Money, Money, Money... Mooooney!

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

I have to confess something. I'm not content with what I have. I mean I'm not stealing, I'm not drooling over what I don't have and I am no longer (thank You LORD) ignoring bills to get what I want. BUT..... I think more about bills than I should. I spend more time telling GOD about what I have to pay than I do thanking Him for what He has taken care of. I still take more time tattling to ABBA about my bills and needs than I do praising Him and giving thanks in advance, which is so hard when you are in need!! But isn't that being uncontent... or in contempt? I don't think merely loving to have money is what is being referred to but also looking to money for things needed. Bare with me here. Yes we all have needs and bills that NEED to be paid. A lot of us are still living "check to check" correct? Well verse five says to be content with "what you HAVE." The bills that aren't paid aren't because you DONT have it. So we are to be content with what we DO have and trust that GOD has made an arrangement for what we don't have. That's what's hard for me. I see the bills coming in and I see the money going out to pay bills. I also see what is not paid or what we don't have in the house because I can't see the money nor do I have the money that would pay for these things. But GOD does. 

Matthew 6:25-31 speaks directly to that. Here's the sum up of what it says. Don't worry about what you don't have because worrying won't make it happen any faster. It will in fact, take away time from you. If GOD will feed the birds and clothe the flowers, how much more will He do for those He loves? 

His word promises that because He is our helper, He will not leave. So are you content?

Father, forgive me for being anxious and not being content with what I have. Help me to place my eyes on You and be thankful for You have already supplied and are supplying as well as thanking You in advance for what You will supply! Take hold of my anxious heart, LORD, and pour in contentment for Your  word and promises. Help them to bubble up to the surface in times of need and despair. In Jesus name. Amen!

Transparent Unbelief

Transparent Unbelief

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" -Matthew 14:26-31 

Okay so let me first explain my BC addiction/ fear of ghosts. When I was about 6 or 7, we lived in the Philippines. The base we were on was filled with stories of ghouls, goblins, ghost, vampires and demons. I can remember even the school I was at participated in this nonsense of telling ghost stories to us kids. I believe that's where my spirit of fear was conceived. It was also where my love/ hate relationship with the unknown began. For every story that scared me, I needed to know more. I needed to get to "the bottom" of it and see if I could see "it". I remember imagining a story that I had watched earlier with our house girl that even further warped my young mind. It was of a barrel that you could jump in and it had fish in it and.... apparently no end. To the seeing eye, one could only see the bottom of this barrel that held fish to buy. But for those who wanted more, it was a doorway to another time. There were monsters in the movie, what kind I don't remember, and the flashes of it I have in my head now are so ridiculous you would've thought the movie was a Filipino version of Disney's  Fantasia (my dad swears that the director had to be on acid while making that cartoon... and I tend to agree). I also remember another time of being told yet another local horror tale right before bed. I don't remember how long it took me to fall asleep but I do remember that I thought I woke up to my bed shaking like crazy and jumped straight out to go to my parents room! You'll be happy to know I have since renounces all of that mess and even though my desire to see what new horror movies are about, I won't watch because I know that all made now are doorways. 

When the Disciples saw this figure walking on water, they freaked out as much as any of us would have. I mean we weren't talking about shallow water where you couldn't see ones feet but their ankles were visible. This was the Sea of Galilee!! How I would've gone from frightened near death to in awe and instant worship at the point of realization that this was my Lord and Savior walking in this huge body of water which was, I'm sure 50ft or more deep! How magnificent is HE!!

But, the Bible is also clear about there appearance of ghosts. There are several verses, including this one, that mention seeing, thinking of seeing and hearing ghosts. But when I think of the power of my JESUS, NOTHING stands more powerful than He!!

Well that brings me to my first vision, in plain sight. On my way to church for a prayer service last Friday evening, I was in full worship, music loud and me singing! I pulled into the parking lot to see a truck in the middle of the street and slowed down to see if anyone was in there. As I turned back to look straight, there was a car in front of me (All normal things). It happened to be a woman that I knew from church once I got closer, and as I parked, I watched her go in the building but not before quickly turning her head my way. Everything after that was routine and a powerful prayer session. So much so that I hadn't really paid too much attention that I hadn't seen this woman. I thought perhaps she was somewhere else in the building. Things didn't turn odd for me until another sister in Christ came to me to ask if this certain woman frequented the Ignite prayer worship. I said yes and told her she was there somewhere. To make a long story short, another woman told us she wasn't there. That's when I started to freak out. Two other women got into the same conversation with us and after it was determined that, in fact, she was NOT present that night, we learned of her recent suffering and decided right then to pray. It was nothing short of GOD that did that! I still dwell in that "in plain sight" vision I had of her waking upright and turning her neck (she had bulging disks the day before) while going to praise her LORD!

My recent stint with this has even more so turned my unbelief into belief! I have to admit, I would pray certain things as led by God and then not believe it was possible. Have you ever done this? Unbelief is a bondage to keep you from experiencing God's lovingkindness, grace, mercy and blessings. It is the very same, age old trick of the devil that kept Adam and Eve from being who God had created them to be. The serpent asked in Genesis, "Did God really say, 'you must not eat of any tree in this garden?" A tricky seed of doubt quickly turns to unbelief when left unattended. The serpent misinterpreted, on purpose of course, what God commanded and even though Eve KNEW what God said, by even entertaining the liar, she made room for that seed of doubt. 

There is someone suffering from a battle with doubt and unbelief. There is someone who is losing that battle. Please know that we are all there at one point. I was not too long ago. But if you hold on, He will bring you out even if He has to carry you! In mark 5:36, Jesus comforts a man who has just been told his daughter, whom he came to Jesus to ask to heal her, had died. Jesus COMFORTED him!! He does care!! But The Alpha and Omega did not stop there! He then commanded this man ever so gently, I believe, to "only believe." I extend that release for you today dear ones. "Do not fear, (which is where doubt and unbelief stem from) only believe." 

Father, thank You for that vision to remind me of who You are. Thank You for bringing me out of my temporary jail of depression. Lord, I stand in the gap of all who read this and are going through that same battle, asking themselves and You the same questions I did. Comfort them, Lord and help them believe. Be that gentle voice guiding them back to You, Holy Spirit. Pour great hope into their spirits as they sleep and when they toss and turn, give them rest. Let them know, remind us that You are still on the Throne and you will never leave not forsake us. In Jesus mighty name. Amen!

Transparent Reach

Transparent Reach

He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Matthew 14:29, 30 ESV

Jesus was walking on water. Why was that do hard to believe for those who had seen Him perform other miracles? He sent them in ahead of them so why did they forget that He was coming once they were further out? Why do our minds work in the natural only? If we for see it or ourselves, we don't tend to believe it. Or is that just the way my mind works? Even Peter AFTER Jesus said "It is I. Do not fear," he still needed proof. It's as if he was saying, "You say it's you but I don't believe you unless I have proof." How many do that (raising hand). And then once Jesus graciously told him to come out, instead of knowing that Jesus, the one who had told him to step out, the one who would never let anything happen to us, would never let him sink more than necessary. But we do that. We worry when we see or hear the winds and storms in our life.

What I notice, what God has showed me is that I cry out to those in the boat because I can SEE the boat and people in it. Because Peter could see Jesus, he called out to Him even though he only had to focus on Him to stay above water. Did you catch that? If only we would focus on Christ, we will stay above water. But of course, we don't and so because of His grace, He knows that and extends His hand to us. But what I realized today is that not only do I cry out I those in the boat but I do it knowing full well that Jesus is right there for me, knowing full well He has me. I also realized that when I start to sink, He's closer than I usually think.

How about you? Do you aim for the boat faster than you do for Jesus when you cry out in a storm? Do you reach for the phone and call or text someone because it seems like they are closer than Jesus is? Do you only seem to wait until you start sinking to call in Him? Or perhaps you still call in those that are visible to the fleshy eye. This week I challenge you to try Him and see if indeed He is closer.

The verse that was just given to me as I wrote that part was "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother," Proverbs 18:24. I have a brother and when we were young we had no choice but to be close. Our parents didn't do sibling rivalry like parents nowadays. But as we got older, we grew in different ways. We had life happen. We still love each other just the same but we don't see each other nearly as much as I desire. But oh when we do.... it's like no time had passed. I find myself looking at Jesus in that way. When I am in troubled waters, when I step out of the boat like He commanded and then start to sink, He doesn't feel close so I reach out to people in prayer and for relief. But this verse reminds me that He is a friend that sticks CLOSER than a brother. He is there when we need Him, when we have no idea that we need Him and even when we don't think we need Him. He is closer than a brother, He is closer than any family member, He is CLOSER than we think.

Father, thank you for not only the sacrifice of Your Son's death but His life that You have for us. Jesus, thank You for the life You led to show us how to overcome our storms and that we can reach out to you, without condemnation, when we struggle to stay on the troubled waters of life. You truly are closer than anyone else, I pray that we would remember that and look to you. In Jesus name. Amen.