Hearing God’s Answers

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Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, reminds us that God’s answer to every prayer has been there from the beginning. The message tells us the answers are in eternity, awaiting our cries; that our failure to listen or heed God’s answers is what keeps us unsaved by them. Obviously, we can’t be helped by them if we don’t listen or heed them.

My own experiences with this have proven God right-naturally. Every time I don’t listen, or don’t heed, I end up being sorry for it. One day I finally figured out that I was praying for the wrong things, crying over the wrong things, and almost always in much too great a hurry to just get out of the discomfort I was being caused. It occurred to me that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to spend some time in that furnace walking with the LORD! He was the fourth one in there with them. I’ve gotten much better over the years. I still don’t like the discomfort zone. But, it sure is better than the “Twighlight zones” I’ve found myself in because I jumped out of the furnace and straight into another hell. You see, in hell your flesh just burns all the more. In the furnace, all the hell is burnt off of your flesh, and your spirit and faith become like tempered steel, gleaming and ever stronger for the fire.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Seeing Him In Yourself

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Happy Birthday, Ms. Bonnie! Praying your day is filled with all things wonderful and the coming year is your best one yet!

Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, goes hand in hand with yesterday’s message. We are reminded that we do have the perfect example in all things, at all times. We are bid to look at Jesus’ patience when we lack patience, His courage when we fear, His compassion and mercy when we are wont to turn away and turn our backs, etc. In looking at Jesus, we become more and more like Him. As we put His patience, mercy, love, peace, joy, grace, etc. into practice, our own short-falling endowments begin to disappear, and those of the higher and better way become more and more our nature.

Speaking from personal experience, it is absolute joy and such freedom within -from frustration, fear, resentment, etc., and strife in general when I walk and operate with His power working in and through me, as opposed to trying to do it in my own feeble strength. The more I grow in this, the more freedom I have in everything. “My strength is made perfect in your weakness.”

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Seek First The Kingdom

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Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, reminds us that we are never powerless, never completed depleted, and never alone. The message speaks of the imprisoned God within us needing to be released in and into the circumstances.

The first time I read this message, I thought about releasing God, Himself from within me. Some time after that, I realized, you can’t imprison God. I thought, “Now why would He say I need to release Him when He knows He can’t be imprisoned. He brought to my memory that verse in Genesis, where He tells me that I am created in His image and after His likeness. I had to laugh at myself.

What the message essentially is conveying is that, just as God is infinite and limitless, we are limitless as well. Yes, we’re in human form and subject to the limitations of human endurance in some things. But, we are creatively and spiritually limitless, and infinite as well-as long as we are living. To seek within oneself to find the hidden treasures (gifts, talents, knacks, the joy, laughter, etc. -even compassion, grace, and such are gifts at times), this is what it is to release the imprisoned God within us. He has endowed us with all we need, and then some, by creating us in His image and after His likeness. That also gives another dimension to what Jesus said to us about His being in us, and our being in Him. Everything about Him is accessible to us. I believe as we praise the Lord and enter into His Presence more and more, more and more of His being in us begins to manifest and reveal itself to us.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, October 16, 2018, 5:35 p.m.

Plenteous Begins Within

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Brrr! The mornings are becoming chilly…time to change hats.

Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, reminds us that we are children of God Most High; King of kings. We are not paupers by any means. We are abundantly wealthy beings. The message bids us to feel plenty until we become so assured of God’s abundance that we no longer fear lack, nor project it. Then, plenty will manifest itself in our beings and in our lives.

Plenty, along with everything else, begins within. The Bible tells us that we prosper even as our souls prosper. Jesus said, “Go and learn first what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” That’s a statement about the importance of spirit over flesh. The only commandment He gave was that we love one another like He loves us.

One of the most powerful things I learned was to affirm and reaffirm the statements of abundance. “I am abundantly loved and cared for. I am abundantly endowed and fitted with all things needed to be creative and prosperous within and without. I am abundantly able to do all things. I am abundantly able to find all of God’s goodness and all of His blessings for me. And, I am abundantly able and willing to help others do the same. Jesus said that He came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. When we master an attitude of abundance in spirit, mind, heart and body(strength and healthfulness), we can begin more and more to manifest the riches and richness of an abundant life. It is this attitude that empowers life.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, October 15, 2018, 10:24 a.m.

It’s All There In Christ Jesus

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Celebrating my golden birthday today: 59 years old, loving the Lord, and loving the life He gave, and continues to give me-daily. Thank you , Jesus!

Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, reminds us that life is complete and love is perfected in Christ Jesus. He said, “I’ve come that they might have life and have it abundantly.” You cannot have complete, or whole life without perfected love. Without love, life is mere existence and survival. Only when there is the love that God has ordained for us (love the LORD, your God; love your neighbor as yourself), is existence and survival changed into life. That’s illustrated in the wedding feast where Jesus turned water into wine, by the way.

So what it the completeness, wholeness, and perfection? The completeness is the vision, faith, and focus to see that God is in all and is all, and that we are in all and are all. The diversity of humankind is what makes us interesting and helpful to one another-it’s supposed to , anyway. We are to build one another up; not tear each other down. The wholeness is the courage, peace, and perseverance to find the broken places within oneself or another, or in the world, and to work to make them whole. It is to seek the good that creates goodwill toward and among all men. The vision is the glory of God manifest in heart, mind, body, and soul that empowers us to look for the best in humankind. It is what empowers us to dream, to hope, and to strive for the better ways, the higher thoughts, attitudes, and actions, and the unity of all men. The vision is what empowers us to seek, to see, and to honor the dignity and divinity of humankind as ordained by the Creator, God Almighty, Himself. When we stay on these paths in our living, we will find that oneness with God, and with one another…and we can bring into one accord everything within oneself. That’s also ordained by God-“I’m in you, you’re in me, and the Father and I are one; in you, and with you. Another reason Jesus came; to show us that very thing, oneness with the Father.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Ruler Over Many Things

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Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, reminds us that Jesus takes great joy in our faithfully doing our daily tasks; living our daily lives faithfully, and full of faith.

The message speaks to us of the parable of the talents. To the one who doubled his talents, the master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”

The lesson I learned from this some years ago, is that as you begin to be disciplined and persevere in the one or two things you can tackle right now (making the bed, cleaning the kitchen after dinner, etc.), you begin to gain insight as to how to deal with more, and things begin to fall into place more easily for you. I used those two examples because they’re pet peeves that just discombobulate me-but you know what yours are

There is a strength and confidence to be gained in persevering through to the end; in being faithful, and faithfully doing the right thing, or the required thing. Frustration gets weaker and weaker, and fearlessness becomes a robe to you. I say fearlessness because it is doubt and/or fear of rejection or failure that often prevents us from trying. Doubt and fear would keep us confused about our authority and capabilities. Sometimes the trunks so full, you need to break the load down to get it where you want it, right? Faithful over a few things soon makes us ruler over many.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Praise Releases Power

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Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, reminds us that the order of approach with God is praise first, then petition. When I first read this, I thought, “Well, naturally; God deserves a sacrifice of praise.” You would think that, wouldn’t you?

I have to laugh now, because it isn’t at all about God getting His due praise. It is about releasing the power into the circumstance, and into our spirit. You see, God inhabits the praises of His people. God and His Word are one and the same. God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light on our path. When we praise God, His Word is activated in the situation. It gives us our location in the situation, and shows us the way we need to go from there. It also puts the forces of darkness on notice, “It is written!”

God does, and always, deserve the sacrifice of praise. But, remember how Jesus said, “go first and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” The message from God Calling tells us “first right with God, and then you will be righted in the eyes of men as well.” We’re told to seek a cause for thankfulness, even in the greatest distress, and to turn, always turn to the LORD instead of away from Him. That’s because His mercy is always there for us when we turn to Him. He would rather the praise from our lips be sung or spoken with a joyful heart than out of obligation. God, Himself has said there is nothing that He needs from us; nothing we can give Him. Nothing, that is, except a joyful and loving heart in relationship with Him. That’s what He created us for. So, when we praise Him out of love with a joyful heart, we are in most intimate relationship with Him. And, all the forces of darkness are reminded that we are His sons and daughters. Remember Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness? “If you really are the son of God…” Yes, I am; as it is written! Thank you, Jesus!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, October 11, 2018, 10:28 a.m.

