Category Archives: faith

It is time to get on the Right Path

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“That we may do those good works which God predestined for us…” Eph 2: 10

Get on the right pathGod has preordained and planned before hand what your purpose is on the earth.  And He has used the situations in your life up to this very moment to teach you and prepare you for His purposes.

We can’t see clearly what God sees.  It is only after we pass through a situation that we see it clearly.  We can then look down from a higher perspective and see what good came out of it, what we learned, and how God will use it.  I know how it is to be in the middle of a bad situation.  We wonder what good thing could possibly come out of this! At that point, we can not see what God sees.  That is why all along the way and in every situation, we must learn to listen to His voice.  His ways are so much higher than our ways.  He has a plan that we can’t see so we must listen to His voice so we will choose the right way, the high way.

I believe God sets up situations just for learning purposes.  He wants us to learn from our past mistakes, so we will make different choices and take the right path the next time.  Paul said that if we take the path which He planned ahead of time, we will live the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live.  This does not mean that once we learn to walk on the highway, we will not encounter difficult situations.  It does mean that we will always have a clear path to walk on during those difficult times.  That’s why we go through hard times so we can learn how to identify God ways and God’s path that leads us though the valleys and hardships of life.


Who Are You?

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Who are youYou may look to your place of birth and the family you grew up in to find out who you are.  Whether you were born into a rich home, or born into poverty, it doesn’t really matter. Your family background does not define who you are. Your family background is simply the ground in which you were planted. This is why we are referred to as “Oaks of Righteousness” in Isaiah 61. Now, who are you?

As a little girl, I would go to visit my grandfather every summer.  He lived in a big beautiful home in the mountains, a stately mansion with two boxwood trees as an archway you passed through at the entrance. As our car traveled up the winding road I felt my excitement rising.  I felt like I was going to see the most important man, a statesman, a King.  My grandfather was that impressive to me.  He was very wise, kind, and I admired him and loved to visit with him.  He enjoyed having company, and if he knew we were coming, he would stand on the porch watching for us to arrive.  A visit with him in his big, white, stately house made me feel like I was somebody special.  If he was important, then I must be somebody important too.

A number of years ago I traveled up the same winding road, but this time everything was different.  My grandfather was gone and the excitement of seeing him standing on the porch was no longer felt.  It had been almost ten years since I had seen the old home and walked up the steps of the big house where he lived.  The same road that, as a child seemed to go on forever, was actually just a little “one lane” gravel road.  As the house came into view, I realized it was also different than what I remembered.  What a shock!  The big mansion on the mountain was so little; just a farm house sitting on the side of a hill.

This experience began a journey for me that I now titled: “The Journey From the Little House to the Big House”.  It is a teaching on how we travel from our family of origin to find who we really are.  I began this journey that day, searching for my true identity, worth, and purpose in life.  If my grandfather wasn’t really a statesman living in a mansion, then who was I?  If he was just a farmer in a little farmhouse, as his granddaughter, who am I?

Even within the same family, each person must discover their true identity apart from their family.  Our true identity is not earthly it is heavenly.  We were God’s plan in the first place.  God created each of us differently, as a unique expression of his handiwork.  Our life is a beautiful, hand woven tapestry with thousands of stitches all carefully placed in a design.

Early in life, our tapestry is a lot of different colored threads.  However, as time goes on and we lay our life into the Father’s hands, He gently weaves the threads of our life together and a beautiful tapestry is revealed.  Each tapestry God weaves is a “one of a kind” and He has a different purpose in mind for each unique design.  When you finally find out who God says you are, you are a tapestry to be used in His house. God’s house, His kingdom on earth; is the “Big House.” It is a dwel ling place of peace, as you embrace and live in who He says you are. He loves what He creates; He has a plan and purpose for each unique creation.

For me, those wonderful days at my grandfather’s house planted a desire in me to find the “Big House”. I have found it, and it is grand. Now I know I am somebody special, because I know who He says I am.

Where are You Planted?

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“Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly… He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit in his season.”  Psalm 1:1-3

living waterIn this passage, as well as many other passages in the Bible, we are compared to a tree. It is a funny comparison.  Some people are tall trees with long branches, and others are shorter trees with short bush-like branches.  When we think about people being like trees, there are many ways we can apply this comparison.  We know that in order to grow and produce fruit we must be planted near a good water source.  It is usually pretty obvious to tell if a person/tree is planted by a good water source by examining the fruit that is produced.  In Psalm 1:3, David says that a man is like a tree, and when he is planted near the river (God’s Word) he will produce good fruit in his season.

I have known many people in the most fruitful and productive season of their life who receive a blow, and fall to the ground.  The blow is so great that it causes them to want to lie down and just give up.  I have been in that place myself, and when I was, this verse was like a river of Living Water that poured into my spirit and filled me with strength to rise up again.

“For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.”  Job 14:7-9

Don’t Flinch in the Face of Adversity

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Have you ever been in a stressful situation when you didn’t know what to do or which way to go?  It is in these stressful times that the enemy plays his sly tricks.  Remember your enemy is a thief, and he comes to kill, steal and destroy and his primary target is your faith.  He knows you are dangerous to him as long as you have faith.  So, his goal to steal, kill or destroy your faith by tricking you.

In the stress of the moment he will try to trick you into believing his lies.  When times are hard, he tricks you into thinking all is lost.  All is not lost! That is a lie straight from the enemy.  God’s word says, “all things are possible to those who believe”.  The feeling of hopelessness is also a trick.  The feeling that you are all alone and that “no one cares” be aware this is another one of his tricks.  Don’t fall for it even for a second.  He is so tricky that he throws these thoughts and feelings at you when you are preoccupied with the stressful moment.  His plan is to catch you off guard.

So, determine ahead of time, don’t be tricked.  Be aware of his seams and tricks.   He has different ones for different people.  I have found that what one person falls for another person doesn’t even flinch at. 

Take Moses for instance; it was a stressful time when the king of Egypt was raging at him for taking the Children of Israel out of Egypt.  In the Amplified, Hebrews 11:27 says, “Motivated by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly…”

With your faith in God move on, your enemy is defeated.

Hear His Voice

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“Unto you do I cry, O Lord my rock, be not deaf and silent to me…”  Psalm 28:1

Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk ye in it” Isaiah 30:21

When we have decisions to make and doubts are flooding our soul, and others suggest courses of action that are conflicting, when caution dictates one approach but faith the other, it is the time to stop and be still.

The scripture says, “Be still and know, I am God (Psalm 46:10).”  This gives us the permission that it is “ok” to quiet the intruding opinion of others around us, and then calm ourselves into the stillness of God’s presence and wait to hear His gentle voice.  It takes courage to wait in silence trusting that He will not be silent.  It takes courage to bypass all the words of well meaning friends.  It takes courage to not be pulled by those who are insisting on an immediate decision or action. It takes courage to wait on, trust in, and rely on the Lord to direct you in those difficult decisions.

God is ever present in times of trouble when important decisions need to be made you will hear His voice behind you saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.”  Once you hear clearly and the decision is made, a friend may then be used by the Lord to give support and confirmation. So be still and wait on the Lord, He is not silent.

The Right Path: Lord, as I still myself before You, help me to block out all intruding thoughts and opinions. I pray as David did that You will not be silent, I ask You to speak to me and give me direction in each decision I am making today. I desire to hear You say: “this is the way, walk in it.”