"Infusion Of Jesus"...Wednesday

7/8/15  

I found it really interesting this past week that I have  heard the word infusion (in a Spiritual context) three times. That  really got my attention from the Lord in a way that He was telling me something very important that He wanted me to be aware of.

The word infusion means; cause to penetrate, instill,  new life, inject and ingrain. Wow! All those words  are powerful if you see it from a Heavenly perspective.

A scripture came to mind out of Ezekiel  36:26 that  says,

"And I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you; 

I will take  away the heart of stone from your flesh, 

and give you a heart of flesh."

Particularly the passage  that says "And I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you... The Lord will infuse in us a new heart and infuse in us a new Spirit which is a major infusion of Jesus. Jesus infuses, penetrates, instills, injects and ingrains new life into our hearts. He makes us come alive by His Holy Spirit infusion. He breathes His very life into us
.

I  totally come with outstretched arms and a surrendered heart, receiving a supernatural, heavenly infusion from Jesus. For He is all I need all the days of my life and He will continuously provide a bountiful supply of Him!

Infused In Christ, 

Sandy Billingham

Forever Anthem...Tuesday

7/7/15

And my God will meet all your needs 

according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

As human beings we have so many things that we love and hold close to. Perhaps it is a husband who represents the ultimate love that any woman can hope for. Or maybe it is the little persons who are the result of that afore mentioned love.Other things come into what ends up being a list of what we hold dear and are thankful f0r...friends...parents...mentors... the list goes on and on. These are the blessings we have because Our God surrounds us and gives us most of what we need. Have I forgotten anything? Possibly I have, because we come from different paradigms. What I feel I need may be different from what you feel you need. God will provide.

However, what we all need is a Savior who will be with us through thick and thin. We all have this if we reach out to Him and welcome Him in. He is the King of our hearts and souls and we should always see ourselves living for Him and in Him. Approach His throne and everything will be yours. He will give it to you in this world and the next.

Heavenly Lord, King of my heart sitting on your throne, I come to you and surrender myself into your hands to lead me and guide me now and forever more. This is my anthem of dedication to you and submission to your guidence. Amen. 

Written by

Corinne Mustafa

Living with the Unexpected....Monday

7/6/15

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," Charles Dickens wrote in 1859 as the opening line in A Tale of Two Cities. The book was well received and whenever I hear people talk about how hard and terrible things are today, in this time of economic and political struggle in our country, I think of this fantastic opening line and how in some ways things never change. I am especially comforted by the attribute of God that He is Omniscient. He knows all things.

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 (NIV)

"I have seen the burden God has laid on men.

  He has made everything beautiful in its time.

 He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; 

yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." 

When an unexpected bill, relationship challenge, or unforeseen event throws a curve ball my way, I can choose (after my initial panic) to trust God still. He is not surprised nor caught off guard.

In Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) Paul tells us who to trust and worship: 

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us” 

So, if God is able, what’s up when no answer is forthcoming? This has been a question of much discussion since the beginning of man’s relationship with our Creator and one I am not able to answer satisfactorily. At this point in my life, I am striving to accept the unexpected as an opportunity to trust Him without ‘knowing’ or even ‘understanding.' 

Not being especially gifted in the patience department, this is a stretch for me. In order to do...resting in Him… I pray and repeat scripture to give myself a focus and something to hold on to. Verses like:

1 Peter 5:6-8 (NIV)

 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” 

Truth be known, I prefer to ‘keep my ducks all in a row.’ I like the feeling of comfort I get from doing something. In my experience, the only time the unexpected is an issue is when it is not fixable by me. So when I say I am striving to trust, I mean I am literally teaching myself to rely on and accept the One who gave up His own son on the cross because He knows all things and how they will play out from the beginning to the end.

John 8:32 (NIV) 

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Dear Lord, thank You for watching over us and protecting us, even when we don't feel protected, and life is hard, we know we can hold onto You. We can choose to trust You. In Jesus name, amen.

Written by Mary M. Wilkins

Bill Withers performs "Lean on Me"

SET FREE... Sunday

Devotional for 7/5/15

This weekend our nation celebrates our declaration of freedom from British rule.  With that freedom came a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears.  It was not an easy task to break free and stand on our own.

There are many different types of freedom.  Some people are set free from slavery.  That freedom can be seen as both good and bad.  To a slave who is treated well, it might appear to be a frightening thing to be free because their needs are no longer going to be provided for by their master. But with that freedom can come many new opportunities to be in a better place in the future.  Even though it may be a struggle, it can be worth it.  Other people have been imprisoned, and when they are set free there can be similar feelings, especially if they served a very long sentence.  Sometimes freedom from what is familiar to something that is new and unknown is so frightening that people choose to remain where they are instead of being set free.  This can be seen in things like being attracted to abusive partners, or being involved in compulsive behaviors, or relapsing in addictions.  Sometimes the freedom is from something like depression.  Those who have never suffered in that way may wonder why those who are depressed can't just pull themselves out of it.  Being set free isn't always that easy.

All of us have experienced being set free in another way that is so easy, we have to do nothing to gain that freedom.  Because Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross, we have been set free from the punishment we deserved.  By that we become slaves to a new master, to Jesus and his righteousness.  In this new relationship with God we obey his teaching not to earn our freedom and salvation, but in thanks to him for already giving it to us as a free gift!  And that is true freedom - to know that we are saved by grace through faith and are his forgiven disciples.  We are set free!

Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  John 8:31-32 (NIV)

Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for your free gift of forgiveness of my sins.  Help me to follow your teachings in thanks for that freedom, and forgive me when I fall back into slavery to sin.  May that be a powerful witness to others of your grace and mercy, that they too may be set free.  In your name, Amen.

written by Jan Andersen

NEVER DISAPPOINTED 4/4 ...Saturday

 7/4/15   

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INDEPENDENCE DAY

OUR ONLY HOPE

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NEVER DISAPPOINTED 4/4                            

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for he who promised is faithful." 

Hebrews 10:23

   

  It is impossible to make it through life without some disappointments.  People disappoint us, circumstances disappoint us, broken promises disappoint us.

     There is One person who will, however, never disappoint us.  That is God.  What we must learn to do is seek God.  He is in control of every situation in the world and  in our lives.  He has already been in the future and so can be trusted to walk with us into it.  We must learn to not give up but look to God with the eyes of faith.

     In this broken world with broken people, God alone in our hope, our light, and our salvation.  His love for us to His Son, Jesus, has proven This.  He has never broken a promise.  He alone is faithful.

     Want to count on something in this world?  Cling to the cross of Jesus Christ and God's amazing grace.

Written by
Carol Steficek

Moving Forward...Friday

July 3, 2015

I know that I worry so much about things and I don’t like change one bit.  I stay in

relationships, jobs, and many other situations that are not going well, only because I am so afraid of the unknown, of what the change will bring.  I just had a telephone interview with a potential employer.  I have wanted this so badly, and then when he called me I froze…I couldn't answer the phone and I let him leave a message.  I was scared to death…but, I knew I had to call him today before 4:30; and so that I would not put it off until Monday, I sent a text to a great friend and also my niece so that I would be accountable.  They both responded with the perfect words that I needed.

So, I called and it went very well.  I think that I babble too much at times and I may be too honest, but, as my great friend Christy said…."You will feel better after you call."  And I do…before the call all I wanted to do was throw up.  I had a great conversation with him for fifty minutes.   Now the rest is in God’s hands.  As long as I do what I need to do to put one foot in front of the other to move forward with what changes I need to make in life and whatever goals I have set for myself, I will do it.  I won’t allow myself to be stopped by fear, because the reality is the simplest thing….TRUST GOD…. just as I have posted on my desk on a post it note.

Trust God and do the next thing!

I haven’t been doing that.  I have been stopping myself from moving forward with everything in my life.  I have held myself back from life by first not trusting God and second, not putting one foot in front of the other.  There is a whole big world out there of adventures and experiences to be had by me.  From this moment forward I promise myself to be better about keeping myself living in a passion filled life.  There will always be times of fear, frustration, uncertainty, sadness, changes and hurtful humans and events…but, as long as we can give it to God and then do the next thing, we will be able to be at peace in our hearts and with ourselves.  I want that!

Straining Toward the Goal

¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14 (ESV)

Written by
Kelly Dobyns

Heaven on Earth...Thursday

7/2/15

“For he is the living God  and he endures forever;

his kingdom will not be destroyed,  
his dominion will never end.

27 

He rescues and he saves;  he performs signs and wonders

    in the heavens and on the earth.

Daniel 6:26-27a

I grew up in Rhode Island not far from the ocean. Many of my childhood memories include times at the beach. The beach is my go to place when I need to chill out. I love everything about it. Today I went to the beach with my daughter and three grandchildren. That in itself was major because my daughter and her son live in Minnesota.

So I am basking at the beach taking in all that it has to offer. This is one of the heaven on earths that God has given us. I feel the spirit of God surrounding me in the midst of all this loveliness.

There are sounds to hear like the crash of waves onto the shore, or pelicans flying above cheeping as they fly above our heads in formation, and the call of the sea gulls as they dip down and up over the water looking for fish and near us in the hopes that we will drop some food for them to snag. There is the eye candy of seeing five dolphins dipping in and out of the water beyond the waves. The sounds of children and teens loving their day at the beach with screams of delight and joy.

God is all around us whether at the beach, in the mountains, in beautiful cities, and in the faces of our children and grandchildren. All of these things in one way or another according to our previous experiences. I must not forget the beauty of an ocean sunset that takes your breath away.He is everywhere, and it is only for us to recognize His work and His blessings. 



As much as I can recognize these wonderful places and sights are "heaven on earth" to us and they speak to our heart, I know that heaven is not found on earth. As wonderful as the things I have written about are, so much more awaits us in heaven. Love what you find on earth, but know that what will be yours in the Heaven awaits is so much more incredible and beautiful than any of the eye candy He gives us on earth.

Thank you God for all the glimpses you give us here on earth that are just a small indication of what we will receive when we join You for eternity......................Amen.

Written by
Corinne Mustafa