Tag Archives: Christ

Christian Living, Theme Praying

It Makes Sense To Me

Gallery Leave a comment

It is occurring more often now: theme praying. That is my general praying over the day’s list with a blanket request; which, of course, does not circumvent specific requests.  And my general request today was one I know is bigger than I know.  :)  It was for the LORD JESUS to court my people. To court them, pursue them with the passion of the Cross. I take no credit for it. It’s a HOLY SPIRIT thing. I am just grateful He leads our praying. 

So as I sat to write to you about it I googled court and found this:

To attempt to gain; seek
 To behave so as to invite or incur
 To try to gain the love or affections of, especially to seek to marry.
via Court – definition of Court by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia..

Yep! That’s what I was asking. For myself as well as for you and others.  You see some of the folks I pray for are estranged from JESUS. Some of them by their very own ‘testimony’ do not know Him nor do they presently want to know Him. Some profess to know Him but are finding it difficult to walk the Road He walks. And wonderfully others are head over heels in love with Him, yet there is always more depths of love to go with Him. And in all these seasons it is JESUS who must initiate, must court the soul or that soul will never surrender to the marriage, (the GOD covenant relationship) and for those who have come into the marriage with Him, we have a propensity to stray. So I asked for martial courting (Horizontal marriages would do well with some courting too.), wooing us to walk closely with Him.

I figure it this way: who does not want to be courted? Who does not want another to behave toward them in such a way as to invite them into a pleasant, comforting, good relationship? Who does not want someone to love them?  And what better PERSON than JESUS CHRIST?

And with the Passion of the Cross? Think about it! HE loves us so much that He endured THAT and ALL it entailed! That’s what I’m asking for! For any soul gone astray or any flirting with going astray, for the HOLY SPIRIT to ‘hotly’ pursue that one with the Passion of the Cross.

However, I am reminded that HE is not in this alone and these hot pursuits that I am petitioning Him for may require some assistance on my part. Not that HE needs my assistance or yours! Yet, for sure, He chooses to allow US to work with Him. How glorious!!! So again, HOLY SPIRIT, pursue me that I may pursue YOU and others as You direct.

It makes sense to me!

I Corinthians 3: 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
via 1 Corinthians 3:8-10 KJV – Now he that planteth and he that – Bible Gateway.

Romans 2:4 New Century Version (NCV)
4 He has been very kind and patient, waiting for you to change, but you think nothing of his kindness. Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will change your hearts and lives.
via Romans 2:4 NCV – He has been very kind and patient, – Bible Gateway.

Thank You, HOLY SPIRIT, Thank You, ABBA, Thank You, JESUS, for giving Yourself to us. To pursue us, to draw us to Yourself. Thank You for the will to come to You. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the gift of prayer. And so again I pray that You court us all in just the way we need in each of our individual stations today. Heal our sick, mend our hearts, restore our hearts and families for Your glory. Amen and . . .  . 

We have the God-given Right to do right in this wrong World,
Praying (PFT)!

Christian Living

Fertilizer for the Garden of our Heart

Gallery 1 Comment

Dung.

In our society it is a polite word for feces, refuse, etc.  Albeit it’s a Biblical word as well. Have you noticed ABBA is not a prude?

Dung.  A word that came to mind as I prayed this morning.

Let me give it to you straight; just like it came as I prayed for myself and others.

May it be that the dung people heap upon us be turned to fertilizer so that we will produce even more of the fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT.

I think it’s a good prayer.  It was a new insight for me.  Forgive me for sharing it so graphically with you, but perhaps you will be helped even as I.

It is our business when we are maligned by others with words or deeds that are tantamount to refuse – dung – that we allow the Holy Spirit to use that dung as fertilizer – that is one of the uses of dung in the Scripture. Here see for yourself:

DUNG Excrement of man or beast. “Dung” translates several different Hebrew and Greek words. An ash heap or rubbish heap was used to convey the haunt of the destitute (1 Sam. 2:8; Luke 14:35).

The first mention of dung in the Bible is in connection with the sacrificial rites. The sacred law required that the dung, along with other parts of the animal, should not be burned on the altar but should be burned outside the camp (Exod. 29:14; Lev. 4:11–12).

A major disgrace for a Jew was to have one’s carcass treated as dung (2 Kings 9:37). Dung has been used as fertilizer for centuries. It is recorded in Luke 13:8 and Isa. 25:10 that the people of Palestine used it for that purpose. Dry dung was and is often used as fuel (Ezek. 4:12–15). Animal dung was used as fuel when it was mixed with straw and dried to a suitable state for heating the simple bread ovens.

Paul used a powerful metaphor with the word “dung” when he made a comparison between his personal knowledge of Christ and those who did not know Christ (Phil. 3:8). The word is used also in Scripture to indicate symbolically the degradation to which a person or a nation might fall (2 Kings 9:37; Jer. 8:2).

Gary Bonner[1]

[1] Brand, C., Draper, C., England, A., Bond, S., Clendenen, E. R., Butler, T. C., & Latta, B. (2003). Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (444–445). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.    (Logos)

Galatians 5:
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
via Galatians 5 KJV – Stand fast therefore in the liberty – Bible Gateway.

There is no way for you or I to live unscathed in this world. DUNG is going to come our way. Perhaps we will just step in a pile of it by our own lack of discipline and diligence.  Sometimes we even trip and fall headlong into it. Other times it is splashed on us by the falling of those around us. And then there are the times when it is flung at us with hurtful intent -perhaps the hardest of all to wash off.  Nevertheless, it is crucial that we take the dung in all its ugliness and putrid smell to the LORD of HEAVEN and allow Him to transform it into fertilizer so the Garden of our Heart will produce more and more fruit to His glory and the good of others.

Presently I have no update on the three-year old boy we are praying for since yesterday.  And, of course, there are others on all our minds as we gather here at our respective screens and times.  And so, ABBA, we come with our concerns for others and for ourselves and we petition You for help in all our matters. Those things that are pleasant and not pleasant; those things that bring us happiness and not; all of it we bring with us and surrender to You entrusting each and all things to You, knowing without doubt that You are capable but more than capable You are willing and have our very best interest in Your Heart and with our cooperation Your Best will come.  Thank You, our LORD and our GOD.  In JESUS name. Amen and . . . .    .

We have the God-given Right to do right in this wrong World,

Christian Living, Prayer Requests

Good (Message)

Gallery Leave a comment

Friday morning, Friends. It’s a sunshiny day in lower Alabama!

So! Happy plans for the weekend anyone?

I’m about blank of anything to write this morning, So, I again went to my JOURNEY magazine. Revolt or Respect? It read.
Good message in our political climate.
Good message in a work environment.
Good message in family dynamics.
Good Message.

It talked of a school principal having made a decision his teachers did not understand, nor did they agree was good and reasonable. Short tempers flared. Words were flung. Conspiracies for dissensions were devised as the teachers began to file from the room.  Except for one.

Listen in with me (again) as our heroine is described:

“Amidst the arguing and accusations, I began to hear the voice of the HOLY SPIRIT beckoning me to show Mr. Tate respect and honor, even if I didn’t agree with his position. By the time the meeting had adjourned and other teachers began to exit in small groups, huddling together and murmuring about their plans of dissension, I had determined to steer clear of the angry talk. If I needed to address Mr. Tate about his decision it would only be later after I’d prayed about things and could speak with gentleness, self-control, and respect.”

I know of NO relationship wherein this is not the proper action!  And in this very moment, the precious HOLY SPIRIT brings to mind a verse of Scripture for us. Excuse me while I go find the reference to copy and paste it for us here. 

Oh my! Verse 19 is where He starts us —

James 1: 19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
via James 1 NASB – Testing Your Faith – James, a – Bible Gateway.

Who does not want to be blessed in what she (he) does?
For sure, for sure the HOLY SPIRIT is saying to us today if we want to be blessed, we must be quick to hear and slow to speak.  And that’s only the beginning.

JOURNEY concluded with a poignant question and counsel. 

“Is the LORD asking you to act contrary to the way of the crowd?
Yield to Him and He will strengthen you.”

The Word stings, ABBA, but it’s a good sting to me. Good as a scalpel that cuts away what is harmful. HOLY SPIRIT, do Your perfect work here in us with Your Word.  Indeed You are asking, commanding, us to act differently than the crowd and You have promised to strengthen us. We accept Your command and Your strength to be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to get angry, quick to hear and do as You have written, to look intently at Your perfect law of liberty and receive Your blessings.  Thank You, ABBA. Thank You. 

And, ABBA, thank You. We see Your hand in this and we wait to see Your glory revealed in this. I am mindful in this moment of another trial of another sort, it’s a cancer of another kind, the kind that eats a person’s soul and hurts others; You know the parties in mind and even others I do not know and I pray You will lead them all, guide them to proper counsel, legal and Christian, to process this.  I pray for restoration.  For all the suffering(s) that has been brought here, HOLY SPIRIT, we pray for Your intervention and Your glory. Amen and . . . .   .

We have the God-given Right to do right in this wrong World,
Kathie