Simply Put

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 116. It’s one that reminds us to just stand up and tell the truth. Simply put, “Get real,” it says. LOL I want to focus on verses 5-7, but I hope you’ll read the entire psalm for yourselves. It’s a good check point.

“Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.”

Did you get that part about God being righteous and merciful? The one reason we’re afraid to get real with Him, I think, is because we don’t get that. God always judges rightly. He sees our hearts. God is always merciful. It may not seem like it when the stuff hits the fan in your life. but God is always merciful. All that stuff is what you’re reaping from something you’ve sown. Even then, God is merciful to us and deals bountifully with us. He gives us the strength to get through it, and the wisdom to learn from it, if we allow Him to. That’s where that “get real,” thing comes in. You can’t play games with God; He knows everything! So, if you’re not fooling Jesus, who are you fooling? That’s right; you’re fooling yourself. I’m speaking from personal experience. It works so much better and so much faster when you just get real; with Him, and with yourself. Then, your soul can be at rest (peace) to learn, correct, and overcome that thing that got you. Before you know it, the mess is cleaned up, God loves you and has you loving yourself even more than you did back then, and it’s all good. LOL

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

The Torn Veils

Today’s (12/06/20) message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that the way to conquer temptation is to see it as temptation.

As I read this message, I thought about Jesus, Satan, and three veils. I did a study on the veils recently. One veil is the one Satan wraps sin in, or covers our eyes with, to obscure the truth. He did this with Eve in the garden of Eden, when he told her that God knew she would be like Him when she ate of the fruit. Eve was already like God. She was created in His image; after His likeness. (Genesis 3:5) Jesus unveils our eyes so that we can see, not only the truth about the sin, but the truth about how to overcome it. (Luke 4:18) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed..” Through Him we have recovery of sight. When the temple veil was torn, it became possible for us to realize God’s glory, or divine nature, power, and authority, and ours, in Christ Jesus. Before that, God had to veil our faces so that we would not die when we saw His glory. (Exodus 33:17-22) (Luke 24:26) “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Heb. 12:1-2) “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:18-29)

Temptation always comes with a veil. It will wrap the sin to make it appealing, and will obscure your vision, so you can’t see the truth clearly. I’m not talking about that 3 cookie break while you’re on your diet. Although, if you’re not careful, that can lead you right down to bondage. But, you’d be surprised how much you can learn about your enemy (Satan) when you look more closely at what’s behind the veil.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

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

And Destroy Them, He Will

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that there is very real activity going on in the Spirit realm. That’s why Jesus made it possible for us to have the very real and powerful force of God’s love within our spirit. He is called the Holy Spirit. The message if a very powerful, sobering, and encouraging one. I hope you’ll read it for yourselves at twolisteners.org

“How could they (the forces of evil, the world, and even Jesus’ followers) know that my (Jesus’) spirit was free, unbroken, unharmed?” -quoting directly from the message at twolisteners.org That’s a good question, isn’t it? There’s a powerful revelation about the separation of spirit and body. In (John 4:23), Jesus told the woman at the well that God wants those who worship Him to worship in spirit and in truth. Everything happens in the spirit first. Just like wherever you let your mind wander, you’ll be sure to follow, the same happens in spirit – unless and until you allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, direct, teach, admonish, etc. you. (Matt. 2:41) tells us the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

How do we get and keep that unbroken, unharmed, and free spirit? We set our hearts and minds on the things above. (Colossians 3:1-3) Then, we make a decision to keep our focus on those things. Here’s a powerful statement about your authority and power over every tribulation, trial, and terror; over all the world: “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.” (John 3:31) Those are Jesus’ words. When we think in Godly terms, we can speak and act as our LORD/Lord would. There is no force of evil, not one, that can prevail against the Word of God! Even when, to the world, it looks like it’s all over for you, but the crying, God’s got you! Ultimately, it will always be God’s will that prevails-whether this time or some other time. What I mean by that is that God isn’t a bully, and He won’t force His will on you. But, sooner of later, He will make you see clearly that you aren’t in His will. And, He’ll be right there when you repent. As for the world, and the forces of evil, we needn’t worry about either one; because God’s in control. Jesus said, “In the world, you’ll have tribulation; but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) As for the powers and authorities (principalities, hosts of spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places-in the spirit realm) “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15)

Happy Birthday, Joe! May your day be filled with all things wonderful!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

He Doesn’t Need To Hear It…

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that your heart’s cry is heard over everything in Heaven. Is that an awesome revelation about God’s love? I have to say thank you for that! Thank you, Jesus!

When I think about this in terms of generational curses, I think of Jesus’ words, “But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21-22) What does that have to do with a voiceless cry? Well, when you see that child that just spilled the milk, or just set the toaster on fire, or just filled the tub with the entire box of detergent, and every piece of clothing he could get his beautiful little hands on, does your heart go out to him/her? How could you not be hurting for that frightened child, and want to rush in to save him/her? How could you not fall absolutely head over heels in love with that little helper, and praise him for his little heart?

God responds to us in exactly that way. He looks at our hearts, and He knows our hearts. He also knows that the enemy’s greatest weapon, and his favorite one, is fear. It is never God’s intention to inspire fear in us; never! When God speaks to us about punishment; it is because we are about to reap what we have sown. When God admonishes us, it is always with the intention of getting us to repent and correct our behavior. And, God is always right there, ready, and so very willing to help us get up and back into right standing; to overcome whatever it might be. The admonishment of the Lord, (Eph. 6:4) saves us from our fear and frustration, and empowers us with instruction and training, to overcome the obstacle between us and growth, or progress.

