Woes To Be On Guard Against

This week I’ll be spending some time in Matthew:23-1-28. These scriptures cover the “woe unto you Pharisees and Scribes” sermon that Jesus preached. If we look at each one of the woes, we can see how they can get in our way, and also cause us to put them in others’ way. In effect, they become stumbling blocks for us and those in whose lives we are closely involved. This would include loved ones, friends, students, co-workers, anyone we minister to, essentially. Today’s lesson covers Matt.23-4, and Matt. 23:11-12. Again, I am reading and quoting from the ESV.

(Matt. 23:4) “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” -This speaks to me of guilt and shame, and of victim mentality and low self-esteem. We can create these in our loved ones, and especially our children, when we constantly “catch” them doing wrong, complain constantly because they’re not doing stuff right, or as well as we want them done, and when we do not take the time to communicate clearly what we do want. Communication includes showing and helping that person to understand and practice doing it correctly. Don’t forget “thank you”, and a “good job,” when they do get it right.

We can also create that low self-esteem and such within ourselves when we don’t let go and let God. The Bible tells us that the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him. (1John 1:9) God also promises that He will remember our sins no more. (Heb. 10:17) Confess/admit it and quit it. Then, get up, dust yourself off, and leave it behind you. Press on toward your victory. (Philippians 3:13)

(Matt. 23:11-12) “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” First, the greatest among us is Jesus Christ, our Lord. He said, “…the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:25-28) This is a cue to us to humble ourselves within from the position of parent, boss, master/teacher, etc. to brother/sister in Christ. We all are one in Christ; God’s children. (Gal. 3:28) God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34) It’s also a pre-requisite to receiving from God. If you don’t humble yourself to acknowledging your sin, weakness, pain, etc., and asking for help, you cannot rise above it or overcome it. When we do humble ourselves, God is faithful to help us to rise above it, to overcome it. Then, we are exalted above that thing, because the victory over it is our glory.

If some of these seem to be a little redundant, I’m not meaning to be. I’m trying to find and link all the scriptures that correlate to one another, to help us get a clear and strong understanding of God’s Word and power to help us overcome all adversity and recover our lives-as He means for us to live. Hopefully, when you put them all together, a powerful aid to recovery and victory is exactly what you’ll have.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Saturday Silly – April 24, 2021

Hmm…on this day, in 1908, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Murdock became the first to travel across the country in a car. They traveled in a Packard, from LA to New York City. It took them 32 days, 5 hours and 25 minutes. Today is also Pig in a blanket day. What does one have to do with the other? Well, as I’ve said before, I’m an Army brat, and my family did some travelling. I was just thinking, and thanking God, I didn’t have to spend more than, oh, probably seven or eight days on the road with my brother and four sisters…the little pigs in a blanket. LOL And, speaking of pets, we traveled from Virginia to Montana with a poodle and a parakeet-all in that old station wagon. Now, can you imagine doing that in this old Packard? It’s a 1908 Packard Model 30. OMG! That box on the back is NOT big enough to put a kid in! Thank God for whoever invented the trunk. I never did go back and find the sandal I lost on that trip.

This pic is from classicdriver.com. Thanks to them for sharing. I love old cars, by the way!

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

Yes, But Spend It Wisely

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that money is meant to be used. Like everything else, we get to choose how we use it. We, as children of God, are encouraged to give, give, and give some more; keeping ever an “empty vessel.” This should be our attitude in regard to all the wealth we have; not just about money.

First, let me say this about money: Money is not the wealth. The wealth is the wisdom and integrity with which we use the money. I believe, in being encouraged to keep an empty vessel for God to use, we’re being told to always be ready for God to use us. Don’t get so filled up with yourself and all your stuff that you have going on, that God doesn’t fit in there. You don’t want things to be so tight that God can’t get a plan in edgewise, right? Yeah. That means budget some of that money especially for doing God’s work. That takes us a little beyond the tithe, which is for use in the upkeep of God’s House. God wants to reach every heart He can, and He has told us that His plans are to prosper us. When He prospers us, we are better able to prosper the Kingdom of Heaven, by reaching out to others. Think of that business idea you’ve got. When that comes to fruition, think of the jobs you can create, the people you can help, and the people that might be reached for God…all because of your obedience and faithfulness.

Love you from Cafe 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

Break Through The Bars

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, speaks to us of the imprisoned God. Praise, we’re told again, brings God on the scene. Praise opens the doors to the throne room of God, giving us a glimpse of who He is, who we are in Him, and all that He has put inside of us. I hope you’ll read the message for yourselves at twolisteners.org -this is one we all need from time to time.

When I read the message, this scripture comes to mind: “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12) We often don’t reach our full potential in things because we’ve imprisoned the son of God within us. I’m not talking about Jesus; I’m talking about you and me. Although, we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We’re created in God’s image and after His likeness. That means we can be awesome when we’re working with God, instead of against Him. (Psalm 139: 13) tells us: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” God knows each and every one of us, our strengths, weaknesses, gifts, favorite things, things we don’t like, etc. He knows us intimately; even better than we know ourselves.

Here’s where that fallow ground comes in. Quite often we are, from birth, guided and led, coaxed and cajoled, and yes, often coerced into becoming people we really don’t want to be. We end up becoming people pleasers, suffering from anxieties, harboring resentments , and living bitter and unfulfilled lives. We spend most of our lives trying to become someone else’s version of awesome. When we sow righteousness for ourselves, we’re sowing God’s thoughts about us, and His Word to us into our hearts. We reap His steadfast love within us. We grow in His love for us, and we learn to love ourselves like He does. The Word of God, and His love will even break up all that fallow ground (hard, unplowed), if and when you can’t do it yourself. Breaking it up involves tearing down the strongholds and wrong attitudes and thoughts that we’ve been fed. Then, God can come in and rain righeousness on us.

Here’s a short list of some bars that surround us and keep us locked away from our full potential: “You’re never going to amount to anything.” “You can’t do anything right.” “Your brother’s/sister’s the smart one.” “I don’t know why I bother; nobody cares anyway.” “It’s too late in my life.” “I’m too old, young, shy, stupid, fill in the blank.” Are you getting the picture? These all come back to that fallow ground; to the lies we’ve allowed to be covered over, and allowed our potential to be packed down under.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Preparing The Soil

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to spend more time preparing the soil. Jeremiah 4:3 tells us to break up our fallow ground and don’t sow among thorns.

There are two things that come to mind when I read this scripture. First, fallow ground is unplowed. That means the seed won’t get into the soil because the ground is unpenetrable. If the seed doesn’t get into the soil, it doesn’t get the nourishment required for it to take root and grow. It will just lie on the surface of the ground and be blown away by the wind, or scorched by the sun. It’s important to create the right environment; one that will promote growth and success. This works in every aspect of life; breaking generational curses included. Secondly, we’re told not to sow among thorns. Those thorns represent nay-sayers, or unbelievers, those that keep pulling us back into destructive ways and things, etc. This, also, is very important when we’re breaking generational curses off, and/or breaking bonds of addictions and dysfunctions.

When we spend time preparing the soil, we’re sure to reap the blessings we were ordained to reap.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu