Whatever You Ask In My Name

Psalm 4 and Proverbs 4 are the focus of today’s message. Psalm 4 is actually a prayer of King David. Verse three tells us to “know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself;” and He hears when we call to Him. I love verses 7 and 8: “You have filled my heart with more joy than when grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” This is how we deal with doubt, fear, confusion, etc. We go to the Word of God, and we stir ourselves up and strengthen our spirit through His Word. Jesus said to Satan: “It is written!” God’s word is alive an active, and filled with power. (Hebrews 4:12)

Proverbs 4 is actually a father admonishing his sons regarding gaining Godly knowledge and wisdom. We’re enlightened about the wicked and evil-doers (this includes the powers and principalities, and hosts of spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places). We are encouraged to avoid being swayed by them and their ways, and to stay on the right paths. “Make level paths for your feet,” we’re admonished. (Proverbs 4:26) This all works for daughters, by the way. LOL Isn’t it almost as if the LORD, Himself is speaking to us. Actually, He is; because all scripture is God-breathed, or inspired by God, Himself. Once again, thank you, Casting Crowns. I’ll never get tired of this song, either.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Today I Have Begotten You

Today’s message comes from Psalm 2 and Proverbs 2. I hope you’ll feel closer to the LORD/Lord when you finish with it. See how much the Father loves us.

Psalm 2:7-9 tells us: “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you. 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 in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Is that awesome?! This is David speaking by the Spirit. He was speaking of Jesus and you and me. Jesus is the One who gave us the power to become God’s children in His Name. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.” (John 1:12-13)

Proverbs 2:1-5 tells us: “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” One must accept the offer Christ gives us, and receive Him in our hearts. Jesus taught about receiving God’s Word into our hearts and applying them, in Matthew 13:3-9. Proverbs 2:6-15 explains to us why we need God’s wisdom to live by. We are kings and queens in the Earth, and if we are to rule over our lives according to God’s Word, we need His wisdom to overcome the evil and darkness Satan has brought to the earth. Jesus called him the “ruler of this world.” –The world that does not know Christ Jesus, or has rejected Him; that is. It’s also the world that we may have grown up in, or may have gotten ourselves into. With God’s love and His wisdom, we can overcome all three. Here’s Red Letters by David Crowder. I hope it blesses you as much as it does me-every time I hear it. If you don’t know Jesus, you don’t know what you’re missing! He loves you so very much! Don’t stay in that darkness; call out to Him and come out into the sunshine of His love, His peace, His joy! He loves yo, and so do I!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Put Some Meat On Your Bones

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that spiritual strength and power comes to us through doing God’s Will. We are bid to make it our daily goal. It’s one of the reasons I do this blog. I have seen major changes in the way I deal with just daily living, just by doing this blog. My knowledge of, and relationship with the Lord have grown. Some of the things I’ve come away from and come away with surprise me-pleasantly, of course.

I hear people talk about wanting to “know God’s Will for them.” The best way to do that is to pray and ask Him what it is. Then, pay attention; because the Holy Spirit always leads, guides, and prompts us. Another thing that can be helpful is to look at the things that you’re passionate about, the things that you love to do, and the things that really interest you. God puts those things in us; and He does that for a reason. Something that helped me early on was to read about God’s heart for us, and to read what Jesus had to say about His purpose for being here on Earth. He also gave us the order to preach the Gospel, and said, “it’s enough for a servant to be like his Master.” He came to destroy the works of the devil, and to help us to have life more abundantly-real life. Something to remember is that ministry is so much more than those big revivals and miracle crusades, etc. Ministry can be something as simple as taking someone a meal, giving someone a ride, speaking an encouraging word to someone. When we put it in proper perspective, ministry the way God sees it, is living a life of love and caring for one another.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Turn It Into Love

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that only love lasts. Only those things done in love will remain. If it isn’t inspired by love, then it is not of godly quality, we’re told.

The message references (1 Cor. 13:1) “f I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” That shakes things up a little every time I read it.

When I read the message, I thought of Jesus and the crippled man He healed. (Matthew 9:1-5) “Which is easier to say, “your sins are forgiven”, or “get up and walk?” Both got the man up on his feet, but one is inspired by love (mercy and grace) – the gift. The other is impersonal and uncaring; and, in that context and tone, demanding. Said the way the Lord, Jesus said it, it inspires hope, peace and courage, and faith. The message tells us that the true test of all our works is this: Is it inspired by love? I had occasion to pray and ask God to strengthen me in this area, just this morning. “Go first and learn what this means: “I desire mercy; and not sacrifice.” (Matt. 9:13)

It’s not easy, and getting harder and harder, to walk this way without faltering, isn’t it? The message bids us to turn out everything unloving in our hearts and lives, so that we might bear much fruit. That’s a two-fold statement. First, we are to strive to always be loving; to let our words and actions be inspired and measured by love. But, what goes in comes out. Therefore, we must also turn out everything that is in our heart, thought life, encounters with others, the television, etc., that is not loving. There are people you may need to spend less time with, there are things you may need to put away, and there are things you may need to change in order to keep unloving things out of your way. This even translates to our home environments and routines. All that negative stuff, and negative energy is distracting and destructive of peace; which is essential for love to thrive. We can get all caught up in hectic and half-hearted spirals of “living” if we’re not careful.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

They’re All In Him

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we need not waste time seeking answers to all the mysteries of the world; they’re all in Jesus. And, Jesus is in all of them.

We’re bid to seek Him; to seek to know Him more intimately. In that knowledge, we will find our Lord in all the mysteries of the world. When we see Him in those mysteries, they too, will be dispelled. In that knowledge, we will find that He has, and is, the answer to everything…every need, every gift, everything; and everyone, really. I hope you’ll read the message for yourselves at twolisteners.org – it’s powerful; and so exciting for us! Just think what kind of peace Jesus revealed in everything can bring; and what joy! That brings me to this song by Third Day. I will never tire of this one!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Sometimes You Have To Lay Down

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that when things aren’t going right, we need to look up to the Creator and His creation. (Psalm 121:1-2) is referenced by the message. I also like (Psalm 89:11) – “The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.”

There’s one more scriptural reference that goes with the message. (James 4:10) – “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” The message bids us to train ourselves to look further than the end of our nose; ever further. This helps us to build greater vision; vision that can make things happen. When I think about that, I think about a pebble thrown into a pond. The ripples go outward from the point of impact (you); not inward. Each ripple outward is a little larger. This can happen when we share what the LORD/Lord blesses us with-be it knowledge, inspiration, revelation, admonition, whatever. It’s important to keep in mind that we are not just trudging through life here. Jesus said, “I’ve come to destroy the works of the devil;” and again, “I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” We are to be like Him; doing whatever we can to dispel evil and bring life abundantly, wherever we can.

When I thought about building greater vision, by looking further and further outward, I had to lay down. Remember when you were a child and laid out on the lawn? You were looking up at the sky, and you could see such a great expanse of it, right? Stand up and look straight up, and see how much of it your eyes can take in. Not very much, I found out. But when I lay down flat on my back, I can see from straight up over my head, to the horizon, to the tips of my toes. And I can see everything in that panorama….and so much more. God always has more for us than we expect. We often miss it, because our vision is limited. Sometimes, especially when things aren’t going right, you just have to lay down to get up.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Feast Like There’s No Tomorrow

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to keep a listening ear bent toward the LORD/Lord. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Those are Jesus’ words.

It is when Jesus is on the scene, that the feasting begins. This message reminds me of the hours I spent in Bible study after I first came back to the Lord. During my baby girl’s nap time I would just feast on God’s Word. I always tell people it was just as if I were sitting at Jesus’ feet, like Mary did when He visited the home of Lazarus.

This is the reason that we are to seek out time alone to study God’s Word. It’s the reason we have the privilege of prayer, and the joy of praise. It’s through these that we are able to gain more and more intimate knowledge of our LORD/Lord. It’s through that intimate knowledge that our relationship with Him grows.

This is one of my favorites by Mr. Ray Boltz. When I first heard this, what an absolute FEAST my torn and tattered soul did partake of. Thank you, Mr. Boltz. And, thank you, Jesus, for loving me so.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Feeling That Feeling

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to feel the plenty in God’s Kingdom. We are assured that the storehouses of God are filled to overflowing with all of God’s goodness. – For us!

We’re told to walk by faith, not by sight. So, that feeling of plenty is really not a feeling, but a knowing. It is a matter of changing one’s thinking from supplication to thanksgiving. I believe that when we do that, we begin to grow, not only in faith, but in relationship with God. We begin to see that there is much more to God’s supply than material blessing. There is wisdom, courage, creativity, delight, humility, inspiration, joy, knowledge, laughter, love, passion, patience, peace, power, rest, security, steadfastness, strength, talents, understanding, zeal, or excitement. This is all WEALTH! And, see how wealthy you really are?! Yeah! God’s really, really good! My whole being was changed, merely as a result of giving thanks to God each morning, instead of a to-do list. Not that we shouldn’t make our requests known to God, but we should also-and this ties in with yesterday’s post-settle it in our hearts that it’s a done deal. God answered in the beginning! When we can accept that it’s already been done for us, we can start each day with a grateful heart, and the assurance that God’s got us covered.

This is an old one, but such a good one! Thank you, Michael English and the Gatiher Family.

He’s In The Darkness

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to hold fast to our love for, and faith in, Jesus, our Lord. He’s in all the dark places we’ll ever encounter. If you think about it, He’s even in the darkness in our world. If He wasn’t, this really would be Hell on Earth, and we’d never survive it spiritually!

When I read this message, I’m reminded of Peter in prison, when the angel came and woke him up. He must have been a little groggy from sleep, because it seems the angel even had to tell him to dress and put his shoes and cloak on. See, Jesus makes sure every tiny detail is taken care of. The chains even fell off of Peter, and the prison gate opened for them all by itself. When Peter came to himself, he realized this was all really happening-and not just a vision. He said, Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me. (Acts 12:6-11) We are bid, by our Lord, to have that same knowledge; that same trust. We are bid to have full confidence in Him. That will bring us, not only faith, but great joy. Whenever I read that story about Peter, I can just see Peter stum-bumbling around that cell, trying to get dressed and out of there…and trying to figure out what was happening, I have to laugh. See, when I’m groggy from sleep, I’m a stum-bumbler too.

In another account, this one about Paul and Silas, we can see the Lord at work again. (Acts 16:19-30) By the time Jesus was finished here, the jailer got saved. Yay! See how our faith seed brings the fruit of the joy of, and in, the Lord? Paul and Silas just praised the Lord in their dark cell. Suddenly, things began to happen. God’s love is also His light for us. When we hold fast to that love, we will always find the light in the darkness; in any darkness.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

In Meekness Lies Victory

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that it is the meek who inherit the earth. Meekness is willingness to be taught, or guided/led. It is the stopping all thought, all action, and laying down our will and our understanding. It is giving ourselves over to God’s Will.

Do you know that we cannot fail when we do that? In that meekness, we gain strength, we gain knowledge, we gain courage…whatever it is you need in those moments, God’s got it for you. He can’t give it to you, though, if your hands are tightly clutching everything you know, everything you think, everything you feel. I wrote a psalm once, and one of the lines comes to mind as I read this message. “You could have left me there, in my own understanding, but you took my place for me…” When we yield our will, God can step in and do exactly that. His mind (the mind of Christ) takes the place of ours. His courage comes to your heart. His peace and faith wash over you. It is in that meekness, that our victory lies. “My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” (2Cor. 12:9) Whenever self decreases and allows God to increase, strength comes…perfectly.

This is one of my favorite songs; especially when I’m in need of laying down my will and letting God work in, and through me. Thank you, Gaither family.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu