Yes, But Spend It Wisely

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that money is meant to be used. Like everything else, we get to choose how we use it. We, as children of God, are encouraged to give, give, and give some more; keeping ever an “empty vessel.” This should be our attitude in regard to all the wealth we have; not just about money.

First, let me say this about money: Money is not the wealth. The wealth is the wisdom and integrity with which we use the money. I believe, in being encouraged to keep an empty vessel for God to use, we’re being told to always be ready for God to use us. Don’t get so filled up with yourself and all your stuff that you have going on, that God doesn’t fit in there. You don’t want things to be so tight that God can’t get a plan in edgewise, right? Yeah. That means budget some of that money especially for doing God’s work. That takes us a little beyond the tithe, which is for use in the upkeep of God’s House. God wants to reach every heart He can, and He has told us that His plans are to prosper us. When He prospers us, we are better able to prosper the Kingdom of Heaven, by reaching out to others. Think of that business idea you’ve got. When that comes to fruition, think of the jobs you can create, the people you can help, and the people that might be reached for God…all because of your obedience and faithfulness.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

You Are Not Unemployed

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that there are no idle hours in the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no such thing as unemployment with God. If there is no work to be had, there is still work to do, the message tells us. First, then, we can work within ourselves, to conquer any evil, and to realign ourselves with God’s Will and Word. We can then become conquering forces in our homes, our communities, our workplaces, our world.

When I read this message, I thought about this Spring and Summer. The COVID-19 thing hit, everything shut down, and then the weather got much too hot for me to be very mobile in. I pretty much was stuck, spending much too much time just sitting on the sidewalk and trying to survive. I decided I would do a Bible study each morning. God began leading my Bible study, taking me through the Psalms and the Prophets. Oh, my! What wonderful revelations I got about the depth of God’s love; the intensity of His love for us, and His desire to see us overcome this world. As soon as the libraries opened up again, I resumed my daily blog posts. Recently, all those study notes began coming together into a book about generational curses. You see, there is no sitting still in the Spirit. LOL Don’t ever allow yourself to feel like you’re idling in your walk with the Lord. He can always work something good in you!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Suited To Fit You

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God adjusts the yoke to fit us. God knows us; has known us from the beginning, and already knows exactly what size, make, model, every little detail, needs to be.

The key to Divine Revelation about God’s way, is the simple acceptance of God’s will. When I say God’s way, I mean the way He has mapped out for us. Each one of us, strengths, weaknesses, limits, etc., have been carefully considered by Him. This is something to keep in mind when you’re not feeling like you’re doing anything significant for God. First, let me tell you, there is no such thing as insignificant in the Kingdom of Heaven. The little one year old who’s helping Mommy polish spoons is doing a bang up job! He/she is significant! As we obey our LORD/Lord, we grow, and God readjusts the yoke to fit us, now at this level.

I hear people say so often, “I’m seeking God’s will in this.” True, we do need to get specifics. But, for that everyday living, God’s will has already been stated. “I came to destroy the works of the devil; and I’ve come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” If we could just have that firmly settled in our minds, and hearts, half of the hotline phones in Heaven would be silent. It makes such a difference in your whole frame of mind, your attitude, and your heart, when you have that one little anchor. It brings an immense and profound peace to your whole being. Ephesians 5:8 is referenced: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”

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Me And My Big Gulp Cup

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that the first step is always praise. It brings our God on the scene. Always turn to the LORD/Lord-He’s right there for us. Even when we’re ashamed of our feeble faith and failure, Jesus is still the Savior-even in your shame, and especially in the distress of your shame.

As I read the message this morning, I thought about the desert I was in sixteen years ago. I had long ago forgone the well of my father Jacob. I knew that wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I was dying of thirst in this desert my life had become. And, true to his nature, the evil one whispered in my ear, trying to keep me there. “There’s no Jesus here,” he whispered. “There’s no well here in this place.” Here’s where I have to thank God again for my Grandma. See, she always said I could do anything I wanted to do. She even told someone not to tell me I couldn’t do something. Thanks to her, I got this spirit of “yes I can,” in me. So, I said to that devil, “Oh, yeah? Is that a rock I see over there?!” LOL I’m laughing now, but let me tell you, when I got to that rock, and it turned into a wellspring… Jesus said, “I saved a cup for you.” And let me tell you, I drank and drank, and drank some more! I was so parched it wasn’t even funny. These days, I have to laugh every time I see one of those Big Gulp cups from Seven Eleven. Thank you, Jesus!

One of my favorite praise and worship songs is Sometimes It Takes A Mountain. Every time I hear it, I’m reminded that there is treasure in every distressing moment. And, sometimes, because I get so busy, or so distracted, stubborn, pouty, and even have gone off and away at times…I find myself distressed by the shame of failing, flailing, and faltering…but Jesus is faithful, and always there with arms wide open. He rushes in to save me in my distress, to correct me, and to encourage me to keep going. I hope this song blesses you; it always does me. *I don’t go off and away from the Lord anymore-I finally learned that’s where I want to stay-especially in times of distress.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Every Day It’s There For Us

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that for every task given us, God supplies all that we need to get the job done. We are admonished not to fear, and to claim the wisdom and strength we need; sure that it is there for us.

There’s a statement in the message: “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” That’s a powerful revelation about choosing to have a good day, or a bad one. One thing that helped me so much to have the day, instead of the day having me, is my morning time with the LORD/Lord. Whether it’s in prayer or praise, make time for God first thing. That sets the tone for the rest of the day. It’s like giving, and receiving that all important hug! I hope you’ll be as blessed by this song as I am. There truly is nobody like our Lord, Jesus! Thank you, Paul Wilbur.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

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!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Acceptance Changes Them

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to accept the trials that come our way. We are reminded that we cannot be destroyed; that God’s grace is sufficient for us. God’s grace is sufficient for all our needs, in every circumstance. That one’s easy to forget, isn’t it? Something that has helped me in the past, and continues to be a great help to me, is acceptance .

As I thought about acceptance in regard to this message, I saw it in a different light. It isn’t merely acceptance of the trials that matters. It is, first and foremost, acceptance of our new heritage in Christ Jesus, complete with all the authority, peace, power, etc. that comes with that heritage, that makes the difference. (2Co. 5:17) -“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” That acceptance changes the way we see those trials. It changes their size, first of all. Seeing them in light of who you are in Christ, is like looking through the other end of the binoculars. Remember the Israelites seeing themselves as grasshoppers in comparison to the Philistines? (Numbers 13:33)

Jesus showed us how to turn the binoculars around, so we see the truth. The truth is that nothing can separate us from the love of God, He is our beginning and our end, and in Him there is no end for us. (Romans 8:39) (Psalm 91) (John 11:26) Finally, there’s the last part of that scripture about God’s grace being sufficient for us…”for my power is made perfect (or perfected) in weakness. That weakness spoken of there is the laying down of our will, our attitude(s), thoughts and words, and our ways. Instead, we are to adhere to God’s will, His attitudes, thoughts and words, and His ways. (Jeremiah 29:11) (2 Co. 10:5) (Matt. 5:48) That changes the trial to an opportunity to win; just like Jesus does-every time…and, when He wins, we all do. Lord, help me to get this one down for good, please. Thank you.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Look Not To The Left Or The Right

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to walk by faith in Jesus’ keeping power.

God’s power will never fail us; but we fail to keep our minds fixed on Him. Again, Peter walking on the water comes to mind: “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matt.14:30 -NIV) Looking neither to the left nor right, but keeping our minds and hearts fixed securely on our Lord and our Heavenly Father, is the way to get through every day with so much less stress! What a burden is lifted off one’s shoulders when we get this right.

The next thing that comes to mind is putting on the whole armor of God. (Eph. 6:13) I think the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness are the most important. You see, this is where our head and heart is at. The shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit-which is the Word of God, do us no good whatsoever, if we do not believe and receive that Word; that truth. This is where building our spiritual strength comes in. We have to feed our spirit with the truth; which is, that we are children of God, the head and not the tail, nothing can separate us from the love of God, and nothing can stop God’s purpose for you! If you have to write this down somewhere and read it aloud every morning, do it until it’s the first thought you think when you wake up. It works. Keep it with you and remind yourself that whenever you’re feeling anxious or stressed. Before you know it, you’ll be sailing through most of your days joyfully. Read about God’s love in the Psalms and the Prophets, about His keeping power, and about His fierceness in dealing with our adversaries. (powers, principalities, hosts of spiritual wickedness) (Eph. 6:12)

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Faith Is Also Its Own Reward

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us of God’s promise that our faith will be rewarded.

As I read the message, in the midst of the Corona Virus pandemic and everything that’s been affected by it, I must say some thank yous. Thank you, Lord, for keeping us in the palm of your hands; first of all. Thank you, to all those who keep right on giving, right on caring about the rest of the world, and right on doing your best to help everyone get through this thing. I’ll never be able to express how much I appreciate you, and how deeply grateful I am to you.

I also think about Noah, Abraham, Moses…and our Lord, Jesus. What awesome faith they showed us! I’m always blown away when I think about Jesus; about the strength of His faith; and His love. He could have called the whole thing off at any given point in time. But He didn’t. And when I think about that, I think about the times I’ve trudged onward. I don’t know how I got through any of it, except by God’s grace strengthening my faith as I went along. The Bible does say we reap what we sow, right? Yeah, that little faith seed becomes a beautiful and majestic tree over the years, doesn’t it? Faith is its own reward. Isn’t it cool how God works all that stuff out so perfectly?!

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The Foretaste of Divinity

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God’s standard is the only standard we are to strive to live by, and up to.

Isaiah 53 comes to mind when I read the message. It speaks of Jesus Christ, our Lord. He is the firstborn of many. That many includes you and I…because, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:12-13) (ESV)

Isaiah 53:2 is a powerful revelation about how God can take you, from the dry ground of living under a generational curse, or under sin, and cause you to be the root of a new generation. A new generation under the love and admonition, and walking in the power and authority of Jesus Christ. Isn’t that awesome?! You can have a better life; your children, and their children…generations after them, can have better lives. Isaiah 53:11 is a confirmation of that: “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” (ESV) That means God can take all that turmoil and pain within you, and give you His knowledge. That will give you the power to help others to stand and walk uprightly (in power and authority). That’s what it means to “bear the iniquities” of others. We help them to overcome the adversities and barriers that keep them from living successfully.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu