Delight Thyself in the Lord...

“Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Ps 37:4

I’ve heard this scripture presented a few ways, often referring to God fulfilling our fleshly desires. That seemed great as a new Christian, until God showed me the truth a couple years ago. Delight myself in Him and He will cause my desires to be of Him and His kingdom. That really brought a whole new perspective. As 2011 came to a close, this scripture was heavy on my mind. Mostly, because I could see all the changes God has made in me. The work of the Holy Ghost has been great in my life. I am so very thankful.

The onset of 2012 is exciting and I see all the hopes and resolutions going forth. I’ve seen a lot of “This is my year,” or “This is the year of my blessing, my abundance,” and even “the year of my victory,”—and victory is great. We are sons of God and we walk victoriously, but wow, there’s a lot of me, mine, and myself going on. Don’t get me wrong, victory is something to hope for and even to be confident in. That victory, however, might not come in the way you expect it. It might not be a great job, a new house, car or money in the bank. It might be in a way you never expected. It might be in a decline of materialism so your spirit may prosper. I encourage you to not shut out God’s will by holding too tightly to your own expectations or desires. Delight yourself in the Lord and trust that He has a perfect plan according to the Spirit not the flesh.

If your trials have been many—I know 2011 has been a doozy over here!—thank God He has brought you through and know this: There are only going to be more coming your way. Maybe not the New Year’s word most want to hear, but praise God for without the trying of your faith, you cannot come forth purified as gold in the fire!

Give up your own desires and delight yourself in Jesus so He can give you the desires of your heart.

On our long ride home from Columbus the other day, I was pondering the desires of my heart. Boy, how they have changed since only a couple years ago! The first time I realized how much God had changed me was when driving by a “coffee shop”—aka:  casino—and immediately I began to pray for those inside, for the bondages of sin and addiction to be broken. Kinda surprised myself…knowing full well it was only in Jesus that this prayer came forth! But more than what God has done in and through me in the past year, past month, or even yesterday, I desire more of Him and His kingdom for each new day. These are desires that are rooted deep in my heart for 2012:

--To speak more of God’s word out of the abundance of my heart and by the power of the Spirit.

--To see people REALLY come to know and experience Jesus, His love, and salvation.

--To prayer walk 7th street in downtown Parkersburg, to break every power of darkness over the strip clubs, bars and porn shops that wrench my spirit every time I drive by.

--To see people healed—I mean really healed by the power of God.

--To see deliverance from the bondages of sin and death.

--To see demons cast out.

--To be the vessel by which Jesus does these things and by which His true, pure love flows.

I am amazed at how much God has changed my heart. I can only believe these desires have been given to me by God because I could never even think too long about these things, let alone truly desire them.

So, I hope you’ll join me in more prayer today and every new day that God gives you, less self, more Jesus, and greater obedience to the will of the Father, forsaking your own desires and expectations of what's to come. Oh, and if your local and want to hook up to do some local Jesus work, let me know. It's a war and if we're not fighting, who will? :)

Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Family or Religion?

Religion or Family?

Most of us like to say “family” yet we get stuck in the ways and hindrances of religion. Heard a great message and wanted to share my notes on some of it. I highly recommend listening to the entire message (link below). It’s a great message for everyone—from the one running the church for years to the newbie in the back pew.

You can decide for yourself if you really want a family or if you are happy with the superficial religious organization that leaves us comfortable in our flesh, but spiritually drowning.

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Family in Christ and religion are quite different.

Religion lets you show up and leave and no one cares.

Religion lets you pretend you’re doing good when no one knows that you’re not.

Family means openness, honesty, accountability.

Family means walking together through good times and hard times and ugly times.

Part of being a family means learning to receive things you don’t deserve and learning to walk in things you have not earned.

There’s no going back, only forward. We have to jump in as family—family loves each other, forgives each other, and walks with each other through hard times and mistakes. We all have problems and mistakes. In religion, we learn how NOT to share those struggles. In religion, you can go to church and do great and no one will know anything about you. 

As Christians, we are not just setting a trend for prayer or hunger for God; we are setting an example of family. No one is higher than another in the kingdom of God. No calling is more important than another’s…just different. In family we don’t have to show off. We don’t have to be more important; we don’t have to be special because we’re all special. There’s a part of family that we all have to understand: you’re just as important as the preacher.

Learning how to live in family takes time and submitting to God’s Spirit. His grace allows us to grow as a family, where the ones who are struggling get swept up and caught with the ones who are strong. There are days you may do great and weeks you may struggle, but God’s love for you does not change.

It’s easier to sit under religion because then you don’t have to be mature. Becoming a family means maturity. It means dealing with yourself. It means a commitment to praying in the Holy Ghost. It means a commitment to meditating the Word, fasting and the tools we have to help us to overcome ourselves. It takes time and it takes love.

There’s so much we have to learn about family. God wants us to sit and get comfortable in His presence as a family. Being able to sit in His presence, to love our neighbor, to do no harm to our neighbor, to learn to receive from each other, and to appreciate each other is just as important as signs and wonders and miracles. If all we do is pursue miracles, we miss out on the good stuff—holiness, character, love. God doesn’t want us to self-destruct because of lack of character or holiness. He wants us to grow as a family.

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I got so much out of this message. More than I could even write down. You can listen to it here: http://www.daveroberson.org/Media/1172/GS111003B.mp3 (I recommend listening all the way to the end).

Praising the Lord!

I just gotta praise the Lord! We’ve been going through trial after trial it seems. One extended trial we’ve been stuck in for over a month now. A financial trial. I posted about it a couple weeks ago so you may have read it. Well, my husband still has not been paid. The last regular check he received was at the end of August and he’s supposed to be paid between the 3rd & 6th of each month. So here we are…beyond the sixth yet again…and still no deposit. But you know what? I am so happy right now it’s ridiculous. Sure, we have bills and a car payment and rent and so on like everybody else, but how can I worry about something that God already told me was going to happen? I mean really? Talking about it with someone earlier and the only thing I could say was, “All we can do is trust God.” That’s it. Plain & simple.

You know what the most amazing thing is? I feel like I had a glimpse of what Paul experienced – on a very small scale in comparison – but still. Knowing what was coming through the forewarning of the Spirit, saying “OK,” and making preparations. Then tonight-- after we just paid some bills that were due knowing that we have no idea when his money is coming--I was filled with so much JOY. Ha! Doesn’t that just sound like madness? I wish you could have experienced it. If I could share the feeling I totally would. I just wanted to laugh and shout and praise God because I know that it is through this trial that we are going to see God’s awesome power manifest. What a blessing! I remember praying a while back, “Lord let my life be a testimony of your goodness and power.” I saw something not long ago that said it’s the test that brings the testimony. Well…here it is! Maybe not the way we would have planned or wished upon ourselves, but nonetheless it’s here. Exactly according to His perfect will. How can I not praise Him?!?