Something Beautiful

 

Five days until Christmas 

It is hard to believe

It feels as though the year has flown by

As I prayed yesterday -

As I petitioned the LORD, and said ‘speak LORD, your servant is listening’, this verse dropped in my spirit:

‘I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD; plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11

It doesn’t always feel that way - especially if you are facing situations and circumstances which are so far beyond your understanding that they boggle the brain.

Yet, His Word is every bit as true as when He first spoke those words. His plans are good plans. And they never fail - no matter what it looks like to our feeble minds.

Every year when I decorate for the holiday season, there is inevitably a point I reach where I wonder if it will come together the way I envisioned it. 

If I am honest, there are times when my plans just don’t come to fruition. 

Last year was one of those years. Sick in my body, in the midst of a Lupus flare up and experiencing neurological issues, still trying to get my bearings and help my son recover from being struck by a drunk driver; nothing was as I planned. And I eventually abandoned my efforts to get things done exactly as I planned - resolving that it was as good as it was going to get because I just didn’t have the strength to complete my plans.

Life will sometimes crush your best intentions - 

     But not so with the LORD.

I am so glad that God is not us - that He is not me

He never sleeps or slumbers. He is all-powerful, always working and faithful to keep His promises. He always finishes what he begins.

‘God is not man, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?’ Numbers 23:19

‘The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.’ I Thessalonians 5:24

‘Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.’ Hebrews 10:23

‘He will never slumber nor sleep; He is the Guardian-God for His people … Yahweh himself will watch over you; He’s always at your side to shelter you safely in His presence.’ Psalm 121:4-5

‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’ Romans 8:28

This season - this morning - if you still have breath in your lungs … know that the good LORD is still developing the beautiful picture that is your life.

He is making something beautiful!

It will all come together before your eyes just as He planned it from the beginning.

Keep Trusting Him & Have a Blessed Day!

Love so beautiful

 

‘God so loved the world that He gave…’ 

John 3:16

Oh, the love the Father bestowed upon us!

There will never be a love so beautiful - 

Not anywhere in creation, not in a million years

So, so beautiful 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

John 3:16

The Presence of Purpose

 

‘I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.’ 

Isaiah 48:10

‘I know the plans I have for you’, declares the LORD;

‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

Plans to give you a hope and a future.’

Jeremiah 29:11

Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible; But with God, all things are possible’ 

Matthew 19:26

He has a plan and a purpose for your life;

It was designed before you were ever a thought in the hearts and minds of your parents

He loves you with an everlasting love …

Trust His plans & purpose for your life

praise time

 ‘I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’ Psalm 122:1

 

I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’

Yet, the times of praise & fellowship are constant and unending.

In times past, there was a set time to go to the house of the LORD.

Thankfully, we who have been saved by the blood of Jesus, have now become the house of the LORD

‘Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?’ I Corinthians 3:16

This is not to negate the need for corporate fellowship: ‘Let us not neglect our meeting together…’  (Hebrews 10:25) Rather it is to emphasize: we may be in the house of the LORD – anywhere

 

Today – whether you are attending a church service in a building, watching online or having a personal and private time of individual worship, know that it is a privilege to be with LORD.

Jesus made that possible!

 

‘Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift [which is precious beyond words].’

II Corinthians 9:15AMP

BLESSINGS THAT BAFFLE

Greetings Friends …

I pray all is well with you tonight - 

It has been a while since I’ve written

This has been a challenging year … to put it mildly

Yet, something gripped me today was I was listening to music and working

 

I was listening to a compilation of songs by Elevation Worship and Chandler Moore and in that video, they start singing a blessing:

‘The LORD bless you, and keep you,

Make His face shine upon you … and be gracious to you

The LORD turn His face toward you … and give you peace’

 

The blessing was not the part that gripped me.

I have prayed that same blessing many times – over my friends here

No – it was something else and not just the words of a verse

 

As they continued, this chorus resounded:

May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations,

And your family and your children and their children, and their children

May His presence go before you, and behind you, and beside you, all around you, and within you – 

He is with you, He is with you

In the morning and the evening,

In your coming and your going, in your weeping and rejoicing

He is for you … He is for you

 

And in an instant – I was completely overcome and undone

The words of that song took on such great depth and perspective

I suddenly found myself effortlessly transitioning from singing to praying … to crying; intense in prayer … in the natural and in the spirit

And even though I was the one praying – it took me by surprise

 

You see – today – I was not praying for myself,

I was not praying for my three sons

I was not praying for my dad or my best friend

I was not praying for my friends here

No – I found myself instead, praying with tear-filled eyes

            For every person who hates me

            For those who despise the very thought of me

            For those who have plotted and conspired against me

 

In the past – I have prayed for those who do not know Him

I have prayed they would have a genuine encounter with Him

And I thought I was doing something ‘good’ … because I could not bring myself to pray for the destruction of those who come against me –

But it is not enough to not pray for destruction

            There must be prayer for direction, for protection, for construction

 

Anyone in Christ is a new creation

The old is passed away … all things are new

II Corinthians 5:17

 

That is what was special and different about today –

I am not certain I can fully convey what transpired

Something snapped … in a good way!

I found myself keenly aware that – as I sang and cried and prayed –

As I made declarations for people who hate me…

Something profound was happening in the spirit, in the heavenly realm

 

I can pray for change in the world

But true change in the world begins with change inside of individuals

And that is only found in Christ

 

‘Bless those who curse you and do good to them that hate you …’ Matthew 5:43-47

 

BLESSINGS!

BLESSINGS THAT BREAK THE BACK OF CURSES

But my prayer is not just for an introduction or an encounter –

I was – and am – praying for the kind of blessings that chase you down & overtake you

The kind of blessings that surround you and envelope you

BLESSINGS THAT BAFFLE THE MIND!

 

May His favor be upon you as well my friends –

For your family, and your children, and their children, and their children

 

Have a Blessed Evening!