faith – Page 3 – A Grateful Grace-full Life

Waiting. Hoping. Expecting.

He is God, He is faithful, and He is unfailing. He is good and His mercies endure forever. That’s why I/we can and must believe, wait, hope and expect the Lord.

Wave Walkers

Last weekend I attended a women’s event at Crossfire Church. My dear friend, Pastor Judy Hemmila and her daughter, Tammy Trent spoke.

God knew I needed it, and he met me there. I am being very transparent in writing this, in hopes that someone else will read this and be encouraged.

I had recently received news about my husband’s health, and honestly I was struggling to continue to stand in faith. It will be 5 years in November since he became ill. Through prayer and faith he gained back much of what had been lost, but this news from the doctor made my heart ache. I was shook up thinking of what things were like 5 years ago and not wanting to go through it again.

So, back to the meeting, and what helped me to regain hope.

The message: Wave Walkers

“Peter shouted out, “Lord, if it’s really you, then have me join you on the water!” “Come and join me,” Jesus replied. So Peter stepped out onto the water and began to walk toward Jesus. But when he realized how high the waves were, he became frightened and started to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he cried out. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and lifted him up and said, “What little faith you have! Why would you let doubt win?” And the very moment they both stepped into the boat, the raging wind ceased.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭28‬-‭32‬ ‭TPT‬‬

“Do not yield to fear, for I am always near. Never turn your gaze from me, for I am your faithful God. I will infuse you with my strength and help you in every situation. I will hold you firmly with my victorious right hand.’ I am Yahweh, your mighty God! I grip your right hand and won’t let you go! I whisper to you: ‘Don’t be afraid; I am here to help you!’”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬, ‭13‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Tammy shared:

God was there…and is now.
Never mistake your numbness for his absence.
Stay anchored. Keep going back to the Word, what he as promised, what he has done.
He is the way out.
His intentions are good.
We need his blueprint and his vision. His Direction – Deut 2:3.; He is doing something new – Isa. 43:18-19; His promises are Yes and Amen – 2 Cor 1:20

Judy shared:

What are you rooted in that will help you weather the storm?
Where are we right now in the waters of life – head above? Or below? He keeps us from drowning.
Stay focused on Jesus! With Him all things are possible.
Don’t let your reasoning block you from experiencing the will of God.
Doubt is a friend to unbelief.
Let’s stop looking at what is pulling us down. And look at what is pulling us us up — the Word. (My add – the Living Word, He is Jesus, who loves me unconditionally, who NEVER leaves or forsakes me.)

I know they said much more, but these are the words that reached in and pulled me up, back into the place where I could once again breathe the air of faith.

Their words of faith, and both Judy’s and Linda’s prayers helped me to regain hope, faith, and trust in who He is always – a faithful God.

If you are struggling today, I speak the name of Jesus over you. Close your eyes and whisper His name. As you do I pray that you will sense His presence, reach out to Him and let Him fill you with the peace that only He can give. Know that He loves you, sees you, and cares deeply for you.

All Scripture quotations are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

Every Day I Will…

I WILL extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever [with grateful, affectionate praise]. Every day [with its new reasons] will I bless You [affectionately and gratefully praise You]; yes, I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Psalm 145:1-2 AMPC

It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.
The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.

Lamentations 3:22, 24 AMPC

Let these scriptures permeate your soul today, and give Him praise. HE IS LOVE, and oh how He loves YOU and me!

Faith’s Gift

I am sure you’ll be blessed by reading about Faith’s Gift. I am republishing it with permission of the author, who is a dear friend that I met while in Israel in 2019. Lori wrote a series of books that get right to the heart, I’m sure you’ll enjoy those, too. You can find them through https://wor dscroll.org/ or https://nationofwomenpublishing.com/.

Faith’s Gift

https://wordscroll.org/

One American Praying for Israel

I am one among many American Christians praying for Israel.

Will you please join me in praying concerning Israel, its people, leaders, and the IDF (Israel Defense Force) — and against the enemy’s plans?

Father, I call for your angel armies to be released for the safety/protection of Am (the people) and Eretz (the land) Israel. Strengthen and give godly wisdom, insight, and understanding to their leaders, and hearts to hear and heed Your will. Grant unto them grace, help, and victory.

I cancel every assignment and plan by the enemy for harm, I command them to be exposed and undone now! All funding dries up now, and any assistance of the enemy from the inside is exposed, confused, and ineffective. I decree equipment fails, guns jam, and the fear of the Lord falls upon the enemy!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

In writing this, I am reminded of:

Proverbs 16:6 KJV
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: And by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Luke 1:67, 69-75 KJV (the declaration of Zacharias, the Father of John the Baptist)
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied, saying,
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

How thankful I am for prayer! For a God who is faithful, who hears and answers, and whose Word reveals His grace, mercy, and His will!

Immersed in the Word, Worshipping Jesus, Reconnecting with Precious Friends

I am spending this week at Southwest Believer’s Convention. If you want to be encouraged, build your faith, and more, I invite you to join me either in person or online. It’s free and a great way to refresh your faith.

You can learn more at https://swbc.kcm.org/

God loves you, I love you, and Jesus is Lord!

I Hear The Lord Saying, I will

Trust Him, He Hears, He Saves

Under pressure? Busy? Wondering about all the things going on in our world today?

Stop for a few minutes, be quiet, rest, read His Word. Pray. Oh, how He loves you. Trust Him.

The Lord alone is our radiant hope and we trust in him with all our hearts. His wraparound presence will strengthen us.

As we trust, we rejoice with an uncontained joy flowing from Yahweh!

Let your love and steadfast kindness overshadow us continually, for we trust, and we wait upon you.

Even when bad things happen to the good and godly ones, the Lord will save them and not let them be defeated by what they face.

Psalms 33:20-22 TPT‬

Yet when holy lovers of God cry out to him with all their hearts, the Lord will hear them and come to rescue them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to all whose hearts are crushed by pain, and he is always ready to restore the repentant one.

Psalm 34:17-19 TPT

Jerusalem Day Memories

I enjoyed watching the dancing and singing taking place today in Israel (on Facebook) in celebration of Yom Yerushalayim – Jersulsalem Day. I was reminded of my trip there 5 years ago. I was blessed to be in the old city on Jerusalem Day then, and I took this short video of some young men in their way to Ha Kotel – better known to us,as The Wailing Wall.

As I reflect on this tonight, my prayers as always with and for God’s people and His land. And I am grateful fhat:

‭Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.
Psalm 121:4 NLT

I am learning some Hebrew through a free class on Facebook, so let me practice a bit on you.

Yom Yerushalayim Sameach, which means Happy Jerusalem Day. And laila tov, which means good night.

I pray you will receive and take hold of these words from Psalm 3:

[But in the depths of my heart, I truly know that you, Yahweh, have become my Shield; You take me and surround me with yourself. Your glory covers me continually. You lift high my head. [4] I have cried out to you, Yahweh, from your holy presence. You send me a Father’s help. Pause in his presence [5] So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby— then I’ll awake in safety, for you surround me with your glory.

Update from the Little Brown Dog – Jackson’s 1st Ribbon.

At 9 1/2 months Jackson completed day 1 of the HRC (Hunting Retrievers Club) Started Hunt Test on May 11. Day 2 didn’t go as well when he couldn’t locate duck #2, No worries though, he will be in his next event this weekend, after another week of training. He is a happy pup who enjoys swimming and has a drive to hunt.

I am looking forward to the event, and to having him home in a few weeks. However, I am grateful for the training he has received. It has given him a good foundation and will help him be more obedient and in tune with the desires of his master.

Good training, it certainly applies to me/us too. I am so grateful for the training of the written Word of God and the teachers God has brought into my life. I need to reinforce it and keep learning every day.

‭2 Timothy 3 14-17 AMPC‬
But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word, we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

Miracles for Two Women

Luke chapter 1 includes the powerful, miraculous stories of two women and Moms-to-be. What they have in common is their belief in God, that He will fulfill his promises.

We can have that in common too!

What things has the Lord spoken to you? Put yourself as the “she” in this verse. Be encouraged, believe that He is who He says He is and will do what He said He will do.

‭Luke 1:45 TPT‬
Great favor rests upon you, for you have believed every word spoken to you from the Lord.”

‭Luke 1:45 AMPC‬
And blessed (happy, to be envied) is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord.

Because His Heart Was Focused

The Little Brown Dog at 6 Months

Jackson reached 6 months old on January 28, and wow, has he grown! He is long and sturdy, and at a bit over 30 lbs is getting to be quite a lap full! His fur has gone from wavy to downright curly, and his adult teeth have grown in.

Play is still a big part of his day, catching balls and playing with Oliver. But there is also more time spent now just hanging out and chewing on antlers.

He hasn’t attempted the basement steps yet — which is more than OK with me, but he is well able to jump up on furniture. As you can imagine, this is an opportunity for learning and discipline.

Jackson’s adult teeth have had a big impact on his toy selection. About a dozen toys that made it through Oliver have been thrown out, and even “extreme chewer” toys are no match for those teeth.

Jackson is soft-hearted and wants to please, but also a bit willful and stubborn. Next month, he will go to a trainer for obedience and bird hunting training. I feel a bit like I am sending him to military school, but I know it is for his good. An undisciplined dog can be a danger to itself and others. An obedient dog trusts his master, responds to his commands, is safer, and has a more enjoyable life.

This made me think of Hebrews 12. It says that God’s discipline isn’t always enjoyable, but it is evidence of His faithful love.

‭‭Hebrews 12:6-7 TPT‬‬
For the Lord’s training of your life is the evidence of his faithful love. And when he draws you to himself, it proves you are his delightful child.” Fully embrace God’s correction as part of your training, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children. For who has ever heard of a child who never had to be corrected?

Let this Saturate Your Heart

I am reading, Some Days You Dance, by Vikki Burke. It is really ministering to me. I wanted to share it with you, so I contacted Vikki and she graciously agreed to ket me share a bit.

Let this sink in, my friend. Think about it until it saturates your heart. God doesn’t love us in spite of ourselves. He loves us because He knows who we were truly created to be. He loves us because He can look beyond the temporary effects of sin and see us through His plan of redemption, restored to our original condition, crowned with glory and honor, exact duplicates of Himself with whom He can walk and talk and fellowship on His own level.

Even before we were born again, God saw in us the children He always dreamed of. He saw in us the most magnificent, God-like beings ever created; men and women so divine that on the day God made them, all of heaven caught its breath in awe.

Wow! I don’t think I have ever heard it said better. I’ve read and thought about it several times, and I am working to “saturate my heart” with it, as Vikki recommends. And, I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book.

Interested? You can purchase it and her other books from DennisBurke.org, on Amazon, or from a number of websites that sell books.

As it says in Ephesians 1:4 (TPT),

‭‭And in love, he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.

Oh how He loves you and me!

Hiding in His Faithfulness

In good times, in hard times, at all times, we must hold fast to His promises. Trust in His love, and cast all of our cares upon the One who cares for us. He knows us best, and His love for us never fails.

I pray you will receive and hide His Word in your heart and hide yourselves in His faithful heart.

Oh how He loves you and me!