go to: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” This is the very reason we need to seek God’s Kingdom first. It is the very reason that we need to strive to advance that Kingdom within us-first and foremost. You see, we prosper as our soul prospers. When we do this, the fear, the greed, the lack of self-respect and dignity, and the insatiable need to fill the voids, are destroyed. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5) See, the Father really does know what it is that you really need first. He loves us so! He loves us so!

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You Cannot Serve Both

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to ask ourselves whether we are serving God, or serving money/riches. Mammon, it is called in the Bible.

As I read the message, I recalled a conversation I had recently, about someone being refused a meal because they wouldn’t give up their personal information and register. They were told the reason was that if they didn’t register, the church couldn’t get paid for the meal by the government. Jesus tells us, in Matt. 6:24, that we cannot serve both God and money. Either we will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. This is very true. We prove it. I don’t think there’s a Christian that hasn’t experienced this conflict in one way or another. And, the love of money will definitely cause conflict in your life. With it comes debt, deceit, stress, all kinds of stumbling blocks.

Some of us who have held down two, and sometimes three jobs, just to make ends meet, know what a cruel Lord money can be. Work, work, work; and there’s still nothing left over, and still no chance of getting ahead. Some of us have fallen into the prestige and power trap. We sold ourselves to the “up and coming crowd;” the “Haves.” Some of us got caught up in the money trap because we tried to replace our self respect and/or dignity with stuff, stuff, and more stuff. We have to be very careful with our attitudes about money/mammon, because mammon is a very sneaky adversary. I say that, because the spirit behind it and the world’s ideas of wealth, are at work for the powers, principalities, and hosts of spiritual wickedness in the heavens. In reality, it is only sidewalk. It’s what the streets in Heaven are paved with.

Solomon said that money answers everything. It does. It pays the rent, puts food on the table, fills the car with gas, etc. But, money is to serve us; not vice versa. Keeping our attitudes about it in line with God’s Word, and practicing good stewardship/management, are the keys to staying free of bondage to it. There’s also that checklist of things like pride, fear, greed, and the like, to reckon with. We can easily fall into the money trap by way of these.

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That Reveals Their Divine Nature

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that our loved ones are not gone. They are just gone from here. We’re told that we do well to remember them. As I read the message I am reminded of the many Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and Easter too, in the kitchen with my mother, grandmother. There’s not one holiday that, when I’m in the kitchen, I don’t feel their presence with me. I hope you all will read the message for yourselves at twolisteners.org – it will really lift your spirit; especially if you’ve lost a loved one recently.

I’m going to quote directly from the message, this statement: “Learning to know Me draws that Kingdom very near, and in Me, and through Knowledge of Me, the dear ones there become very near and dear.” As I read this statement in terms of generational curses, I got a revelation about how God enables us to see the best in others. It is in Christ Jesus, and through knowledge of Him, that we are able to see the divine nature in those who, in and through their humanity, have wounded us. As we come to know the Lord more and more, we begin to gain some insight into the wounds and scars of those who have wounded us; and into their hearts. God helps us to see them as He sees us all. This is how He empowers us to let go of the worst in them, to forgive, and to hold on to the divine in them-the best in them. (Isaiah 43:25) In terms of generational curses, the sin here is two-fold. First, the sin they committed against us is sin. The results (fear, dejection, addiction(s), etc.), all the ways in which their sin binds us, cripples us, etc., is the second part of this. This second part is the part we need to remember no more. This is what the love of God frees us from, lifts us out of, and gives us treasures to take out with us-so that we can pass them on. We are blessed to be a blessing.

Finally, seeing the best in them, their divine nature, softens the scars and allows God to work His miracles of restoration to our generation, and hopefully, our children’s, and theirs.

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Saturday Silly – September 5, 2020

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that progress is the law of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are bid to rise ever higher and to strive to be ever better. Be better today than yesterday -this mindset actually freed me from fear of other’s opinions, from the competitive spirit, and from being a “cookie cutter” copy of everybody else. Only compete with yourself; then you’ll always be better. Don’t measure yourself up against anyone; measure yourself up against yesterday’s you. And don’t be so hard on yourself.

I was discussing this with a friend of mine. I said to her, “The message made me think of Lot and his family. He was the guy living in Sodom and Gomorrah. Try as I might, I just can’t figure out what happened with those two girls. I mean, talk about going two steps forward and three steps back! God sends two angels to save them from the disaster, rains down fire and brimstone and totally demolishes, not one, but two towns, and what do these two do on the mountain? It never occurred to either one of them to ask God to send them husbands. They could have had a Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt! God can do that!!!” My friend said, “Yeah, and don’t forget about their mother. She was the pillar of the community; worth her weight in salt.” Hmm…I’m sorry, I had to laugh! She’s a Bible study leader. My friend, not Lot’s wife.

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They Don’t See It; We Can

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to look more and more toward the Kingdom of Heaven. We’re bid to look up from Earth’s sorrows, sadness, and sordidness; up and into Heaven.

“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:27) Jesus was talking about the beginning of the end time, here. It applies to us today. What you see is not as important as what you perceive is. That means how you are affected by something is more important than the something. How one is affected by things is largely a choice.

The choice is ours. Do I let the news dictate whether or not I’ll have a good day? Do I let my job loss cause me to feel inferior, unable, fearful, etc.? All the promises of God are yes and amen, in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor. 1:20) That tells me that Heaven is a beautiful place, a positive place, a possible place! It also tells me that I can be happy in spite of all that’s going on in the world. I can create and sustain beauty, peace, joy, life, even in the sordidness. I can bring life, peace, beauty, and joy to those who sorrow, and into the sadness of the lives of others. I have but to determine, or to choose, to do so. Once again, “brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things,” applies to us. (Philippians 4:8) When we do this, we can manifest it, and the unseen becomes more visible to all down here.

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