This works when you’re retraining that wounded child within you, as well. That ties in with those powers I talked about a couple of days ago -the power of laughter, patience, protectiveness, etc. God never sees us as failures. He always sees us as victorious; because, in Christ Jesus, we are-in everything!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

He Can Clear The Blockages

I said that to say this…

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that self kills power. When we operate in the wrong spirit, we block the Holy Spirit. Operating in the wrong spirit includes things like anger, fear, frustration, greed –this includes those attention grabbers, etc. This is all the flesh trying to be in control.

I anagrammed the word “SELFISH” once. It comes to this: FLESH IS – SELFISH, or SELFISH – IS FLESH. I recall many holidays spent sort of like Sadie’s Granny…family gatherings are the perfect setup for the flesh to get in the way of the spirit. In terms of generational curses, they’re also the perfect excuse for the addict, the alcoholic, the people pleaser, the person who just can’t be pleased, the fixer, and the martyr; just to name a few. The stage is set as soon as the invitations go out, and the “play” begins as soon as the first guest walks through the door.

When we let God work in us, and through us, we can begin to see how all the players are connected. We can begin to see the connections we, as individuals have to the alcohol, the drugs, the fear, the frustration, etc. God’s love empowers us to overcome the fear of seeing the truth(s) within. When we can do that, we overcome the fear of seeing the truths in our little world(s). The connections can be clearly seen.

I used to drink to excess out of anger, frustration, and pain. Of course, I never saw the connections between my excessive use of alcohol and the consequences of losing control. I saw those things as separate events-before I was able to look at the truth. When we become able to see the truth(s) and make the connections between our emotions, our behaviors, and the consequences, changes can begin to happen. We become empowered to recognize triggers (emotions), make better choices (behaviors), and have better consequences (peace, progress, power). Don’t forget the joy, joy, joy! That’s what life should be; joyous, even in the midst of the storms.

When we can come to the point where the Holy Spirit can flow through us, we can truly become powerful forces to help others rise up out of those pits of generational curses. I’ve been able, for some time now, to laugh at the spirit of those old “drunken sweet potato” holidays. But before I was able to make the connections, there were a lot of tears, and some horrendous encounters with my flesh.

Happy Birthday, Katrina! I hope your day was blessed with all things beautiful. I know it’s coming a day late for you, but I’m going to try to get back on track with this stuff.

Love you from Café 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

Make Every Day One Of Increase

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to run to God when our faith fails us. We are reminded of the man whose son had an evil spirit. He asked Jesus to help him, if He could. “If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” That’s when the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:17-24)

There’s a passage in the message that gives us a little insight into faith. It tells us that as we get to know Jesus more and more, our faith grows. It works that way in any relationship. At the same time, as our faith grows, we are more aware of what we lack in the way of faith. We also become aware of more ways in which we fall short of walking in power. I’m talking about overcoming power and effectiveness.

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. (1 Chronicles 4:10) This scripture speaks to me of the territory within. That’s where it all begins. Whenever there’s a revelation that leads us to repentance, to correction, to courage, etc., that territory within is enlarged. That territory within is the Kingdom of Heaven, or your heart for God. Spending time with God daily, and in His Word, helps to build the relationship with Him. This is where we can take that shortcoming, that thing that we just can’t get past, or even that thing we’re wanting to learn to do, and get the territory enlarged.

When we’re dealing with problem behavior, or other things we’re trying to overcome in ourselves, we surely don’t want to suffer any harm in the process, right? God is abounding in steadfast love; and His mercy and grace are always sufficient to accomplish the victory, without doing you harm. The pain we may feel actually comes from the flesh not wanting to go along with the Spirit. You know; the scale says skip the lasagna and go for the salad, so you do…and what comes by on the dessert cart? Tiramisu! “Jesus! You said this wouldn’t hurt!” “Oh, wait; Satan, get behind me!” “Sorry, Lord.” Now, you pray for the willpower to skip that dessert. Jesus sends it, you walk out triumphant, and the next time that Tiramisu comes to entice you, you’re not even phased. Ha!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Make Them Empowering Ones

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that it is negativity, fear inspiring things and words, and harshness that create distance between us and God, and us and others.

Spirit knows no distance in terms of miles, because Spirit can transcend any number of miles instantly. An example of this is those greeting cards we send and receive. Don’t you almost feel the hugs and kisses from those loved ones when you receive them? And isn’t your heart aglow with love and joy when you send them? See? You’re transcending the miles.

The way we change negative thoughts, words, attitudes, is to replace them with love inspired ones. God always seeks to empower us to overcome adversity, fear, impossibility. We need to do the same. We’re told to lift one another up and encourage each other. When we do this, we truly can overcome the world, just as Jesus did. The trick is to stop and think first. I’m so weak in this area sometimes! But, thank the Lord, He’s patient, and empowering. He always leads me to the right scriptures and gets me back on track. When it isn’t an “in the heat of the moment thing,” I’ve been making lists. I write down what I’m feeling, thinking, what my attitude is. Then I write down the opposites, or the empowering attitude, feeling, or thoughts. How do I bring love and life into this? I ask myself that question, and go from there. God always shows me the way. I’m reminded of the little boy with the few fishes and loaves. He put them in Jesus’ hands, and thousands were fed. That’s a powerful revelation about how much of an impact we can make, too.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu