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

Hush, And You’ll Hear Him

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to just hush and trust the Lord. He’ gets us through the storm; and then, when it’s quiet-and we’re quieted, He will teach us His Word and Way.

I’ve proven Him on this so many times. I’ll get so worked up and upset; and then just one minute in prayer, and the storm’s gone. “Help me, Jesus; I need to pray,” I’ll say. And, when I’ve prayed, I’ll pick up my Bible, and there will be that beautiful little nugget that will stay with me from then on. This is one of my favorite songs. I hope you’ll be as blessed by it as I am. These are some folks with the Gaither family.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

For You, There Really Is No Night

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that He is the light in our darkness. We can rejoice, just like Paul and Silas, even in the darkest darkness. Isaiah 60:20 tells us that there really is not night for us. “Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease.…”

Elton John does this wonderful song; and it says it all! for me I have spent some time in darkness, and let me tell you…There is no more beautiful sight than the Lord, in your darkness. Thank you. Lord, for loving me so.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

There Is No Failure In Eternal Time

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we are operating in Eternal Standard Time. “There is no age in eternity,” says the message. Praise God! Praise God! I knew it all along! I’m 39 again, again. LOL

The message bids us not to feel pitiful; to have not pity for ourselves. Rather, keep going forward, unafraid, and joyously. We are completely quipped and completed protected by our Heavenly Father, and all the hosts of Heaven know our names. Isn’t that awesome?!

That brings me to this, from Isaiah 50:4 (ESV) – The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.

Two of the best places to get renewed and refreshed in spirit, and strengthened in faith and courage, are the Psalms and the book of Isaiah. There’s always another little nugget I find whenever I read them. That’s what Isaiah was talking about in that verse. Both Psalms and Isaiah tell us about the LORD’s love for us; of His protectiveness over us. We learn of His foreknowledge of all things; and, believe me, He’s got us!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

What You Need For It Is There

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God gives us everything we need for every task He assigns to us. We are bid to “face each difficulty sure that the wisdom and strength will be given you for it. Claim it.”

Wisdom is found all through the scriptures. Two of my favorite books are the Psalms and Proverbs. But, if you read carefully, you can learn tremendously awesome things from every book in the Bible. And, it is like that field the man found a pearl in; filled with all kinds of treasure. It’s truly worth every minute you set aside, so you can spend time digging up all the good things in that field.

Psalm 90:12 is referenced by the message: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Numbering our days is good stewardship. It has to do with scheduling; budgeting our time so that we have time to spend with the Lord.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Prayer & Praise Move Things In the Spirit

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we need to value prayer and praise much more than we do. I don’t think that we, as Christians, really fully understand the concept the Spiritual Realm. That’s what prayer and praise are given to us for. Do you know that when you pray or praise God, you are doing battle in that realm? The Holy Spirit is not the only spirit operating here on Earth. Jesus spoke about unclean spirits. There are a couple of examples, one in Luke 13:11, and another in Acts 16:16. I’m sure one can find more. Fear is also a spirit.

The message tells us that service for God is not always activity in the flesh. We’re admonished regarding a life apart filled with prayer, and told that God’s Spirit could accomplish much more if we all made a point of following this instruction. That doesn’t mean that we cease doing…the poor and hungry still need to be fed and clothed and ministered to. But I have to agree with the message here, and say that I think we could minister much more powerfully if we waited on the Lord/LORD and did some battle in the spirit through prayer and praise first.

God willing, I am recuperating from my angiogram today. Have a beautiful day! This is the song I want to share with you today:

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

You Can Be All of Them Too

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that Jesus is all things to all men. He meets each and every one of us at our deepest and immediate needs. Did you need a comforter when you came seeking Him? He came as a comforter to you. Did you need strength? He came as your strength. Whatever it is, He fills the need. He is in all and is all. (Ephesians 4:6) Yes, He is; He said when we we’ve seen Him, we’ve seen the Father, right? So, we are encouraged to see Him and His provision in each and every need of our own.

“The weak need My Strength. The strong need My Tenderness. The tempted and fallen need My Salvation. The righteous need My Pity for sinners. The lonely need a Friend. The fighters need a Leader.” – direct quote from the message. Have you ever had to be strong for a friend or family member? Have you ever hugged someone that needed to be hugged so very much? How about being salvation to someone who’s had too much to drink or who is too ill or otherwise able to help themselves? You were that to the man who fell on the street and needed someone to stay with him until the ambulance arrived. Did you know that? I don’t like the word pity; I prefer grace and compassion. Sometimes that’s the hardest one, isn’t it? No judging, just loving them anyway and walking it out with them. I think you get the picture. You are so very much more to those around you than you realize at times. Don’t ever sell yourself short, because wait until Jesus shows you in Heaven all you were to the world you live in. And believe me, it does multiply like those fishes and loaves. Don’t be afraid to reach out, and never think you have nothing to give, or nothing of value to share. God put it all within you.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Patience, Indeed, It’s Divine

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that we must be as disciplined about developing and practicing patience as we are about everything else.

We’re told that we must also be patient with ourselves. Sometimes that’s a hard thing, isn’t it? I often got frustrated with myself if it didn’t go right, or I wasn’t getting it done as quickly as I wanted to. I have learned patience. I have to admit that it felt so very strange to just put it up and walk away for a minute or the rest of the day, and feel perfectly o.k. about it.

I’ve also gotten quite a bit better at not setting myself up to be frustrated. By that I mean that if I know the line’s going to be a long one, I will make a point of arriving later so I won’t have to wait so long. I think that’s part of cultivating patience; good planning to accommodate that Murphy’s Law thing.

It certainly does help to kind of take an inventory of the things that frustrate you, and make some little tweaks to routine and such, in order to be less frustrated. Patience is empowered by foresight, I think. As for those unforeseen events…the person in front of you who is walking very slowly because he/she is disabled, the new checkout clerk who’s still learning, even the surly guy in the breakfast line with the bad attitude…well, that’s when you have to step back and let your Jesus out. He’s the compassionate one at 7:30 a.m. when I’m still waiting for my coffee. Thankfully, He’s usually right on time with the mercy and grace in those situations.

When we put all these things together, it’s easier to cultivate and manifest patience in our daily lives. It’s well worth the effort, and oh, some of the best laughs I’ve had came from being patient in a situation.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu