I Need a Better Brain...

Actually - I need a perfect brain...

Matthew 5:48 (NKJV)
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Here is the problem.  My mind is not perfect.  You, doubtless, need no convincing of that fact on either my behalf OR yours!  

Let's have the Word speak for Himself- and He does.  In fact, we easily relate to David's verse in Psalm 51:5 when he says, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."  After David, there is further indication this foundational reality was well-understood by the people of the Bible.  Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"  

In a sort of awful crescendo, Jesus Himself sums up the problem in Matthew 12:34/Luke 6:45 (NASB): 

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

And finally - Matthew 19:17/Mark 10:18/Luke 18:19 seals the deal:

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

What to do?

Step 1 - Come to the cross every morning.

Step 2 - Allow gratitude and praise to come forth thereby bringing the Living Christ in giving you the Mind of Jesus!

Psalms 22:3  But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Beautiful and sublime truth!  When I praise, God inhabits/dwells/sits/sets up shop in my MIND!  As this act of Divinity occurs, I receive His thoughts, His feelings, His motives.  My mind is - bit by bit - transformed physiologically underscoring the reality of Romans 12:2

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

A blissful additional benefit?  Knowing the will of God!

Thank You Jesus that I need not stumble around this decrepit world in darkness and sin.  Thank You for promising to give me the mind of Jesus!  Reveal that reality to me today....

Fasting For Deliverance & Revival - Day 21 - Revived But Not To Work...

21 Days of Prayer & Fasting ends today! January has never been such a powerful month in my life.  I'm excited to discern the blessings and guidance Jesus has for me in 2014. How about you? 

At times like these, sometimes whispers crowd our minds with thoughts like this: This is just a spiritual high, soon you will be back to 'normal'. Get ready for the yo-yo.

Perhaps different thoughts crowd in - I've been REVIVED!  Now, let me get to work!

To all the whispers, let us hold fast the words of Jesus:

Fasting & Prayer - Day 16 - Unlimited Power

Unlimited Power - Today's Theme.  January 30, 2013 in Alabama a 5-year old boy named Ethan is taken hostage - dragged off a school bus by the gunman and held in an under-ground bunker.  Horrifying.  Obviously most traumatic to his family, friends, and community.  But also to mothers of 5-year old boys everywhere.  My Timothy was 15 days from turning 5.  My sweet, happy, beautiful, prayed-for boy.

Fasting & Prayer - Day 15 - Victory In Jesus!

Victory In Jesus! - Today's Theme.  What do you think - in the secret place of your own heart:  Is Satan more powerful to tempt you to sin than Jesus is to save you from sin?  Would it be more accurate to couch the sentence this way:  I have struggled for so long to overcome ________ that I am tired and ready to give up and I don't understand why I don't have victory.

I Come to The Cross This Day...

I knew I should 'come to the cross' every day - but frankly, it just wasn't a subject that I was attracted to.  It represented pain, my failures, everything negative.  So I prayed - Lord, draw me to Your cross.

A couple of months passed.  Then I learned the really good news about the cross - there were real tangible benefits for me!  Check them out for yourself here.  Now I'm excited in the morning to come to the cross.  Join me?

Fasting For Our Prodigals - Day 14 - Clean Hands, Pure Heart

Clean Hands, Pure Heart - Today's Theme.  On Day 12, we talked about the devil's end-game.  Unlike a lot of us, he knows God's Word is truth and knows his time is short.  So, the plan is very simple - deception.  Take as many humans out as possible - thereby causing the loving Creator-God the greatest pain possible.  Do it using any means necessary to hide the matchless love of the character of  God.

Fasting & Prayer - Day 13 - Filled to Overflowing

Filled to Overflowing - Today's Theme.

Give us this day, our daily bread.

Fasting & Prayer - Day 12 - Walking In Step With Jesus

Walking In Step With Jesus - Today's Theme.  Have you considered the end-game of the devil?  Seriously.  What is it?  That's right.  He doesn't HAVE ONE.  Of all beings, He believes God's word and He KNOWS his end is coming.   We're dealing with a bunch of psychotic beings with a single intent - to take as many humans out with them as possible.  Period.  This is done through the single deception that God is not love.  That His character is harsh, demanding, punitive, anything BUT loving.  God's will is NOT done on earth as it is in heaven and that is why.

Fasting & Prayer - Day 11 - Kingdom Work First

Kingdom Work First - Today's Theme.  How do I think about heaven compared to today's living experience?  Do I compartmentalize them?  Do I say:  Heaven is gonna be great!  No more sin, temptation, no more sorrow - I can't WAIT for that!  I'm gonna be perfect there, I won't have to worry about making bad decisions or choosing the chocolate too many days in a row.  <sigh>  Now, back to reality.  (And reality - is this the best life possible?)

Fasting & Prayer - Day 9 - Children of The King

Children of The King - Today's Theme.  I am a child of the King.  Who are the other children?   Wait - is that really like the question in Luke 10 about who is 'my neighbour' in the age-old story of the Good Samaritan?

Fasting & Prayer - Day 8 - The Secret of His Power

The Secret of His Power - This is today's theme.

I had been fasting - a total fast - and my energy was spent.  My employment demanded all my mental focus and physical energy - and that was now gone.  Totally used up.  In fact, a headache was just dancing in the background.

Fasting & Prayer - Types of Fasts

There are all kinds of fasts.  Here is a good summary taken from Jentezen Franklin's 2011 Connection magazine, page 11-12. 

FULL FAST:  Drink only liquids - especially water.  On this type of fast you may also take in clear broth and 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices in order to maintain your strength.  You establish the number of days for your fast in your prayer time.

Fasting & Prayer - Day 6 - Angst...

A fast without prayer is a diet, a cleanse, a detox - but it is not spiritual fasting.  That reality hit me pretty hard.  What a fast does, however, is strip away the layers between me and God.  Pretty soon I am staring at the reality of what stands between us.  It takes my breath away.  Really.  To consider that possibly I am willing to DO anything EXCEPT settle in quietness and with intention spend time listening to God - well that is a shocking revelation.  In fact, it is the type of revelation that propels me right back towards 'DO'.  Surely there is something else I can DO?

Fasting - Day 5 - Questions...

Do you long to be really 'good' at fasting?  To be 'successful' at fasting?  We've already seen that the beauty of a fast is that any attempt we make to 'draw near' to God - He eagerly and beyond measure returns.  When we fast, we ARE successful!  And yet, sometimes the details of a fast pop up and interpose themselves between our thoughts of the closeness we are having with Jesus.

Fasting - Day 4 - Being Intentional...

God knows the heart - praise the Lord for that!  However, it seems to me that the more intentional I am about wanting to be close to God the more He wants me to see His presence specifically.  Therefore, writing with specificity comes to mind.  What does this mean?

Fasting - Day 3 - Communion Cleansing

Today is Day 3 of the fast and tonight we will be celebrating an Agape Feast at church.  I am SO excited about this.  To begin the New Year cleansed spiritually in this fashion is just such a lovely opportunity.  It gives me peace, a settled feeling of spiritual calm.  There were moments in December where I was, well - 'unlovely' is entirely too sanitized a word.  The chaos of shopping, the force of multiple schedules and engagements stressing.  While I am entirely aware that Jesus offers instant pardon and freedom from sin, there is something about returning to the ritual of communion that is powerful.

Fasting - Day 2 - What About Failure?

At its core - what is fasting?  It does not recommend me to God.  It doesn't add to a list of items that are weighed in a balance indicating I'm now 'good enough' for salvation.  It is not a 'requirement' for salvation or even for a walk with Jesus.  Fasting is a declaration before the world and the spiritual realm that I am serious and intentional about wanting closeness with my Creator.

Welcome 2014! 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer...

In May of 2013, with the desire to have heart-preparation in advance of a Bible camp I would be working at, I begin 1 week of a Daniel fast.  The fast was not even a total fast - and yet on Day 2 I found myself saying 'Things are just too crazy right now to be fasting!'.  And I stopped.  And vaguely I knew something was wrong somewhere....

Jesus' Request for Forgiveness...

Dear Jesus - We cannot even glimpse Your amazing love and forgiveness unless You give us the gift of Your Spirit.  Please give us that gift now that You may change our lives...

The other night I was puttering around idly listening as my husband read to my son from The Bible Story book for the night.  The evening's story was about the crucifixion.  The books are old.  Very old.  And very Biblically accurate.  However, something the author noted caught my ear.  I had to check it out for myself.

How Jesus Saved Me From My Television

This is just another reason why I love Jesus.  Because He delivered me from my television!  It started innocently enough...

In 2006 or so, my husband and I decided to reduce our cable expenses and only pay for the near-minimum service.  We figured all we watched was public broadcasting and the Discovery Channel anyway - so easy enough to do.  No problem.

As 2010 entered, this oh-so-slight-niggle crept into our hearts that despite our admission that we only ever watched PBS & the Discovery Channel, we really were watching too much television.  Yeah - we probably agreed with the 'niggle'...

Spring of 2011 came around - and with it?  Spring Cleaning!  Woohoo!  Craigslist here we come!  And we did.  The desk purchased with such high ambitions a few years previously, had proved to be rather a space hog.  Except - on it sat the TV and the cable box.   (And no, we didn't sell the TV, patience here!)  So - listed it on Craigslist.