Oh, Yes He Is…And, Yes He Does!

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God is our source for everything! He is all sufficient; all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere. That, alone, should bring great peace to your soul.

True to His Word, the Lord provided me with the scriptures I needed for this message. I’m still studying the prophets, in regard to generational curses. But the Lord led me to the gospel of Mark first this morning. (Mark 6:30-44) The feeding of the five thousand: The disciples had been out ministering and teaching, and had returned to report to Jesus. They all left together to find somewhere to be alone and get some rest. Some people saw them leaving, however, and beat them to the place. When they arrived, there the crowds were, waiting for them. Jesus, having compassion on them, began to teach them. When He finished, it was late, and the disciples told Him to send the crowds into the nearby villages and towns to get food for themselves. But, Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.” Do you know that when God tells you to do it, it is already ordained to be a blessing to you? Yes! You’ll find that in (Deut. 28:8 & 12); the blessings of obedience are yours. It’s also ordained that the blessing will be such a one that you cannot contain it; meaning it will overflow and be more than enough. (Malachi 3:10)

Here comes our part. (Mark 8:1-10) Again, they’re feeding a crowd; this time four thousand plus people. “Then He took the seven loaves, gave thanks and broke them, and gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And they distributed them to the crowd.” The key words here are “gave thanks and broke them.” 1. Thanksgiving opens the doors of the treasuries (storehouses) of Heaven. When God opens the doors of Heaven to you, revelation happens 2. Breaking up, or down, what you have, multiplies or divides it (makes it greater, or decreases its size, and/or power. The example is the roast that, when sliced, becomes steaks, stir-fry, and stew meat. That’s exactly like the loaves that became slices, or pieces of bread.

When we’re trying to decrease power, breaking whatever it is down, brings it to a size that we can manage. “I come to you in the Name of the LORD,” David said. God is bigger than anything-even a Philistine! That’s why Goliath had to lieth down. LOL (1Sam. 17:45)

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Think On These Things

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to look on the brighter side of things. We are admonished not to weigh our spirits down by dwelling on the sins and sordidness in our world. Philippians 4:8 bids us: “Finally, 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.” (NIV)

In terms of overcoming generational curses, or even just recovering from a painful past event, this is very important. Dwelling on all the stuff that was wrong and went wrong, will only pull you down. It’s like trying to walk on quicksand. What we need to to is to collect up all the things that were right and went right. We need to meditate on those things; to explore them fully in terms of emotional impact, strength, and progress for us. The key is to recount our victories rather than rehearse our next failure; because you will go wherever you let your mind lead you.

God Calling has been my favorite inspirational read for years now. The only book I love more is the Bible. I’m grateful to the folks that put it online for us all to enjoy at twolisteners.org If you haven’t already, check it out for yourself. It completely changed my relationship with the Lord, Jesus. And yes, there really is wonder upon wonder of revelation in a life with Christ Jesus.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

What The World Needs Now…

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to love all, bringing joy wherever we can. Romans 12:9 puts it this way: Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

We’re told that we can’t fail to love someone, once we understand them. We’re also told to look for Jesus in everyone. When we do this, we are more apt to be reminded that everyone is created in His image and after His likeness. This makes me think of the word, “Namaste.” Literally, it means, “bowing to you.”

Something I learned some time ago, is that God loves because He is love. That means it makes no difference whether or not I like you, or even whether or not I understand you. It means I love you because I am called to love you. We are called to be like our Master, Jesus, and our Heavenly Father. “Be perfect, therefore, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” Perfect love casts out fear; which all too often is the wedge driven between us as humans. Here, again, the key is understanding all of God’s ways with us, and growing in them. God is love perfected. We learn what we live, and we live what we learn. So, let’s learn from the Master!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Rejoicing In Your Weaknesses

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. (2Cor. 12:9)

There was a time when I believed that was some mystical event that happened; that by some miracle, God would infuse me with supernatural strength. Over the years, I’ve learned just how much of a naturally occurring result of my accepting, or acknowledging that weakness-(truth), seeking the way to overcome it-(way), and rising up to walk in that way (life). Are you getting a picture of how simple it really is? Jesus said, “I am the truth, the life, and the way.” He is that in every situation.

Acceptance is the key to the whole thing. We all too often try to deny the weakness, or to fake our way through it. Notice the two words, “our way.” That’s what it is that gets us into trouble. If it’s your weakness, it’s obviously not the way to go, is it? Accepting the weakness empowers you to seek the way(s) to overcome it. This opens the door for God to work, and opens your mind and heart to receive insight, inspiration, and instruction. What went wrong, why, what’s your part in it, what can you do to fix it, or improve it, etc. These insights inspire ideas and creative energies. Then, the instruction(s) bring us up to the next level; to overcoming power, and to progress.

God is a creator, we are created in His image, after His likeness. Therefore, we are creators, and creative beings. We can resurrect, rebuild, restore, etc. That’s the power of God being perfected in us, in our weaknesses. This is why we are told to rejoice in our weakness; to see it as an incentive and an opportunity to rise to an even higher level. We aren’t to walk in denial, deception, depression, and all the other stuff that comes on you when you’re trying to fake your way through. Just be you; be the best you you can be. Accept yourself just as you are, and work from there. You can only work with what you’ve got; and, as they say, “God don’t make no junk!” Celebrate every step forward, every step upward, every step taken. God does; because He loves you!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Saturday Silly – September 28, 2019

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Aunt Irma helped me with some writing I had to do today. I was actually working on two projects at the same time. One was a Bible Study, and the other was a little fill-in Trivia Quiz worksheet for the Red Hat Ladies from Aunt Irma’s Senior Center. Aunt Irma offered to edit them for me, as I had a last minute errand that came up. I didn’t realize she was entertaining RuthAnne’s grandchildren this afternoon. Ruthanne is Aunt Irma’s BFF, and her grandchildren are little monkeys. That’s putting it mildly; and nicely. Those little Mennesses! That’s their last name. Fitting, I think. I left the key under the doormat and went off to do my errand. This is how the two projects came out:

The twelve disciples were: Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo, and Curly, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Puff the Magic Dragon. What folk-song did Peter, Paul, and Mary sing in the days of Noah? “If I Had A Hammer.” How did Jesus know the two coins would be found in that fish: He was the Son of God. Only the Son of God would have known they fell out of Jonah’s pocket when that whale swallowed him. The fish must have been in there too, and ate them. Where did Puff the Magic Dragon live: By the Sea of Galilee. He was the reason Jesus liked to walk on water. Puff kept it nice and warm, so it was like a foot bath… Who did Peter heal from being lame? Meenie; he’d been lame ever since he broke his leg when he went to kick Balaam’s donkey and accidentally kicked the cartwheel. (Not the gymnastic kind-the one that’s round and rolls)

I arrived home to find the two kids and Aunt Irma working, like busy little beavers, on my two projects…Oh, Aunt Irma! Thank God I don’t need these until Saturday…and it’s only Wednesday evening. Hmm…Does anybody have any spiked Holy Water? Help!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Turning To Him Empowers It All…

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we must turn to God, or seek Him, before we can become aware of His Presence with us. Jesus said, “seek first, therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven”…and everything else will be added unto you. I don’t believe He was speaking just of material needs.

Whatever situation we may find ourselves in, when we first seek God’s face, God’s will, His grace and purpose, maybe even His mercy, in it, we will find the key that unlocks the whole thing for us. I knew a man who lost his legs in an auto accident. He was very bitter for some time. He’d lost his whole life, as far as he was concerned. A friend of his talked him into attending church with him once, and the man’s life began to change. The next thing you know, the man was on the slopes, skiing. He never skied when he had legs. He competes regularly in quad competitions of all kinds. He’s made new friends, discovered new interests and talents he never knew he had. He’s got a whole new life, and it’s even better than before.

One of the reasons the Lord’s prayer says, “give us this day our daily bread, is that we need that reminder to look for God in every day, all throughout the day. Jesus is the bread come down from Heaven. Bread is food. Jesus feeds our spirit all day long when we let Him. We have a continual feast when God’s in the “pantry” of our soul. Seeking God in it, is seeking the good in it, or bringing the good into it. We are, after all, His hands in the earth. When we do this, every part of our lives is empowered to bring glory to us, to others, and especially, to God.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Press Onward…It’s Really A Key

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we’re running an endurance race, and not a sprint. We’re bid to hold onto our courage, and press on to the next level.

The message speaks to us of being protected, shielded from self-loathing, from bitter remorse, and from self-defeat. When I read it, I think of Peter, of Judas Iscariot, who committed suicide over what he’d done. Peter wept bitterly over betraying Jesus. I bet he had some serious struggles within himself during the following days and weeks. We go through the same struggles with ourselves; especially when we feel like we’ve failed the Lord. It’s so easy, when we fall down, to just lay there and wallow in self-pity, bitter remorse, self-loathing…yeah, that’s the very stuff that leads us right over that cliff called self-defeat.

The way to overcome that stuff is to open our eyes to the truth about that short-fall, that failure, that weakness. What it really is, is a KEY that opens the door to learning, gaining strength, improving, and stepping up to the next level. Jesus said, “I’ll give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. That truth is a key to freedom from all that self-defeating stuff. It will open the door to courage, to boldness, to confidence, self-assurance, and most importantly, PEACE within.

This song by the Gaither Vocal Band is so precious to me! I can’t even begin to tell you what it does for me. I’m always so moved by it. I think it fits perfectly.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Praise the Mountains Away

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to praise Him. Praise removes the mountains of difficulty. The message ties in with Saturday’s message about keeping God’s standard; which is simplicity.

Simplicity is the key to peace of mind and spirit. It helps to keep things real. We over-complicate things, we over-think things, and we end up overdoing things and then, we end up getting overwhelmed.

As a Psalmist, I sometimes get away from the simplicity because I’m trying to write this grand, grand praise song for God. One of the simplest ways to praise God is to say, “thank you.” Two simple words, they are, but two very powerful words. “Thank you,” is the heart of worship. God’s already worked everything in our lives out in the spirit-from the beginning. That’s not your beginning, it’s THE beginning. When we keep that in mind, we can remain focused on the blessings, on the green and fertile valleys before us. Boy, when you start counting your blessings…you can’t stop the praise from rising up out of your heart.

I hope you’ll visit the twolisteners.org website and read both messages; they’re awesome, as usual. I think this song supports today’s post perfectly. I hope you’re as blessed by it as I am.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Lining Your Desires Up With God’s

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God uses our desires to accomplish His desires.

This is why we are gifted in different ways, talented in different areas, etc. The Bible tells us that God gives us the desires of our hearts. (Psalm 37:4) He uses those desires to accomplish His will and His desires for us. He uses those desires to bless others through us. Think about how many people doctors and nurses, policemen, firefighters, and rescue workers bless through their professions. That’s just one example. Look around, and you’ll find out that everybody has a call on their life; and they’re gifted and talented in ways that will empower them to answer it.

Here’s the key to lining up your desires with God’s: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (Col. 3:23) Psalm 37:5 tells us to “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” (KJV) When we begin to look at different things that touch our hearts, ways in which we are gifted and talented, and things we seem to just have a knack for, we have a list of “desires.” The next step is to seek ways to use them to bless others, and to serve the Lord/LORD with. The next thing you know, your desires are lined up with God’s, and some awesome things can happen-in your life, and in the lives of others.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu