Your Holy Attire

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 29. Verses 1&2 “Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. *(or, in holy attire)-(ESV) The whole Psalm is beautiful; written by King David, of course.

When I think about holy attire, especially on Sunday, when we gather to worship the LORD/Lord, I’m looking at my heart. I must admit that my heart has not always been right before the LORD, in church on Sunday morning. Praise and worship poured out of my mouth; but my heart was far from Him; more times than I can count, I’m afraid. I had to actually go before the LORD/Lord, and ask Him to give me His Heart. I’m so thankful for His mercy and grace. He is so very patient with us. Yes, He answered that prayer for me. I still ask for His Heart; every morning! Believe me; it helps tremendously; and on a daily basis!

The rest of the Psalm speaks to us about God’s Voice. Verses 5-8 are really awesome, and touch on exactly what I was talking about above. “The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.”

Think about your hardened heart, on a Sunday morning, maybe after an argument with your mate, or fighting traffic all the way into town, etc. Sometimes, everything that can go wrong does, doesn’t it? There you stand…going through the motions…JESUS, HELLLLPPPP! Am I right?! He steps right up, and speaks to the storm; doesn’t He? Fire purifies and that wilderness just vanishes. When I think of that wilderness, and how it took them forty years to make a three day journey…I think I’m pretty sure that I’m gonna holler right away, Lord! I want to hear that “Peace be still!” The LORD’s voice is stronger than COVID! Have a beautiful day!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

God’s Salvation Grows In Us

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 21. “O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation! You have granted his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold. He asked You for life, and You granted it—length of days, forever and ever. Great is his glory in Your salvation; You bestow on him splendor and majesty. For You grant him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence. For the king trusts in the LORD; through the loving devotion of the Most High, he will not be shaken.” Psalms 21:1-7(BSB) WOW!!!!! Can you wrap your heart and mind around that one?! We can exult in our salvation because God, from the moment we give our hearts over to him, welcomes us as His children. Just like the father welcomed his prodigal son in (Luke 15:11-32), God welcomes us with joy and celebration when we repent and accept Jesus’ gift of salvation. (Luke 15:7)

I like what I read in verse 8 of the Psalm. Because of God’s loving devotion to us, we will not be shaken! That’s a two-fold revelation about how we need to deal with our children; and how we need to treat ourselves. Love yourself better than that! (self bashing, defeatist attitudes, words like “can’t”, etc.) Setting your expectations too high is also not loving to your child, or to yourself. We have a tendency quite often, to want to complete the whole journey in one step. Then we get overwhelmed, confused, and defeated within. This makes me think of the song they sang, in Santa Claus is Coming to Town, about putting one foot in front of the other. Then, just watch what God can do with you!

Proverbs 21:1-8 are all about keeping our heart right before the LORD/Lord. Verse 4 warns us that haughty eyes and a proud heart are sin. they are the lamp of the wicked. Jesus warned us of the same thing in (Matthew 6:22-23) “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 in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” In this passage, I believe Jesus is talking about our understanding, and conviction; referring to them as our eyes. Verse 22 is an admonition to tear down the strongholds that keep us from living effective lives. This goes with (2 Cor. 10:5) “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.” Strongholds are false beliefs, attitudes, excuses, and denial. We have to root these out, and cast them out first and foremost. We have to do it every time they rear their heads. We can stay on top of this by giving thought to our ways, and by staying disciplined to stay on track, and get back on track, every day, every time. As we do this, God’s salvation grows in us.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Rule Them, Indeed

First, back to Psalm 2:9 -“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them into pieces like a potter’s vessel.” If you look at all the nations of the world, all the different cultures, beliefs, religions, standards and boundaries (moral, social, familial, etc.), you’ll see why it’s important that you be able to break them and dash them into pieces.

This verse tells us a couple of things. First, the nations and the ends of the earth are our heritage. That means they can be of benefit to us. We can learn from other cultures, beliefs, and religions. We can also be led astray by them, as the nation of Israel was through intermarriage with people of foreign cultures. (The lands they journeyed through and were supposed to dispossess) Some cultures have very different standards and boundaries, social and familial practices, and some religions are idolatrous, and may even involve witchcraft and sorcery. Some of the ancient religions involved human sacrifice, especially the sacrifice of children. We know that this is not Godly. We also know that some things considered the norm for others, are not going to work for us. Just because a bunch of folks do it, doesn’t make it right; or even beneficial. This is where the rod of iron (Word of God) and dashing things into pieces comes in. The things that are of no use to us, those that will harm us, those that go against God and Godly wisdom, etc., are the things we need to throw out. This works the same way in generational curses. Those things that are/were harmful need to be thrown out and replaced with God’s ways, according to God’s standards and boundaries.

That brings us to Psalm 3:1-7 “Oh, Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Have you ever been laughed at by peers because of your faith, or because you wouldn’t do something they thought was o.k. to do? Many will try to tell us that God’s ways are old fashioned, outdated, actually even oppressive and hateful. But God is a shield around us, and the lifter of our heads. It almost always turns out in the end, that obedience to His Word, and sticking to His ways, was the right thing to dos. I say, “almost,” only because some of those results we won’t know until we get to Heaven. Verse 7 of Psalm 3 tells us that God will silence and disarm the enemy. It never fails, when the enemy causes you to doubt or fear, God’s Word will show you the truth, and empower you to stand on the truth; dispelling the fear and the doubt.

Finally, Proverbs 3 gives us a lists of all the benefits we gain from allowing God to teach us, and keeping to His teaching, and keeping His commandments in our hearts. Whenever I read about God’s commandments, I think of Jesus’ words: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Thank you, Casting Crowns, for this inspirational song!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Joy Is The Reward

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that there is joy at the end of the journey. Though the journey be long, and grueling at times, and sometimes we may wonder if we’re forsaken, we surely are not! Due to library closures, the rest of my posts for this year will be short, and hopefully, I can find a song for each day. I hope you will continue to read the messages at twolisteners.org, as I will.

This one is by Jeremy Camp; perfect for a mid-week pick up.

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It Must Come Out First

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that this walk with Jesus is a lifelong journey. From my own experience, it’s the journey of a lifetime.

The message tells us that we can only proceed upward step by step and stage by stage. “And we all having been unveiled in face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18) No journey is taken in one step; but step by step.

When I read this message, I think about Psalm 23:5 -“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Being transformed into God’s image and likeness involves constant intake of His Divine Nature, His Word, His Love for us. However, as we fill up with it, we must make room for more. (Proverbs 25:16) That’s why we must be doers, and not only hearers of the Word. In the hearing, we are being empowered with truth and wisdom. It’s in the doing, however, that our faith and character grow. Our spirits are strengthened, our hope is renewed, and joy rises up within us over our growth in Christ Jesus, and the things of the Kingdom of Heaven. (Romans 2:13)

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Stepping Into Christ

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that Jesus is our Savior every day, in every way. The message speaks to us of our refuge, our sanctuary, God. He is where we need to flee to from everything that threatens to overwhelm us.

He is where we need to flee to from ourselves. I think of Peter whenever I read this message. Peter, walking on the water, Peter, falling into the water, Peter, crying out to the Lord, “Save me!” We’re bid, in the message to enter that Presence of God and absorb His Divinity. It is that Divinity that has overcome the world, because that Divinity created the world. That includes us. It isn’t just the world around us that can cause us trouble. The world in us, or the flesh nature, can be horribly wounding, confusing, and overwhelming to our Divine nature, our spirit. Thank God we have Jesus to save us from ourselves.

The one scripture that speaks so loudly to me on this, is “The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:16) This is telling us that we have a license to sin. It says to us that Christ Jesus is our judge. Therefore, we need not fear the condemnation of men, nor worry about their opinions of us, how we rate with them, etc. We are freed from that in Christ Jesus. We’re also freed from self condemnation. It’s a journey; not a test. Nor is it a trial. The trial already happened in Jerusalem when they arrested the King of kings and condemned Him to death.

Realizing Christ’s mind is ours is a powerful revelation, and an awesomely electrifying surge of strength, spiritually. It means I can learn from Jesus, how He viewed the Heavenly Father, the world around Him, all the stuff He had to deal with and listen to, and do. Jesus is not just a meek and weak little lamb. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah! Kingly, regal, in authority; that’s Jesus, our Savior. He’s by no means a bully. But, He definitely knows who and whose He is, and what rights and responsibilities He has. He never wavered, never altered His order/way of dealing with things, etc. When we can do that….WOW!!!!! You can almost feel the bonds of the “world” and all its “stuff” fall off, and freedom bursting up from within. That’s how Jesus could tell us, “In the world you’ll have tribulation. But be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) Thank you, Jason Upton for this awesome version of Freedom Reigns.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Turning Will Be Joyful

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that the Lord’s reward for our service, suffering, living for Him, is that joy divine that nobody can take from us. “My peace I leave with you…”, said Jesus. (John 14:27) It is this very thing, peace, that vanquishes fear and empowers us to run to Him joyfully.

I can think of so many times in my life after I got saved, when things were going wrong, and I actually laughed as I went to the Lord with it. The peace I had in those situations is almost indescribable. There’s this total confidence, without even the slightest twinge of doubt or fear. That’s peace. That’s a joyful thing.

It did take me some time to get to that point. Sometimes, even now, I have to catch myself and just stop and get that peace back. Sometimes the Lord has to kind of scoop me up in His arms and waylay me until I quit storming. He has to save me from myself. Mostly, though, I truly can just enjoy the journey; and joyfully take the twists and turns along the way.

I hope you’ll read the message for yourselves at twolisteners.org It will encourage you to deepen your relationship with the Lord, and it will empower you in your walk with Him.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Saturday Sentimental Silly-July 25, 2020

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God is the boss-the controller of every second of every minute of every day. We are asked if we can see how wonderful life really is with Him.

It got me thinking back to our military days. We don’t always like what’s happening. I hated having to move away from friends; and it seemed as if that’s exactly what we were always doing…moving, moving, moving. I was the oldest kid in the family, and, naturally, not very impressed with some of the stuff my younger siblings pulled. My mother was always good for embarrassing this teenager too. But, just when you think you’re at the end of your rope, God throws the curve ball…and everybody’s roaring with laughter. This very thing happened on one particular journey. Six women in the family; and all had to use the restroom. At this particular place, there was ONE restroom for ladies. Also, we were on a time constraint; my dad did not like to get off schedule traveling. So, there was I, on the potty, while my sister was washing her hands-both of us crammed into this little stall. My mother was supposed to be holding the door ajar slightly, so the next girl could duck in quickly when ready. Something happened, and she got distracted and let go of the door, which opened wider all by itself. Just at that instant this gorgeous guy happens by. He’s looks in at me, and says, “Hi.” I’m smiling at him, thinking how cute he is…”Hi,” I said back to him. That’s when I remember I’m on the potty with my pants down around my ankles. Needless to say, I didn’t need any blusher when touched up my makeup.

It gets better, we had dinner there. After dinner, we all piled into the car, and Dad had to go into the restroom. He came out of the restroom, and headed straight for this station wagon that looked exactly like ours – but wasn’t. We were all roaring as he started to tell the poor lady in that car she needed to get out; just before he realized she was the only one in it, and he was at the wrong car.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu