Scrooge in the Bible?

Scrooge in the Bible? Yup, I found Scrooge in the Bible. Scrooge is famous for hating Christmas. "Bah! "Humbug! was his opinion of the season. 

I found someone else in Scripture who hates Christmas and refuses to acknowledge it. The enemy hates Christmas!

1 John 4:1-3 NLT. Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God...This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person... acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world...

I don't want to be Scrooge this month and have a spirit that doesn't love Christmas...the day we celebrate Jesus coming as a baby.

So when I get busy and run too fast and don't love Christmas, I stop and shout three times:

Jesus has come in the Flesh.

Jesus has come in the Flesh!

Jesus has come in the Flesh!

Can't you see the enemy shuddering every time he hears that said.

Have a Merry Christmas

Divide the Word?

 

Rightly divide the Word of truth? That Bible verse annoyed me. 

 

I preferred to connect the Word of Truth. Verses about subjects in the Bible should be put side-by-side to get a full picture… in my very humble opinion. What did the Bible say about love, or faith, or healing. Better to compare scriptures and then I would know…in my humble opinion.

 

After years of reading and frowning, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth 

2 Tim. 2:15 God decided to correct my humble opinion about His Word.

 

He told me to look up the word divide in Strong’s concordance and see what it meant. 

What a novel idea. What could divide mean except divide?

 

Wow! The original meaning was much better than putting verses side by side. It came from a root meaning “to fold together. ” So now I humbly fold together the Word of truth to get the full picture.

Deep Wells

As a young child I knew how to pump the handle up and down until water came from deep inside the earth and flowed into a metal pail. Then I would dip it out and give it to others to drink. The water was always cold and delicious from that deep well.

 

          Jesus said to come to Him and drink. Then out of our innermost being would flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-39 KJV).

 

Sometimes it’s hard to keep pumping until this cold and delicious water comes up and flows out of our innermost being.  We stop while it is still just sputtering. However, if we keep pumping we get beyond the sputtering; the Holy Spirit takes over and others receive a refreshing drink.

 

         So, Jesus, I will keep pumping my spirit with worship, Bible reading and prayer until Your cold, delicious, and living water comes up. Then I can share a cup with others who are thirsty. 

        Anyone want to get back to pumping and stop settling for bottled water? 

 

Boot Up

 

It’s hard to describe how you feel when you feel nothing. Did you ever feel nothing? Not tired, useless, empty. NOTHING. All systems shut down. Body. Soul. Spirit.

 

Today I told God I was totally depleted.  I needed a BOOT UP. This helped my computer. Why not me?

 

Definition:To boot up is to start up a computer system by providing it with the required electrical power and loading the startup services until the operating system is loaded. It refers to the process of starting a computer from a dead or offline state, thus making it available to perform any computing operation.

Yes, I definitely needed sufficient Holy Spirit power loaded into me to change me from this dead and offline state. Only then could I perform the operations that were required of me.

I sat in my prayer chair and did nothing to help myself. I couldn’t. Bible verse after Bible verse came flowing into my spirit and through to my mind. 

I think He told me this boot up would take longer than usual. 

That’s okay. I’m not going anywhere until He recharges me. His power in me is the only power that is effective for me to perform any operation. Loving. Teaching. Helping. Comforting. Breathing. 

I seem to be showing signs of life. So I got my computer to share with you while I sit here.

"And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." IS.58: 11(KJV).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Words from our Past

Woke up with fragments of Abraham Lincoln's words running thru my mind. 

Our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal...

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure...

It is rather for us, the living, (to) be dedicated to the great task remaining before us and that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom––that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

We recovered from a Civil War and we will recover, again.

America will be saved.

You said What?

This contradicts logic, I thought. I’d prayed for direction. Now, I struggled with an answer that I believed came from God. 

Then I heard His still small voice speak again. "It doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t look right. But this is right."  I asked for Bible confirmations because what I was told was very strange. He showed me two paradoxes in scripture. 

 You go down to go up. “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:10 “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6 

 You give to get. “Give and it shall be given to you.” Luke 6:38 

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse… Test me... and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessings that there will not be room to store it.” Mal.3: 10-12 

Okay God. I hear you. The fact that your answer contradicts my logic is probably confirmation it's You.

Face Check

     Everywhere I went friends asked, “What’s wrong?” I said, “I’m fine.”

     It had been a solid week of battles, and inner questions about how God would help me this time. But why did people ask me, “What’s wrong?”  I didn’t discuss my struggles with anyone.

