Category: Children

I have a cold and am feeling pretty tired.  And, I wasn’t sure I had anything to share with you today.  Then, Jesus reminded me that I never do have anything to share with you, but that I can rest in Him and His provision as He encourages me/us each day.  It’s so neat how the Lord comes into our every day lives and circumstances to share His transforming life with us.

Boy, I just love the verse below.  It reminds me of how in His love for us, God teaches us that He’s with us in every one of life’s storms that try to capsize us.  Jesus is in our boat, folks.  With Jesus, we’ll never go down.  He always leads us through. ☺

14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14

Man, don’t you just love Jesus.  What an incredible Savior.  Never a dull moment.  I’d follow Him anywhere – always an adventure.  It must have been so amazing to be one of His disciples while He was on earth.  Following Him around would have been so wonderful and life-altering.  Now, we get to follow where He leads each one of us.  Life (and He is the Life) doesn’t get any better than that.

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6

I love you all.  Think of how much Jesus loves you. ☺

Jesus:  “Come on, let’s go.  I’ll show you the new victories I have in store for you today as, together, we love those around us, bring them peace and joy, and walk in newness of life each and every day.”

Yeah, boy…

God bless,

Mark

3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.
Psalm 113:3

Thank you, God, for this day.  From dusk to dawn I will rest in Your promises of love, direction, protection, grace and truth.

Have a blessed day and week, everyone.

God bless,

Mark

Hi Everyone,

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:24

I hope I can make the following clear and understandable because I believe it’s really important, especially today.

I’m becoming aware of something I wanted to share with you.  You’ve probably noticed it as well.

While it’s been true in the past as well, I’m seeing more and more Christians and pastor/teachers feeding and expanding their intellectual understanding while neglecting to crucify their flesh – crucifying the flesh maintains humility which is vitally necessary in order to follow Christ.  As a result, many Christians and pastor/teachers are opening themselves up to theological and spiritual error, and to the world’s influence as well.  This can be seen clearly in the spirit of mammon that’s trying to dominate Christians.  That type of focus will send us off in many damaging directions and puff up the flesh instead of crucifying the flesh.

The only thing I know of that will unite the church and give the mind proper, biblical discernment is to become Christ’s disciples by continuing in His Word.  Only in doing the Word will the flesh be crucified – Knowledge of the Word is not enough.

Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed in Him, “If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed.”
John 8:31

I believe that what Jesus meant in John 8:31 was that if we continue to learn and do His Word, all areas of our lives would become free from the impact our flesh has on us.  We would be more free from pride and other pressures of the flesh.

If we’re not crucifying the flesh by living the Word, by being doers of the Word, the flesh will continue to dominate us and attempt to dominate and control our spirits.  As we all know, the flesh has a voracious appetite and will fight all attempts to be taken over.  It has little discernment and is open to pride – Satan’s downfall.  Pride feeds the intellect and dispels the notion that the flesh must be crucified.

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22

Christ commands us to be doers of the Word if we’re to become His disciples.  It’s the only way I know of to become free indeed.

Please don’t misunderstand me here.  I’m not saying we need to discard our minds and intellect.  But, both need to be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit by renewing them to the Word of God.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:  not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27

I’ve never had God’s peace while living for the flesh.  On the other hand, the more I listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the more my flesh is dying and the more free I’m becoming in the peace, rest, and joy of the Lord.

I love you all.

God bless,

Mark

28 Come unto me (Jesus), all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Sometimes I think God has brought me so far from the fearful life I was living years ago.  Then, I discover more of His love and care over my life and I realize there’s a never-ending depth to His love and delivering mercy, peace, rest, grace and joy.  We have such a wonderful Savior.

This song (I put it on “loop” and let its loving message sink deep in my spirit.  So refreshing.) reminds me of how incredibly thankful I am that He called me out of the darkness into His marvelous light.  “Thank you, Jesus.”

I Will Rest In Your Love
By Marty Nystrom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hxxXp1okDs&list=RD2hxxXp1okDs

I will rest in Your (Jesus) love
Put my trust in Your goodness
And set my thoughts on peaceful things above

I will cast away my cares
And find my joy in Your presence
I will rest, I will rest in Your love

(Repeat)

Whom shall I fear, why should I worry?
Your grace is enough for my need
Your joy is my strength
Your peace is my shelter
You faithfully watch over me

(Repeat Chorus)

All of my doubts, all of my striving
By faith I lay down at Your Throne
Your Word is my shield, Your Spirit my power
You tenderly care for Your own

(Repeat Chorus twice)

God bless,

Mark

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.  16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God[a] that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules,[b] then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.  17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.  You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.  19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Deuteronomy 30:15-20

2 “Repent (or, exchange our ways for God’s ways), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 3:2

Satan will do all he can to keep us from having harmony in our relationships because he wants to steal, kill and destroy us.  He’s been destroying us with lies from the beginning in the Garden of Eden.  The last thing he wants is for us to be doers of God’s Word.

I think it’s really something how God mentions in the Bible’s book of Isaiah that if we continue to choose to live in our ways that the result will be that we oppose each other through increasing disharmony.

On the other hand, if we repent, if we turn from our ways and choose to begin to learn about God’s ways to live, we’ll have more harmony between us.  This is why it’s so important to be doers of the Word, of His ways.

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 NLT

How do we learn and put God’s ways in our lives?  By reading the Bible to see what Jesus has to say about how we should live our lives in this world.  This is how we’ll stop opposing each other and move towards harmony.

God bless,

Mark

Happy Monday, Everyone –

We weren’t built to live in today’s world.  No, we were designed to live in Eden.  That’s why God’s drawing us back to Him…

Earlier this week, I was reading in the book of Isaiah in the Bible and God was talking about spiritual conditions getting so bad (they’d left God’s ways and were living in their own ways – never good) in the lives of the Israelites that they began “opposing” each other.  Wow, sounds like today, like what happens in marriages, and society as a whole.  We can even get to the point that we oppose ourselves.

Wow, there’s nothing like being drawn closer and closer to Jesus.  If you’re like me and have problems that can’t be resolved or seem to be never-ending, rejoice!

Yes, rejoice!

Often, God works through problems we face to draw us to Him.  His “chosen” (those He knows have ears to hear) people have issues that force them to become close to Him, to find out His ways.

You’re “chosen,” precious one.  Hallelujah!

Boy, I have some great news for you this morning.  Ann and I were talking about some of the recent trials some people we know are going through.  I started to analyze their troubles and couldn’t figure out how they were going to resolve their matters – I could feel care and a spiritual heaviness coming over me.  The devil even whispered in my ear that God wasn’t going to be able to help them and that those people were stuck in their situations.  It was pretty discouraging.

Well, I got up to go do something when I decided to read some of the Bible.  Wow, the Lord began speaking to me about how exciting it is when we come to dead-ends with no apparent way out.  He told me when there’s no way out, just like what happened (and still happens from time to time) to me many years ago, that’s when God’s allowing circumstances in our lives to make us turn to Him – He’s funneling us to Him.  This is exactly the same thing that happened to Israel in the Bible.

In His matchless, supernatural understanding and love for His people, He allowed things to build up in their lives until they turned back to Him, to His loving, liberating, joy-producing, life-sustaining ways – This is when times of refreshing come – That’s so exciting and exactly the message in Merlin Carothers’ book, “Power In Praise.”  Merlin states over and over that it doesn’t matter what series of circumstances makes you focus on God, all that matters is that you do.  God is the way around all life’s obstacles.

Now the devil will try to make us think we need to resolve matters in our own power, strength or intellect because he will do anything to keep us from turning to God and incorporating His ways in our lives.  Feeling pressure, or like you just can’t go on?  Praise God!  Seek God!  He’s your answer.

2 I (the Apostle Paul) want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love.  I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.  3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.  5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you.  And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.
Colossians 2:2-5

God bless,

Mark

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.  9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:  10 And they saw the God of Israel:  and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.  11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand:  also they saw God, and did eat and drink.  12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there:  and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Exodus 24:8-12

Ann and I were talking about God’s Presence this morning and how incredible and supernatural it is – it’s unlike anything this earthly life can provide.  God’s Presence is the most wonderful thing we’ve ever encountered.  It permeates our whole being when He lets us experience Him in that way.

Then, we remembered how in Exodus 24, the Bible talks about the 70 elders of Israel, Moses Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu going up the mountain (Sinai) to meet with God.  Wow, that must have been something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Marty Nystrom’s song, More of You, says, “All I want is more of You, Lord.  I’m thirsty for more of You, Lord.  Earthly things have we left me dry, only You can satisfy.”  I want to come closer and closer to You, Lord.

We went outside to watch this morning’s eclipse, saw shooting stars, and a satellite.  Our neighbors came out to see the sight as well and we talked about how incredible it is that the moon just hangs out there in the sky.

Only You can satisfy, Lord.  It’s no wonder that all I want is more of You…Wonder-filled, You.

God bless,

Mark

Dismayed:  Broken, dread, fear, crushed, afraid, terrify, sudden fright, became afraid, faint, out of life

The Lord wants to teach us to so trust Him that we would never think of being dismayed.  What a blessing.  Faith that has no shadow of turning…

8 And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee:  fear not, neither be dismayed.
Deuteronomy 31:8

God bless,

Mark

3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:  therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Jeremiah 31:3

Like all of us, I was getting ready for the week this Monday morning when the Holy Spirit stopped me in my thoughts.  He wanted me to pause and know that He loves me right now, just the way I am.  It was really special.

God loves you right now, this very moment, folks – Just the way you are…☺

Happy Monday!

God bless,

Mark

Triumphant – having won a battle or contest; victorious, successful, winning, conquering, all-conquering; more undefeated, unbeaten, feeling or expressing jubilation after having won a victory or mastered a difficulty; exultant, elated, rejoicing, joyful, joyous, delighted, gleeful.

God doesn’t want us to run from, or merely/barely survive, storms.  No, He wants us to be triumphant in them.  He wants to teach everyone of us how to triumph in storms.  That’s amazing.

I want to share something really exciting with you.  While I’m still not an expert at it, Jesus is making me into a storm chaser.  Really.  And, where I used to panic, become frantic, and take on great anxiety and fear when storms appeared, Jesus is beginning to show me how fun storm chasing can be (discerning the spirit behind thoughts, listening to the Holy Spirit about what the real issue is, realizing that when things come to a head, that’s a good thing cause now they can be dealt with in Christ, and Romans 8:28 has a lot to do with it)…

Boy, it just blows me away how Jesus can take our weaknesses and turn them into strengths so we can enjoy and even have fun with them as He teaches us how to have victory over them.

How do I handle enemy darts (storms), those times when an avalanche of fear-bearing thoughts try to take control of my mind, emotions and body?  Do I want to run and hide hoping they’ll go away?  Do I get stressed out and angry?  Or, with Christ’s help, am I learning how to correctly dispel them by taking them captive to the obedience of Christ?

There are over 400 verses in the Bible where God is telling us to fear not because He knows what fear does to us and desires for us to be free from any and all fear.

Be still, and know that I am God – It’s so important to still yourself at the first sign of a storm.  It gives you an opportunity to gain God’s perspective of things.
Psalm 46:10a

Dr. Neil Anderson – Fear is never the right way to respond to satan’s attacks.

Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn – The Apostle Paul was victorious not because he avoided trials and tribulation (storms), but because he triumphed in them.

Trials (Storms like the one in the Bible when Jesus calmed the storm with the disciples in the boat) are not meant for defeat, but for triumph!  This side of the fall, satan has taught man to fear trials and tribulations, times of trauma and seeming despair.  But, in Jesus, when we handle storms through Jesus, we become storm chasers and that’s why the devil will fight, with all his might, to keep us from becoming storm chasers.

Praise God, everything is turned right-side up in Christ.  Trials are triumphs, weakness is strength, anxiety is turned into rest, peace, and trust, sadness and sorrow is turned into joy, etc.  Wow, this is so powerful. Death, where is your sting (1 Corinthians 15:55)?  With Jesus, even death is turned into the final victory.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:37

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere) of his knowledge by us in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14

The whole world is trying to avoid storms at all costs and attempting to relieve themselves, even if for a moment, through drugs, entertainment, drinking, etc…and, sadly, many Christians are doing the same.  Anxiety is the number one mental health disorder in the world.

More than conquerors…That’s when we have the most fun in Jesus.

Keep seeking Jesus with your whole heart and become a storm chaser.  He’ll teach us how to calm every storm.

God bless,

Mark

I hope what I’m about to share blesses you.  It’s simply a testimony to how wonderful our God is, and how much more wonderful life in Him is and gets as we live from day to day.

There’s no time with God, only timely blessings.  And as we wait for God to answer our prayers, He’s building our faith and all the other fruit of the Spirit in us.  He’s building an appetite in us for Him.  He’s encouraging us to seek Him with our whole heart – the biggest blessing in the entire universe.  We have such an amazing God.

Here’s the answer the Holy Spirit gave me regarding a very old prayer where I asked Him, “Why did I have to have the parents I had?”

*******

With all the trials I’ve had (including my health and work challenges), and because I had the parents I had, I was forced to get close to Jesus, to learn how to rely on Him solely.  Wow, I can really be thankful for my mom and dad driving me to Jesus. I mean it.  That’s wonderful beyond words, and a tremendous breakthrough for me.  Without my mom and dad being the way they are/were with their damaging and paralyzing strongholds of worry, unforgiveness, bitterness, the fear of man and many others, I might never have found intimacy with God.  (I know that sounds backwards, but it’s not in the hands of the Lord of Lords.)  That’s powerful!  So Merlin Carothers (Author of Prison To Praise and Power In Praise) was right.  It doesn’t matter what kind of situation, or series of circumstances, motivates you to want to get closer to God, the important thing is that you do get closer to God so you can be free, indeed, so you can get on the road that heads back to Eden.  Only Jesus, and His faithfulness, can take us there.

*******

Truly, God is so awesome and so faithful.  Thank you, Jesus, for this incredibly liberating answer to my prayer.

He loves each of us so dearly, precious people…☺

God bless,

Mark

I had a weird migraine last weekend and it’s still impacting my mind and body.  It causes me to be dizziness, confusion, memory loss, and a loss of control over life and even my body at times.  The headaches can leave me tired, weak and out of breath.  As long as I fight for control over this situation (with his lies, satan can tempt me with not trusting God by saying things like, “Hath God surely said you can trust in Him with your whole heart?”), I can become frustrated and even question God’s love and plan for me and my life.  To stay in the shadow of the Most High, I receive God’s love and what He’s speaking to me.

Ann and I were having our devotions this morning and God just kept speaking to me through them.  He was telling me He loves me, He’s got my life in His hands and is simply asking me to acknowledge that He’s, not me, in control and that that’s okay, enough and the way life should be.

3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:  therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Jeremiah 31:3

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Out of His love for us, God draws us to His rest.

God bless,

Mark

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:  but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it?  or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Numbers 23:19

We’ve all heard people say, “I didn’t sign up for this.”  I’m sure glad that when I asked Jesus into my heart that God made a covenant with me He’ll keep.  He signed up for everything.

13 if we are faithless, he (God) remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.
2 Timothy 2:13

I wanted to share something I heard the other day that really spoke to me regarding trials and tribulations Christians face on earth.  If you’ve had the opportunity to learn to rely solely on God, you’ll understand the following.

Most Christians will not become intimate with God (statistically, only 15% ever will in this life) until they experience a crisis they can’t handle on their own and find they must totally rely on God to cope.  This type of statement scares most of us, but it doesn’t need to.

When I think of coming into intimacy with God, I’m reminded of verses that tell me God will never leave me nor forsake me, that He’ll work all things together for my good, that He’ll supply all my needs according to His riches in glory, etc.

19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

No, we never need to fear circumstances that ultimately cause us to trust in God more, and that He often uses such situations to teach us to be anxious for nothing, etc.  We serve a loving God who will always provide a way of escape, precious people.

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
Proverbs 3:25

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

9 And he (God) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

Let your manner of living be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have.  For He hath said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”;
Hebrews 13:5

God is good all the time, and, all the time, God is good.  He’s promised it in His Word and love for us.

I will rest in Your love and put my trust in Your goodness…

Rest In Your Love – Marty Nystrom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hxxXp1okDs

God bless,

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

God’s taking me “out of control,” and I can only imagine how great it’s going to be.

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (Free is a real thing in the Lord and it’s so enjoyable).
John 8:32

I was a heavyweight champion when it came to “care.”  Really.  God just continues to take more and more “care” from me and it’s sensational – I didn’t know it could be so much fun to relinquish a heavyweight title.  Thank you, Jesus!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above picture is pretty much how I’m feeling this morning as God surprises me with more of His transforming, renewing truth and joy.  Yipee!

I saw a license plate this morning that was really special.  It said something like “Hve joy ♥ Gd.”  Boy, is that ever true in my life.  I never had true joy until I started to find out about how God wanted to work in my life to bring me to His peace, rest and joy.

My wife and I are watching some Christian material that’s new to us.  It’s by Dr. Neil T. Anderson.  What a blessing some of his statements are to us.  It just never ceases to amaze me how Jesus keeps bringing us along and affirming us in Him, and Dr. Anderson’s life and messages are such a blessing to us at this time.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m a control freak.  No, really.  And God can prove it.

I wanted so badly to have the pride of being self-sufficient.  That I’m controlled by wanting to control really surprised me as it dawned on me this morning.  The Holy Spirit is so faithful to continue to set us free as His children.  I’ve been so deceived by “control.”  It’s caused me (and those around me) so much pain (Unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, shame, etc.).  And, control has so many wretched tentacles that I’m sitting here listening to the Holy Spirit as He begins to show me how far-reaching controlling goes.

For one thing, it’s very hard to “wait” on God when I’m in controlling mode.  To the degree that I want control, to that same degree I’m not trusting in the Lord.  I begin to get uptight and yield to all kinds of harmful, deceptive thoughts and actions.  Control has W-E-I-G-H-T, and restlessness.  God wants to lighten my load by showing me I can trust Him all the time.  Boy, this is really interesting, folks.

To be continued…☺

 

 

 

 

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart (that’s got to be a really wonderful place); and lean not unto thine own understanding.  6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

 

 

 

 

It’s so wonderful when you think you’ve arrived at trusting God with all your heart and the joy you’ve been given there only to find out that trusting God goes deeper all the time and that He brings you more joy as He shows you how you can give Him even more of you (like control) so He can give you more of Him (His deeper, lighthearted joy).

God bless,

Mark

Wow, so much is happening as the Lord continues to show us His life-changing faithfulness.

Another week to live for Jesus and to let Him set us more and more free indeed.  What an incredible blessing we’ve been given to follow our precious Jesus into more of the amazing liberty He died to make available to us.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Galatians 5:13

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2 Corinthians 3:17

promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
2 Peter 2:19

“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36

To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
Isaiah 42:7

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me (Jesus), Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
Isaiah 61:1

God bless all of us today as we learn to love Jesus even more than last week.

Mark

Self-sufficiency is such a powerful, deceptive distraction that can keep us from living in God’s will and bound.

I really thought (my weak flesh thought so) the road to the end of self-sufficiency (such pride that kept me from God) was all uphill with no turnouts and no let up in sight.  What I’m discovering is that when I begin to experience Christ replacing my self-sufficiency with His provision that life is downhill from that point.  I’ve lived with so much shame (mainly of not being able to live up to everyone’s expectations nor being able to provide financially for my family) and last night, God told me that my shame was the result of my desperately wanting to hold onto self-sufficiency.  Wow, that was a revelation.

If I come to Christ, I must be willing to die to self.  What is Mark’s self?  Selfishness, bitterness, unforgiveness, fear of man (nearly paralyzed by what others think of me), jealousy, coveting, strife, the love of money (mammon), wanting my way (I won’t be free in Christ if I cling to wanting my way), not loving my wife the way I should (never a good thing), fear, worry, anxiety, the weight and illusion of self-sufficiency (so deceptive and binding), and my one of my favorites, self-pity.

These are what Jesus is asking me to die to.  Pretty ugly list, right?  And SO spiritually H-E-A-V-Y.

Thank you, Jesus, for asking me, and for showing me how to die to self, how to relieve me of “self.”  It’s so wonderful to be able to unload self (my ways), and to exchange them for Your light beauty.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (for my liberty and salvation from self to live in/with Christ).
Galatians 2:20

Jesus is SO amazing.  And, this life in Him just keeps getting more joyful all the time.

God bless,

Mark

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:8

God’s love is all-conquering, just, discerning, merciful, and full of grace.  It draws those who have ears to hear (Matthew 11:15) to the narrow gate, and safe way (Matthew 7:13-14).  His love demands justice and truth, and it commands the universe.  From cover to cover, the Bible contains and describes God’s love and all He will do to preserve it.

How powerful is God’s love?  Well, it’s so powerful that, when placed in God’s almighty hands, in His time, it can bring victory, peace, rest, contentment and great joy out of any circumstance or situation…Any.

How’s God going to work all things together for good?  Honestly, I don’t know. But, He does, and He has the power to do it.  That’s one reason that life with God is the adventure of a lifetime.  He loves to show us His plans and surprises in His perfect timing with His ongoing love story for each of us.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…Truly, there’s just something about that Name.  After all, Jesus is the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19

God bless,

Mark