Albany got hit hard last week with ICE. The city looked like someone took a hose and watered down neighborhoods, tree’s, power lines, cars, etc and then everything instantly froze.

I awoke to an ice covered car and driveway. As I drove into work I noticed many tree’s down and branches everywhere…once I got to work, I overheard people saying that they lost power. I was blessed to have had my power stay on.

Later on, as I drove to my aunts house, I was amazed at what I saw in her neighborhood. HUGE trees were down…totally uprooted and on their sides. I am talking HUGE, old trees. FROM ICE????

I was shocked.

It baffled me that such big trees could be destroyed, not by wind or lightening, not even by something as powerful as a natural disaster (tornado, hurricane, etc), but by ICE..the same stuff that we can keep in our freezers. WOW..the revelation that God gave me was amazing…

Just like the ice that covered the tree’s and destroyed them…even though they were rooted in the ground and strong…standing tall just moments beforehand… is like the ice that can so quickly be around our hearts. Walls of ice that can come from anger, resentment, bitterness, jealousy, rejection, etc.

How many of you know that these walls of ice…can easily tear us down too? Even though we may be “big strong tree’s”, having been rooted in Christ for years…doesn’t mean that offenses don’t come or that people don’t build walls, even unknowingly sometimes.

I believe God was telling me to be careful of not having a cold heart towards him. The business of the holiday season, along with other things, has really gotten the best of me lately..and I had to repent to God for not allowing him to hold me, like he wants to. I’ve been running so much…not intentionally…well, sometimes…but just because let’s face it, sometimes it is easier to run than to deal with the problems. In reality though, this time around, I have honestly just been BUSY. I am not running from anything right now…I just haven’t taken a time out…and it has been playing a toll on my Faith.

God doesn’t want us running rampant. He says, “Be STILL and know that I am God.”

A cold heart can stem from many different things, but ultimately it is our own fault for letting it grow cold in the first place.

The bible says, “draw near to me and I will draw near to you.” We need to step out in Faith…embrace our lover, as we feel him embrace us. Jesus wants to melt that ice away today…let him be the SON that melts your cares away.

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

"Silent night...holy night...all is calm, all is bright..."


In the song "Silent night", it speaks of Jesus as being "tender and mild". Yes, amen..he is tender and loving and mild and gentle..and all that sweet stuff...but he is ALSO POWERFUL!


In this blog, I want to speak of the resurrected Christ.


I love the song by Misty Edwards that says, "He's not a baby in the manger anymore, he's not a broken man on the cross, he didn't stay in the grave and he's not staying in heaven forever!"
If this song doesn't speak of the Jesus that lives in you and me, I don't know what does.


I was contemplating on what I would write in this blog lately and I went to a women's breakfast at a friends church this weekend and found that the Pastor was speaking on this very thing. About how Jesus is not in the manger anymore! Yes, we can imagine him in the manger and Praise God how he sent Jesus to us that wonderful morning, but we need to visualize him where he is now in order to live the life that he created for us!


Today....the manger is empty, the cross is empty and so is the tomb where he was laid. WHY? Because we serve an awesome God...not a broken, weak one...but a POWERFUL one. One that sits at the right hand of God and is seated in high places...one that is able to come to our rescue and fight on our behalf...one that would never leave us or forsake us. GLORY TO GOD!!


So this Christmas season, picture baby Jesus in the manger...the bright star...the stinky manger in which he humbly was born....even picture Jesus on the cross...as he took on YOUR sins...as he bled and shed his innocent blood for you to be made whole and cleansed...healed..
But remember that he is no longer in those places...he is HIGH and lifted up!! He is with you at all times...he is glorified...he is resurrected.


Jesus is the reason for the season....and also the reason that you live.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Transparency

Last week I rearranged my bedroom.


I have two windows in my room, side by side, that were covered up by my dresser and other things lately. Well, when I changed my room around, I noticed how nice the view is out of the windows. It was like a new perspective.


I looked out the window this morning and realized that I can see through the small patch of woods that is right outside.. to the road that is on the other side. It is easy to see in the winter, because the leaves are off of the trees. The patch of woods has become transparent. As much as I love the leaves and the Summer, I really enjoy being able to see the road through the trees. Nothing is hidden.


This led me to write this blog. As I was gazing out the windows today, God brought to remembrance how the fig leaves hid Adam and Eve's sin. Hiding is easy to do...or so I have thought. It is easy to hide in a big group...put on a smile and no one knows you are hurting. It is so easy to hide in a busy church...dig into ministry and no one knows what you are dealing with.
But hide from God?? I don't think so. God knows our hearts and thoughts better than we know ourselves. We can try...sure...but who are we really hiding from? God or ourselves?


When God was "looking" for Adam and Eve, he called out, "Adam, where are you?" Do you REALLY think God didn't know where Adam was?? I heard it preached once that God knows exactly where you are. He knew exactly where Adam was. He knows what we are going through. He just wants to see if you know where you are. In sin? In hiding?


Be transparent with everyone. It is OK to cry...it is ok to admit your mistakes to others. No one is perfect. No one should condemn anyone...we have an enemy that does a good enough job at that alone.
God Almighty wants us to come to him in pure honesty. The word says to confess your sins one to another (James 5:16). Be honest...have accountability.

As in the days of Noah

As in the days of Noah…

While watching a Women of Faith DVD the other night, I was blown away by one of the messages. It was about having Faith, even when others might ridicule you or laugh at what you are believing in.

It was powerful. Allow me to shed some light onto this.

In the days of Noah, BEFORE he built the ark, it never rained. Instead, there was a midst on the Earth that came up from the ground and it watered things that way. Let me repeat myself…it never rained.

Wow. So here is this guy…Noah…building this gigantic ship (ark) out of wood…the thing was HUGE. People would pass by Noah and tease him…mock him… “Did God REALLY tell you to build that thing? You’re CRAZY!!” They most likely said.

Think about it…it never rained and here is Noah, working very hard to build something that you would think would be a waste of his time….

But it wasn’t…it actually saved his and his family’s life, not to mention the beasts of the field, etc.

The part of the message that REALLY struck me was that the woman said, we all think that Noah heard from God, built the ark in like two weeks and voila…the animals and his family were safe when the rain started coming. NOPE.

Noah actually built the ark over a course of 100 years or so…imagine that? Of course people lived a lot longer in those days…but could you imagine 100 years going by…that’s more than our lifetime!!

What great Faith Noah had to continue on with something that God called him to, even though he didn’t see the outcome for a very, very long time.

This really ministered to me, because how often do we as Christians say, “God told me this…” and people shrug it off or make comments behind our backs. How often do we become “nay sayers” and discourage someone in something because our OWN faith is so small? Or what about when we THINK we heard from God but have yet to see the fruition of the vision come to pass?

Just because we don’t see things happening over night does NOT mean that God didn’t say…or that he isn’t working on your behalf in that area.

For me to even be writing this blog is totally God, because I have had my Faith tested so much this past month. But God is still on the throne and reigning over me…praise him!

I encourage you today…do not give up. Don’t lose hope for that dream or vision that God has placed in your heart. I always think that if it bears GOOD fruit, it is from God. Let him minister to you today…

Also, the bible says that “as in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the son of man be.” Non believers won’t expect Jesus to come back, especially HOW he is going to. But Children of God, I tell you today that we need to rise up and stand firm in our Faith. Put on the full armor of God.

When the rain started coming, it was too late for the people in Noah’s time. Don’t let the rain start falling on you as you are unprepared for what God is doing in your life. Have Faith and look up…be encouraged. Be strengthened. The King of Kings himself is coming back on your behalf. Hallelujah!

The Healing Power of Joy

This was in my devotional, "Come Away My Beloved."


"You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy." John 16:20


Say not within yourself, "Where is God?" for I am within you, yes , even in your heart, and my hand is upon you. You have looked in vain for me because you have sought to see me in circumstances and in people and have said, "I cannot find him."


Oh my child, look to me directly, and rest your heart in me. Do so with as little distraction as would be easy to do if you were the only human being in the world and therefore would have no one else with whom to converse.


Praise me. This I ask of you in times when it seems indescribably difficult to do so. I ask it of you in love that is stern at this point because I know unequivocally that praise is your only hope for survival.


Distress of soul and grief of heart can only bring on destruction of body. Joy alone is a healer, and you can have it in the darkest hour if you will force your soul to rise to me in worship and adoration. I have not failed you and you have not failed me. It is only that you have failed yourself- or the disappointment has come on the human plane, not on the divine. Why should you allow any human experience to alter or affect your divine relationship with the Father?


Bring me your sorrow, and watch for the sunrise of the resurrection. Yes, truly there comes always a resurrection- a morning when hope is reborn and life finds new beginning. Wait for it as tulip bulbs anticipate the Spring. The rarest blooms are enhanced by the coldness of winter. The snow plays her part in producing Spring's pageant. But when the blossoms break through, we do not then turn back to thoughts of winter, but instead, we look ahead to the full joys of the coming Summer.


So you must also do. Your God is your maker. He is your defender. And he is mighty to save. Yes, he is not only mighty to save from sin, but he is mighty to save from despair, from sorrow, from disappointment, from regret, from remorse, from self-castigation, and from the hot, blinding tears of rebellion against fateful circumstances. He can save you from yourself, and he loves you when you find it hard to love yourself.


Let his peace flow in you like a river, carrying away all the poison of painful memories, and bringing to you a fresh, clear stream of pure life and restoring thoughts.


This is not the end. Press on. The goal line is out ahead, and you may yet be a winner in the race of life.

Not your ordinary Election...

I’ve started reading a book called, “Revelation Unveiled” which deciphers the end times in the bible. It is powerful..the first few pages had me in tears at just the holiness of God Almighty. It brings such reverence to your heart. Jesus Christ is returning and sooner than we all think. The bible says that we will not know when he is coming, but to be ready at all times. This isn’t to instill fear or make us worry, it is to prepare us for the return of our King…the KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS! To be sanctified, holy and cleansed. To be purified. To be in the word and prayed up. To know the TRUTH and to be walking in LOVE for one another.

God has been speaking one word to me that I have been over looking until now. Elect. I read it all the time in the word of God and it is also in the book that I am reading. I was thinking to myself, “what does that really mean?” What does elect mean? It says that his elect will come from the four ends..north, south, east and west..

I looked up the word elect in an online dictionary before writing this. It means CHOSEN. God’s elect are his chosen ones that he calls for his purposes. The bible says MANY are called, but FEW are chosen. Few are elect.

I was thinking about our recent election that we had in the U.S this past month, and how important it is to make the right decision while electing someone. To even ponder that amazes me…how God can choose (elect) some of us. To elect someone is also to show trust in them. Think about when you are a captain of a team and you are choosing your players…you have trust and hope in them that they will do good and make you proud…right? It’s a lot like that with Papa (God). He chose you before the foundation of time. God stands outside of time…time is actually in his HANDS. Can you imagine? He loves us that much that he elected us to be on this Earth as his ambassadors. PRAISE GOD!

So if you know that you have been elected to represent the Faithful One, let his light shine through you for all the world to see. You have been chosen, predestined, hand picked and most importantly equipped to do his will. He would not have chosen you if he thought that you would take his election lightly.

GLORY!