A New Day

Today is Sunday, March 27, 2011. And although there have been many March 27th Sundays, this is the only one we will have this year. This day will never come again. What we chose to do with it has been done. No taking back anything or changing anything. It has been a day.  Should we be given a tomorrow, there will only be one March 28, 2011. It's up to us to decide what sort of day it will be. As for me, I pray that I will choose to make March 28, 2011 the best day it can be. It all starts with the decision to either make it good or make it miserable. It's my choice, and it's your choice.

In Psalm 118: 24 it is written  This is the day that which the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. NKJV.

Tonight, I'm thinking about my tomorrow already. What kind of day will it be? Windy? Warm? Cold? What do I wear to work? Long sleeves? Short sleeves? What do I take for lunch? Will it be a busy day? I will be as prepared as I can for anything. I have found though, that the best laid plans usally fall through for me. No matter how much I decide the night before that I'm going to rejoice in the day that the Lord has made, something always crops up that takes my joy. Now I have found that the only reason my rejoicing gets taken away is because I stop thinking about it the busier I get. Wow! That was mind blowing! I let my joy get covered up to the point I can't feel it because I let my circumstances get the better of my decision to be joyful. Sound familiar? If "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13), then I should be able to keep my joy first and foremost in my mind all day. That is what I am going to strive to do if I should be given a tomorrow.

I want to keep the words of God in my thoughts all day. I want to speak His word over every circumstance in my life. I will speak forgiveness, prosperity, peace, joy, and love. I will rejoice in the Lord always.  I will let my gentleness be known to all men and women. I will remember that the Lord is at hand. I will be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let my requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart and mind through Christ Jesus. And I will think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, are of a good report, virtuous and praiseworthy, I will meditate on these things. This is all written in Philippians 4: 4-8. All I have to do is remember to do these things, and it will be a glorious, joy filled day for me.

Ahhhh....how awesome it would be to do this throughout the day, without my mind being carried away in other areas. And believe me, the moment I make the decision to do all these wonderful things, a dirty, sneaky, lying little pest called the devil will try to squeeze in and make havoc of all my best laid plans. I have found that the moment I decide that I'm going to do things God's way, which is so rewarding and so wonderful, here comes that little sneak, trying to snatch it all away. But today, my new day, my March 27, 2011, I learned that once a negative thought invades my mind or an angry word tries to escape my mouth, all I have to say is "Jesus my Lord and Savior", and guess what? Peace!!!! So, I have decided that from now on, before my feet touch the floor in the mornings, I'm going to say "Good morning Father God! Thank you for another new day. I love you". I want to start my day off right. The only way to do that is with the Lord. He have given us power over the enemy. Praising God is the greatest power any of us possess. We may not feel like praising Him, but how about we all try it for a month and see what happens. Just let the first words out of your mouth in the morning be "Good morning Father God! Thank you for this brand new day"! I have a feeling there's going to be lots of joy going around before too long.

God bless you and keep you. Give Him glory and praise. Just remember this.... 

Set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth. Colossians 3: 2

I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a great new day!!!

Forgiveness breaks Bondage

As I was praying this morning, it hit me big time that I had not forgiven all the people in my life that hurt me. So, I asked the Lord to forgive me for not forgiving them. Once I started listing all the people in my unforgiveness folder, I found that I had not forgiven myself for some of the things I have done to others. God has such a gentle way of reminding us of our Lord's words "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses". (Matthew 6:14) NKJV. I had not forgiven some in my past, so Father God had not forgiven me for my sins. So, I forgave a lot of people, and felt peace. I must say that though today was hectic at work, I still had that peace within me.

In forgiving, I have found that it sets those I've had hard feelings against free as well. See....when we hold bitterness and the hurt they showered on us against them, we hold them in bondage too. We are bound by the memories of what was done to us. We hold on to it, re-live it, suffer it over and over again in our minds because we don't let it go. Our holding on to it binds the offender as well. That is where they have the control over us. But once we let them go, once we forgive them and break the bondage they had us in, they are set free as well. And if they aren't tied to us, they can't control us. So I intend to keep setting people in my past free every time they come to mind. After all, they don't have a clue that we still suffer because of them. In fact, those that have hurt us have probably forgotten who we are. See, we mattered so little to them to begin with. That is why it was easy for them to hurt us. But once we are free of them, they forget who we are. So why continue to hold on to someone that doesn't even know we exist anymore? Forgive them, so that you may be forgiven, and the bondage you were in can be broken. You can be set free. Believe me, there is nothing like being free!

Again, I pray "Father God, if there is any unforgiveness in my heart towards anyone at this very moment, reveal it to me so that I may forgive them, release them, and be set free of them. Forgive me Father, for holding anything against a person that will keep me separated from you. Lord God, as David prayed in Psalm 51:10-11 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me". NKJV. Let me not hold anything against anyone from this moment forward. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Sharing Faith, the Beginning

When I started to think about this blog page, I asked God "What should I name it"? He said, "What do you want to do with it"? I said, "Share faith". He said, "There you go then". So, this blog is to share faith. By faith, I mean the Faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Walking in faith takes faith. I mean, how many people out there who aren't Christians, really believe that God is real? It takes faith to believe that. Or how many of those among us really believe that Jesus is truly alive and does sit at the right hand of the Father? Now that takes faith. Or better yet, how many hungry, homeless, abused, desperate people believe God really cares about them? That is really a hard question for some to answer. I'm sure that when they are cold, have nothing but the ragged clothes on their backs and no blanket to keep warm with or a roof over their heads, that having faith or believing in the Lord is impossible for them to wrap their minds around. I mean, if He really was as caring as some make Him out to be, then why are so may suffering? Well......again, it takes FAITH.

Father God gave us all the choice to make choices. Every step we take is made by a decision we just made by the thought we just had. We either go right or left, forward or backwards. We either do what is right, or what is wrong. It's our decision, and our choice. I'm not saying that those suffering chose to suffer. They just took a step in the wrong direction, and kept going rather than turn back and start over. With God, He gives us that option. One of the greatest decisions we can make is to go back to where things were right, and start over from there.

Abuse victims don't choose to be abused. But they end up in those situations because of the decisions they made before they got there. Take me for instance. I was horrifically abused. By my mother and by men. I was raped, beaten, and not just once, but three times! My Lord, I thought, "is this why I was created? To be a punching bag for my mother and a piece of meat by those rapists"? But after meeting Jesus, I figured it out. Now, I was not to blame for the situation I was in with my mother. I was born into that. But as for the rapes? Well, if I had not been looking for someone to take care of me, to love me, to be my savior, then I wouldn't have ended up in relationships that got me hurt. I also found out that there are just mean, hurtful people out in this world. They make the decision to be abusers. I don't care what anyone says, ABUSE IS NOT HEREDITARY!!! If it were, I would be a pro at it. No, we make decisions, and some are wrong and end us up in trouble.

After meeting Jesus in 1992, something changed in me. I didn't do it. Well, not all of it anyway. Some I take credit for, but mostly, it was God that changed me. I decided that I wasn't going to be anyone's punching bag again, or put myself in the situation to be attacked and raped again. I decided that I was worth more than that. So, I took myself out of the places I didn't belong, and started going to the places that I did belong. Church was hard for me at first. Some people knew me before, and I was judged when I walked through the doors of a couple of churches. But I found that I wanted to know more about my Lord, so I held my head up and kept going. I went to Bible College, and was amazed at how many people in the Bible had been through some of the things that I had been through. King David's daughter Tamar was raped by her brother, Amnon. Wow! Really? In the Bible? Yep! 2 Samuel 13:1-22. After reading of what had happened to Tamar, I felt that I wasn't the only one things like that happened to. So, by faith, I put my trust in God, and through the years, He has saved me over and over again.

I'll share more along the way. Right now, I just want to say that having Jesus in your heart and life compares to nothing this world has to offer. If you don't know Him, go to John 3:16-17 and meet Him. We'll all get together again real soon. God bless you and keep you. And have Faith. It's going to get better.