This is a poem/ conversation between Jesus and me. I wrote what I imagined the Lord was saying to me about why I wasn’t growing spiritually. He basically told me I was not watering myself with the Living Water, His Words and God’s Word. Below, my words are lowercase and His words are in capitals.
“I want to be used, but Jesus, how so? Will you make me a planter and teach me to sow? ”
“BUT I GAVE YOU SEEDS AND NOTHING DID YOU SHOW.”
“You already did? But I didn’t know!”
“YOU WERE TOO DRY FOR MY SEEDS TO GROW.”
“What are you saying? I don’t really know.”
“MY LIVING WATER, THROUGH YOU MUST FLOW.”
“Ohh…I need more of you.! Sorry, I’m slow!”
“THAT’S OKAY. I MADE YOU. I KNOW!”
“Haha. I feel “thirsty” so I better go.
“OKAY, TINA, ABOUT MY WORDS?…ONE THING YOU MUST KNOW…”
“Yes, Lord?”
“YOU WILL SOAK UP MORE WATER IF YOU READ REAL SLOW.”
“That makes sense!”
“OH, MY CHILD, I SHOULD HOPE SO!”
Oh yeah! Of course You would know!! I love you so:)
Awaited atonement for all Began when the broken body of Jesus Christ was crowned at Calvary then crucified. He Died, not deserving the desertion by almost Everyone. He exacted our eternity, by earning, Forgiving our debt of sin, fulfilling God’s generous gift of His son, hung to heal hearts with Iniquity inside. Jesus, Jehovah, “The King of the Jews,” was buried, and Lay dead in linen three days, then lived! So Miraculous, this moment of marvelous News that we needed! Out of the tomb, the ousted Prince of Peace arose, when the Quake qualified Him as the quintessential Rock, Redeemer and rescuer of our Sinful souls. The sinless Savior Traded the tomb, terminating death for Us, a universal undertaking and unqualified Valiant effort turned victorious With a waged war won! His Xemplary life is an extraordinary example to You and me. Yahweh is our Zealous hero!
Happy Good Friday! Jesus is Risen! He did what He said He would do. He is alive!
A new friend and I met for breakfast and discovered we both hate to shop! We joked that we will only do so if we absolutely have to. For example, if we are almost out of hair products we will make the effort to go buy what we need, even if it means paying a high price. Price and effort do not matter when you find something that is exactly what you need.
But what if we need something for our souls ,like strength, peace or happiness? Do we go to a car dealer, a jeweler or a realtor to find something that makes us feel better? Though those things can distract us for awhile, our souls will still be needy. True joy for a hurting soul can only be found from one source, Jesus! I have been guilty of looking elsewhere to find my joy, and then I remember, Jesus has all I need!
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7 NIV
Have a great Thursday! With love from the Father from me to you.
It’s a poetry day:) This poem is about how uncertain our future is. Only God knows what He has in store for us. We can guess, but we will not know for sure, so faith, not fear should be our “weapon” of choice.
The future, a foggy distance that beckons meager mortals to explore. murky fate that curtains off whatever lies beyond, whether potential joy or sure danger. Hey dreamers, Hey, you dooms-dayers, So what do you say? Choose your weapon, faith or fear, and put an end to your prophecies and begin your victorious freedom. The key to the future is opportunity; it turns to the present. Now, you mortals, be free and walk. Beyond fog and more time lies your future , but remember… Your future is God’s to plan, yours to desire, yours to request, but God’s to grant.
Have a great Wednesday! Love from our Father to you,
Because Saul was on mission to persecute Christians, believers of the Jerusalem church had to scatter out to safety. They also spoke out, about Jesus. Philip was no exception. He traveled to Samaria and preached to multitudes, healing and drawing out unclean spirits from the possessed. He was on a mission for God and the results were amazing! Acts 8:8 says, “There was great joy in that city.”
But…could Philip help a sorcerer? Simon the sorcerer was well know among the Samarians and his sorcery was so convincing that they actually believed he had God’s power. Philip changed their minds about that, by proclaiming God’s Word and kingdom and Jesus Christ. Not only did they heed his words, but so did Simon! God’s truth changed him! He was soon baptized and continued with Philip.
Simon went from impressing others, to being amazed at what God did through Philip. What a change! Sometimes we try to impress others or even ourselves. We may be amazed at talent or success that comes from hard work and dedication. But there is nothing more amazing than what the Lord can do…He transforms souls!
“Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.” Acts 8:13
Have a blessed Tuesday. With love from the Father, Christina
Because Saul was on mission to persecute Christians, believers of the Jerusalem church had to scatter out to safety. They alsospokeout, about Jesus. Philip was no exception. He traveled to Samaria and preached to multitudes, healing and drawing out unclean spirits from the possessed. He was on a mission for God and the results were amazing! Acts 8:8 says, “There was great joy in that city.”
But…could Philip help a sorcerer? Simon astonished the Samarians with his sorcery, so they believed he had God’s power. Philip changed their minds by proclaiming God’s Word and kingdom and Jesus Christ. Not only did they heed his words, but so did Simon! God’s truth changed him! He was soon baptized and continued with Philip.
Simon went from impressing others, to being amazed at what God did through Philip. Sometimes we feel impressed with others or ourselves. We are amazed at talent or success that comes from hard work and dedication. But there is nothing more amazing than how the Lord can transform a soul.
“Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.” Acts 8:13
Have a blessed Tuesday. With love from the Father,
Jerusalem was chaotic. Saul was searching homes for believers and dragging them off to prison. He even allowed the Israelites to stone Stephen because his words about the Holy Spirit convicted and incensed them. As Stephen was being killed, his last words were a prayer. He asked the Lord not to charge them with his death. The story of Jesus’ love and forgiveness would not end with Stephen. He made sure of it.
All of this persecution of the Jerusalem church made believers, except the apostles, flee to other parts of Judea and Samaria. But they scattered with a purpose! They went and preached everywhere! The story of Jesus and His plan to redeem them did not end with them. They made sure of it.
As I read this touching story of Stephen and the church’s desire to continue the gospel, I realize that it was the Holy Spirit in them that enabled them to carry on His story. As believers, we are story tellers and preachers. No matter the circumstances, we can tell The Story so it will not end with us.
Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Acts 8:4
Have a wonderful Monday! Love and prayers, always,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give
to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 NIV
I woke up this morning to pouring rain; it had rained most of the night, so I was disappointed that God gave us even more. Then I remembered a beautiful song my momma used to sing when it rained, “It’s Beginning to Rain.” I joined in with the memory of her singing. More meaningful than the memory of her singing is the beautiful meaning of the words. God is raining down His abundance of all we need and asking us to drink it in. He is there for us in the rain.
Though it is not raining outside now and the sun has come out, someone, somewhere, is getting rained on. Figuratively, they may also be getting rained on with problems with no sun. We, who are having sunlight, can remind them that there is hope; trials do not last forever. We can hand them an umbrella, in the form of friendship and a dose of God’s Word. We can stand with them in the rain like God does for us.
Matthew 6:33 says, ” But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” NIV
As I was praying this morning, I felt led to write this poem down. When God puts a deep desire in your heart or mine, He will show us where to go with it, one step at a time.
What is your prayer today? Is it a desire or hurt? Let me know how I can pray for you, please. Find me on facebook or message here.
When I first got my driver’s license, I was so excited to run errands for my family. Any excuse to do something my father wanted me to do, was an excuse to drive the car by myself! Ezekiel was asked to do a job for God, but I don’t think he was all that excited. God told Him to go to a rebellious people, the children of Israel. They had transgressed against God and would stubbornly refuse to listen.
So how did Ezekiel get himself ready for this task? It wasn’t Him, but God that prepared Ezekiel. God instructed him, sent him, fed Him words, set him on his feet, then warned, lifted up, compelled and inspired Him. (Ezekiel 2:1-3:27) The one thing Ezekiel did that made all the difference is, HE WENT.
The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord on me. Ezekiel 3:14 NIV
We may be excited to do something for God, but when He actually tells us to do something, it may be difficult, scary or dangerous. We may be bitter or angry about it. Compelled to obey by His Spirit, we will find that God equips us with everything we need to do the job. We have reason to praise Him!
Dear Father God…We want to do Your will. By Your holy Spirit, please compel and equip us for the job You designed for us. Thank You for using us in Your plan to draw more people to You. We love You! Amen
Did you ever hear the song about Ezekiel, from the Bible? Some of us sang it in school, back when things like that could be done. Ezekiel saw something that inspired Woody Guthrie to write the song, “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel.”
Ezekiel saw that wheel Way up in the middle of the air Ezekiel saw that wheel whirling Way up in the middle of the air Now the little wheel runs by faith And the big wheel runs by the grace of God And a wheel in a wheel whirling Way up in the middle of the air
He really did see a wheel, well, actually FOUR of them! Can you imagine Ezekiel’s surprise at seeing wheel’s whirling in the air?? He saw FOUR wheels, belonging to four creatures! Before he saw the wheels or the creatures, though, He saw a whirlwind cloud with,
…”raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. “ Ezekiel 1:4-5 NKJV
You know what I am thinking as I read this? Why didn’t he look away? Why didn’t he run? Would I have done that, or would I have shook my head to clear the vision and not tell anyone, lest they thought I was crazy? Not only did Ezekiel NOT run or NOT keep his vision to himself, he described it, in specific, lengthy detail! What made him stand still and take it all in and write about it?
I found my answer at the end of chapter one of Ezekiel. After Ezekiel describes the four creatures, their wings, their movements and their wheels that contained their spirit, he hears what sounds like God!
When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings. Ezekiel 24-25 NKJV
Ezekiel heard the noise. Those four words tell me that he knew he was hearing and seeing something from God. He stood still. He watched. He heard. He gave his full attention to the vision. He stood still, as I see it, because he could not look away if He wanted to.
The very last two verses of Ezekiel are ones you have to read! He saw the glory of the Lord! Look how beautiful!
I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” Ezekiel 1:27-28 NKJV
Wow. He saw the beautiful, bright, glory of God! Ezekiel did not just see a wheel. That brings to mind some questions worth thinking about…
Do you ever feel God showing you something or do you feel a still small voice urging you to do something? God still inspires and shows and leads. It was not just in the Bible days that God gave people visions.
Do we stand still when we see or hear God at work? Do we stand transfixed when He shows us something? Do we follow through with what He wants us to do?
Thank you for reading. Tomorrow, we will dive into Ezekiel chapter two. I can’t wait to see what happens and what God does next!
Dear Father,
Today we have a simple request. Open our eyes and ears so they work like You want them to. Help us to stand still and take in all that You say. Like Ezekiel, make us transfixed and not able to look away from You. You are beautiful and glorious and we love You. Thank You for listening and answering our prayers. Amen
gloryinthemorning.com 