    The LORD suggested I look in the mirror. I looked, and wondered who that person was. People were used to my face looking happy. A thought came:

The fruit of religion is a long face.

The fruit of His Spirit is joy.

    I realized that some thoughts and even Bible verses going through my mind were from the enemy. Religious spirits were twisting scripture to take me out.

     It shouldn’t have surprised me. The enemy used scripture to trick Jesus in Matthew four. Psalms 91 was a promise of protection to those who dwell in His secret place. The enemy used Psalms 91 to tempt Jesus to do something stupid. Obviously obeying the enemy’s suggestions is never a place to go and expect to be safe.

     I decided I would agree with Jesus response to the enemy. Jesus said, I live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. I knew I needed to go quickly into the secret place, take a deep breath, worship and hear only his quiet voice. There I could find words from the mouth of God, and rebuke the enemy’s religious words.

     There my face could reflect the fruit of the Holy Spirit called JOY as I got rid of religion. And hopefully when I checked the mirror it would reflect joy and other fruits of the Spirit.  Have you done a face check lately?

     Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

    

A box of Dum Dums

     My son told me a story about a strange gift that he re-gifted.  He made an unexpected stop at his shop in the middle of the day. When a Christian neighbor man knocked, Ron opened the door and the neighbor handed him a big box of Dum Dum lollypops. A few minutes later Ron jumped back in his truck, put the box on his seat and wondered.

     His next stop was a man that he knew as a friend and business acquaintance. He sensed immediately by the man’s face that something was wrong. The man was grieving about a family tragedy that happened the night before. 

     Ron said he prayed for him and shared some scriptures to try to comfort him. When he got back in his truck he saw the box of dum dums,  picked them up and took them into the man.

    When Ron handed him the box the man began to cry. After he composed himself he shared that he just shared with his wife that he was going to get a box of dum dums for his grandchildren. That box spoke to him about God’s all knowing presence in a personal way. 

     Never be afraid to obey God, and be His deliveryman. Even when it’s a box of suckers to a grieving man.

YOU CAN -- IF YOU THINK YOU CAN 

(Philippines 4:13)                              By Walter D. Wintle Poet 

                                    If you think you are beaten, you are

                                   

If you think you dare not, you don’t,

If you like to win, but you think you can’t

It is almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost

For out in the world you find,

Success begins with a fellow’s will -- --

It’s all in the state of mind.

Full many a race is lost

Ere even a step is run,

And many a person fails

Ere even his work’s begun,

Think big, and your deeds will grow,

Think small and you’ll fall behind,

Think that you can, and you will -- --

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are;

You’ve got to think high to rise;

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late the man who wins

Is the fellow who thinks he can.   

Throw it out!

     "When in doubt, throw it out, " His loud, small voice said to me.

I'd determined to thoroughly clean my refrigerator when I had time

Then the Governor declared a two week vacation at home, and I had no excuse.
In the midst of refrigerator cleaning I wondered about a jar of applesauce. Keep?
Throw out? Not past expiration date, but when had I opened it?

That's when His voice said, "When in doubt, throw it out."
I knew He was talking about more than a jar of applesauce. He was talking
about my life. "Okay," I answered, "Give me three verses to confirm what you said."

"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
"Make not provision for the flesh to fulfill its desires"
"Dont miss YOUR day "of visitation."
"Strip off every weight that slows you down."
"Choose you today who you will serve."
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God..."

He had a few others, but you get the idea.
"Okay, LORD. I will get serious about these two weeks.
What are your priorities for my life that I need to hear.
I have ears to hear and a pencil to write."

OUT with the OLD. IN with your NEW.

It's not about me

The LORD stopped me to teach me a revelation after I became a new Christian.

Often when I came to God each day I said, “I love you,

…but I don’t spend enough time with you.

…but I sinned and got angry.

…but I forgot to do what you said to do.

…but I yada, yada, yada.”

This time when I said “I love you, but I…

“STOP!” That’s the instruction I heard from God’s loud; still small voice.

His voice continued, “Do you remember when someone you

love said, ‘I love you, but I don’t ...’”

I thought about it and answered, “Yes, I remember.”

“How did that make you feel?”

“Well, It felt empty. Like it was all about them.

Oh, I get it! You want me to forget my shame and stop pointing back to myself.

You prefer that I simply say, ‘I love you,’ and keep the attention on you.

Since then I simply say, "I LOVE YOU, LORD.”