The Greatest and Automatic Reward

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Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, reminds us that we are to do all things as if unto the Lord. We are warned against shirking extra work, or grumbling over our work, and the like. The question is asked of us, “would you not feel ill served by such a one?”

When I put this message to practice after first reading it, I deliberated over the things I thought I needed to improve. Often, I found they were the things I did at home, or in my personal relationships and dealings. I was as ashamed as I was astonished by the realizations. As I began to deliberately take thought of how I could best serve, how I could serve better, and how much better I could serve these people, I began to see the connection between service and love. I’m not talking about emotional love. I’m speaking of agape love; God’s love. God’s love is His essence; God’s essence is His love, for He is love. So it is a determination to act in and out of love, and however it is best expressed in any given circumstance.

I found more and more ways in which to make even tiny little differences. And I began to find little joys here and there in all that I was doing; not only for my loved ones, but for anyone. The more I found to do, the more I found to do. And the more joy I found within. Pretty soon, serving with joy and going the extra step became part of who I am. Jesus, in the message from God Calling, tells us that all the blessings of serving lie at the end of the present path. -meaning, I think, whatever service we’re engaged in at the time. Blessings of plenty, of rest, of joy, and of power. That’s because it is His power working through us to both will and empower us to do His will.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

That’s How Your Love Grows

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Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, reminds us that there is treasure in every adversity, every miracle-(treasure within treasure), the ups, the downs, in every moment of every day. The treasure is God’s love and caring for us. His tender mercy and divine patience are gifts we don’t often think about. The message assures us that in all these things, our prayers to learn of Him and to love Him more are answered.

I never really gave any of that much thought until I found myself alone in the dark and in great pain. I prayed and asked God to help me through it. He did. I came away from that with a very intense knowing of His great compassion and tender grace toward us. I was very humbled. I also began to look for Him in the birds at play around the tree in the front yard, in the way the breeze caressed my skin and the sun warmed my face, and in the peace that settled over me as I washed the dishes or folded laundry. Each event brings joy bubbling up from deep within. In each little thing, one can feel His presence, His forethought, His joy in us, and His love for us. What an awesome God and wonderful Father we have!

When we take just a brief moment to seek Him in the ordinary, we find extraordinary treasures. Jesus promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him. He is, after all, in everything, and is everything. And seeking, we shall find, and find our love for Him, for ourselves, and for others growing more and more.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Weakness? Not When You Put Your Hand In the Hand…

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You can rejoice in your weakness because His strength is made perfect in you through it. The man from Galilee truly is God’s greatest blessing upon us all! Today’s message from God Calling -A.J. Russell, assures us that God does know everything going on in our lives at this very moment, and will not fail us. Yesterday’s message assures us that He cannot fail us. The two messages fit together perfectly. His heart is to cause us to be victorious over all we must deal with in this world. “I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you, and not plans to harm you,” says the LORD.

Remember Jesus told us that He has overcome the world; so we can be of good cheer. That gives me chills when I read it. It also resets my focus whenever I’m facing an adverse situation. My focus becomes fixed on the possibilities for success, rather than for failure(s) in the situation. God says, “choose life, that you might live.” Jesus is the truth, the life, and the way; and He knows we are like little children in the face of some of the things we have to witness and experience in this world.

The more closely one walks with the Lord, hand in hand the journey will be. I can’t even count all the times that nail-scarred hand has kept me from falling, or held me steady when I got weary. I have felt that tender hand on my shoulder in times when fear would have overwhelmed me. I’ve felt it on my head in blessing and reassurance to my weary mind as well. What an awesome God; what a Savior! And, Lord, what am I that you are mindful of me? That hand truly does affect your vision, your attitude, your spirit; and brings such joy. It’s also very humbling, because we are as little children to Him; such little children. Makes me grateful for His patience.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu