Radiance....

Here is a beautiful…powerful…amazing…promise…from Him who loves us beyond reason…

“They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.”
Psalm 34:5

I am so convinced that shame and pride…walk hand in hand. And…most of us deal with both (truth be told, I think everyone has both!)…you see…

The fall that Adam and Eve took in the garden…well…it was marked with pride, but ended in shame. Pride…that they knew better than the Father who adored them…created them…breathed life into them. Then…shame…for their grave mistake.

Shame…well it just makes us feel…oh…so…unworthy. We want cover…we want to run…want to hide. Shame’s sister…pride…then comes along and causes us to try to rise above our shame and say, “We can do it! We are better than shame!” Pride tells us we deserve more, causes us to self-promote, be dissatisfied…not content…work hard to prove…we are not shame-full. We are not comfortable in our own skin...what sadness.

Only looking to King Jesus…for our worth…for acceptance…for love…breaks the cycle of shame and pride…and oh! The promise! Freedom…radiant lives…wholeness in Him alone.

What are we waiting for?

(If this little message spoke to your heart today...please take a moment to click on its title above...go to the site...and click on the heart at the bottom! Watch the hearts dance...ok...they just come out, not necessarily dance!)

photo: United by Love

At the Start of This Week...

At the start of this week…

If you are facing major, or not so major decisions…rely on the Holy Spirit to lead you. He will. However…be willing to do what He is speaking to you. That willingness is called…surrender! Don’t miss God’s best for you by settling for what seems quick or easy. His best…is outrageously the BEST!

If you need to forgive someone, no matter how slight or large the offense. Get to it pronto!! Ask for Jesus’ help! He has completely forgiven you…He WILL give you the strength to forgive others.

If you need sleep, rest, or refreshment for your body, soul, or spirit…take it! Make finding time from your crazy schedule to 1.) Be in His presence and Word. 2.) Get good sleep 3.) Get outside and take a technology break. Fill your mind and heart with His beauty that surrounds.

This is a week of new beginnings, hopes that will be realized, and miracles to watch for. Keep your eyes open, your heart tender, and your mind from distraction. This week will be awesome in Jesus because Who is in you is greater than anything! 
1 John 4:4

 

photo: Classy in the City

Psalm 63...

“Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,”

Sit on that phrase for a while. What has been ruling your life? My life? Robbing us of His lovingkindness…His unfailing…love? Because whatever it is…that thing, person, passion of ours can’t compete with God’s promise to satisfy our souls. Quite literally, our hearts and minds…our very being. Yes…marrow and fatness He promises

And…our thoughts?

“I meditate on You in the night watches.”

Are our thoughts consumed with Him? His beauty? His power and glory? And if they are not…we have a choice…I choose…Him. Over the chatter of empty mind patterns that distract. Tracking with me? Again “why” are we so enthralled with His beauty? Because…

“You have been my help, 
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice."

Yes…this is the place to be. Tucked in close…to His heart. And when my soul…yes, my heart…everything my heart cherishes and yearns for. And…my mind (my thoughts and choices) follow close behind Him…the great promise of Psalm 63 that we have been reading is fulfilled:

His very right Hand…will uphold…me...

Ahhhh…yes!

 

photo: Bojon Gourmet
 

Decisions....

Decisions are sometimes…hard to make.

In an hour of this day alone, my 96-year old dad made the decision to…give up driving after eighty years on the road. And… a twenty-five year old son of a close friend…made a decision to go with chemo…instead of a “wait-and-see” approach. Maybe two ends of a long spectrum…but potentially life-altering decisions, nonetheless.

My decisions today were more tame…where to eat, what to wear, what task to complete first…yes…decisions…decisions. A day doesn’t pass without a million decisions…

 

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.”

Isaiah 30:21

We need help making decisions…wouldn’t you agree? Someone with more perspective. Someone who knows what’s ahead…you know…Who knows what could happen. Someone who is always…looking out for us.

Jesus is that Someone. However, He is a gentleman. He won’t force His way…where He is not invited. He won’t necessarily speak…when we have already made our choice. He won’t compete with the chatter of the world. It is time to give Him full reign…over the reign of our lives…and then, in full surrender (even if we are trembling and tentative in giving it to Him)…He will speak that word and say, “This the way…walk in it.”

What comfort…

 

photo: Armella Habib via Flickr

Arghhhhh.....

A little word association here…here is the word…

Journaling.....It can bring various responses:

“Argghhhhh”….I hate it, it takes time, why bother, who cares, I don’t write well, I can't even read my own handwriting…etc.

“Guilt”…I want to do it but it takes time, I always give up after I miss a few days, I have ten million journals laying around the house that I have started, I can’t find a user friendly app…etc.

“Bliss”…(yes, bliss)….yes it is messy, it takes time, but it keeps me accountable, helps me remember what God has spoken to me, done for me, and what He has promised me…

Yes…you can tell I fall in the latter category of thought…and I’m praying that this will give you a gentle, but firm kick in the rear (can I say that on a Devotional Page?)…to record by whatever you choose: handwritten, word processed, graffiti on your garage door, sidewalk chalk…

"Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: 'Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.”
Jeremiah 30:2

That is the point…remember, processing your thoughts with His, staying focused, looking back and looking forward…

I hope you will consider journaling as part of your walk with the Jesus. You will get the hang of it…you will be blessed.

 

 

photo: Digs Digs

 

Eagles' Wings...

I am…pooped out.

Anybody trackin’ with me here? However…it is a rich, good, joyous…pooped out.

I had the amazing privilege of sharing at a Women’s Camp this past weekend (Thousand Pines Christian Camp). It was thrilling…it was exhilarating…it was crazy fun…to watch the Lord at work. I could have talked about…baking chocolate chip cookies (I didn't…but could have!) and He would have moved…transforming lives…His vast love for so many…going deep…yes…going deep. He didn't need me…He only desired the hungry hearts that every woman had presented to Him there.

“But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; 
They shall mount up with wings like eagles, 
They shall run and not be weary, 
They shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

I have lived too many years in the other kind of…pooped out…you know…burned out…exhausted, depleted, hope dimmed, weary of life…kind of pooped out. It is not…riding on eagles' wings. And…I don’t want to live that way anymore. And…the promise of soaring with Him is wrapped up in one word… “wait”…

A Mary way of waiting…at His feet…drinking in His presence and His Word. That simple.*

Yes…I am pooped out…but I am flying high…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5S-YZxz1NM

photo: Hemingway & Hepburn

*Luke 10:38-42

At the Start of This Week...

At the start of this week…

Should you feel…well…kinda blue, bored, or broke…possibly you haven’t been spending some “soaking” time with the Lord? Quieting ALL the noise in your life and hearing only His voice? Filling you to overflow with the Holy Spirit? He has been waiting for you…

Should you think your life has been turned upside down? One, check to make sure you are on HIS path. Two, you may be in the midst of the enemy’s “attack,” get your armor on (Eph. 6). Three, it may be the Lord shaking up some things to get you out of your comfort zone. Lean hard into Him and let Him take you on a thrill ride.

Should old habits start to return…you know…impatience, irritability, may not so great language or tone to your voice? Step back, drink in His word. Remember how much Jesus loves you and gives you His love to give others. Now start over facing folks that were causing your “flesh” to resurface.

This is a week of new beginnings, hopes that will be realized, and miracles to watch for. Keep your eyes open, your heart tender, and your mind from distraction. This week will be awesome in Jesus because Who is in you is greater than anything! 
1 John 4:4

photo: Anchored by Love

For Such a Time...

When I was younger, I wished that I could have lived in the Wild West of the 1800’s... 

All those beautiful horses, wide open land, and big Montana skies that went on forever. Never mind that there were no microwaves, cell phones, malls, or Amazon…nope I would not have lasted a week.

Then, when raising my kids, I looked back over my shoulder to the 1950’s…sort of the age of innocence…the Wonder Years.

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Esther 4:14

No…I was born for this time, in this place, in this moment of history…for such a time as this…and you were placed, born, and set, where you are at this moment…for His bidding, His purposes, His designs, as well. Just like Queen Esther. 

And if we remain silent…about the healing, delivering, life-giving, life-changing gospel in our circle of influence…Jesus will bring someone else…to do what He specifically called each one of us to do. And, someone else will experience the overwhelming fulfillment and the "high" of exquisite joy when partnering with Jesus to touch lives.

If you read my posts, you know that I am all about a love relationship with Jesus and not “works.”

However, ministry takes place from the overflow of time spent with the Lord Jesus, cultivating hearing the Holy Spirit’s leading, and knowing the power and authority of God’s Written Word, the Bible, inside-out and backwards…

So…this is just a gentle reminder to you (and myself) that each day has purpose in Him, and we live in a desperate world, in the midst of desperate times. A world that needs the love and healing of the Lord Jesus in this moment…for such a time as this…

photo: Schoengeist

(Dear Reader...I may not be able to post the next few days due to sharing at a Women's Retreat. I will post as soon as possible!!)

 

 

Do Not Worry...

Are you…worried…upset…concerned…or anxious about something?

 
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life…”
Matthew 6:25a

The original New Testament Greek word for “worry” is so interesting…

Merimnao: “To divide in parts.” The word suggests a distraction, a preoccupation with things causing anxiety, stress, and pressure.

Gosh, that sounds like “worry” to me…to be pulled in so many directions trying to figure out the resolution to a troubling situation of problem. “Scattered” and feeling torn apart or undone by worry, hmmmmm…that is not a very satisfying…or rewarding way to live.

Sometimes we think that worry is the responsible thing to do, excusing our preoccupation with it. However, in Christ, to worry is to say that He is not big enough, smart enough, wise enough, or He lacks the resources to help us in our need…Really? And yet…that is what our worry is stating.

How about we do a preemptive strike against the enemy? Let’s soak in all of Jesus words concerning our life found in Matthew 6:19-34…I mean really soak. Then, let’s invite the Holy Spirit to fill us with His faith as we choose to believe what Jesus says is true. Next…we will rest in His arms, and finally, we will obey implicitly when He gives us direction. 

He is more than enough to meet our every concern….

photo: Back Home Again Vintage

It is Finished...

Below are three of some of the most powerful words ever spoken...

"So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit."
John 19:30 

When Jesus cried out these words, His finishing work on the cross was...OUR...beginning. 

On the platform of this simple phrase..."It is finished!"...we stand in the power of God's Word to us that our debt of sin has been paid, our spiritual, emotions, and physical healing purchased, freedom is our portion, our enemy has been completely vanquished, and heaven has been secured for us.

However...let me change gears for a moment...

I am ALL about feeling, sensing, and experiencing the presence and power of God in our lives. I truly believe that we NEED to know what God's love and presence FEELS like. We need to cultivate sensing when the Spirit is moving in and among us...and when He is not. What we experience in the Him makes our Christianity a reality...not just theory.

Nevertheless...there are times where we have to just ruthlessly stand on the truth of God's Word that proclaims Jesus' death and resurrection finished all the seemingly unfinished business in our lives...

No matter what we are feeling.

Whatever you face today that is causing you anguish, anxiety, fear, or possibly guilt...Jesus has already...finished it...whatever IT is you need. Stand on that fact and not the barrage of your feelings. Take your hands completely off the predicament you find yourself in and give it to the One and Only who purchased your full redemption and healing. In His hands...every situation is already finished...just wait to see how marvelously it all ends up. 

It...is...finished!

photo: D. Levin via Flickr

Praying His Word...

I need Jesus to show up in a big way. 

You know what I mean?
Do you need for Him to show up in a big way in a situation currently in your life?

Today I went to prayer for all the women who will be attending upcoming events that I have the opp to share at over the next several weeks…I sensed the Holy Spirit leading me to pray Paul’s prayer for them from Ephesians 1:15-23. And…that brings me to this short point…

“And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…”
Ephesians 6:17-18

Please read these verses in their complete context…but the crux of this portion of the Armor of God is…His Word…is our one and only weapon against our adversary. And…His Word prayed and proclaimed over people, situations, nations, you name it…has far greater effect than anything we could ever come up with.

So…whatever you are facing…go to Him, open your Bible, and let the Spirit highlight what He wants you to see and how to pray. You might even start by praying Ephesians 1:15-23.

I double-dare you to do this before the day is over…believe me…rather believe His Word…pray these passages over your life…it will rock your world.

(Hi Dear One! If any of the devotionals speak to your heart...I would love it if you would click on the title of this blog...it will take you to the site where you can leave a short comment and you can click the heart button to see the little hearts come pouring out! Blessings, Sue Bee)

photo: kvtes

Let's Prepare...

If you are reading this…it is most likely a Saturday evening or a Sunday morning…

“Go through, Go through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people;
Build up, Build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
Lift up a banner for the peoples!”
Isaiah 62:10

It kinda goes with the territory that I fellowship with a local church…quite regularly. It kinda helps that I am married to a pastor. And…

Like most church gatherers (for we don’t “go” to church…we ARE the church…right?), well…those church participants of the female persuasion, I clean up: I wash my hair, put on make-up, find some clean jeans and a not too goofy t-shirt to wear.

I prepare my English muffin with almond butter and a good cup of coffee. I find my Bible, my purse, my phone. I prepare…almost everything…but do I prepare my heart?

Am I prepared to welcome a move of the Holy Spirit during worship? Am I prepared to be good soil so that His Word spoken and taught will go deep in me…and bear fruit? Am I prepared to pray for the sick, the broken, the lost? Have I invited the Lord to work through me with His gifts?

Just food for thought…let’s go…and take a few moments…to truly prepare…what’s important…

 

photo: Made From Scratch

Honey from the Rock...

I always seem to get a "Verse for the Year" from the Lord...

You know...it is just one of those times ...when you know...the Lord is speaking something directly to you. Psalm 81 is one of those kinds of passages for me in 2015....because...I tend to be...quite rebellious...

The first part of the psalm recounts God’s major work in freeing the nation of Israel from cruel bondage…I can sure relate…my own strongholds of the enemy…were cruel, unkind, hard to bear…and nearly cost me my life…

Then..the passage then takes a turn...and this is what He has been speaking gently...but firmly...to me...this year...

“If only you would have listened to Me…”

“If only…”

“He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you."Psalm 81:16

Face it…most of the time we want Jesus to do…what WE want to do. Like Israel “we walk in our own stubborn counsel.” 

Oh…oh, oh, oh…but we miss out…....on so much. We miss out on the enemy’s defeat in our life, satisfaction, joy, peace, purpose, destiny, vision, and power. No more…

I want the honey from the rock that only He gives…so I ask…
Want to join me right now in fresh and complete surrender to Him?

(p.s. Be sure to take a look at Psalm 81 for yourself!)


photo: Brie Williams

Tent Pegs...

Some years back, we sent our then nineteen year old daughter, Dayspring, on a camping trip with some of her friends...

We packed her car with all the family camping gear…however…when the fledgling adventurers reached their destination…ahem… they realized that they didn't have the tent poles. You know…those poles you stake into the ground, that keep the whole enchilada up?

"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” 
Isaiah 54:2

This verse is at the start of some beautiful promises from God to the nation Israel…to us, who in Christ...inherit the Promised Land’s promises as our own.

The context of this verse declares the great expansion of God’s Kingdom…and it applies so richly to our lives in Him…nevertheless…to expand tent stakes…they first have to planted firmly in the area they were originally intended.

In others words…before Jesus can expand His life and ministry in us…well…we may need to accept, rejoice, and find the effervescent power of the Holy Spirit in our everyday…where…He has us…now. He won’t give us the “more” we want, if we haven’t discovered His presence in our “present.” No matter what our situation or circumstances are…

Yes, He is in your “now.” If you are struggling with your life’s circumstances…you may be missing Him standing right next to you (indeed…inside of you!). Stop…take some time to seek…listen to what the Lord Jesus says in your immediate situation and start hammering those stakes in the ground He has given you.

Next...enjoy the view...

photo: Herschel Supply

His Feast...

Just a few short words…that express so much…

I’ve just come from a “secret place” time with the Lord…you know…just Him and me.

“A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 
Psalm 63:1

I am not in a wilderness…at this moment…and…it wasn’t early…yet, I was thirsty for His presence. However…stuff was pressing on my mind. You know…the stuff of life. Laundry to fold, work deadlines to meet…magazines to read…and Pinterest…ohhhh Pinterest!

A friend once likened our hunger and thirst for God like going grocery shopping. (Hang with me here…) It is dangerous to enter a market hungry. We tend to settle for the unhealthy stuff. That bag of chips looks more appetizing than the piece of fruit. Candy bars tantalize instead of whole grains…you get the drift. We settle for junk to satisfy…instead of a luscious feast that would not only satisfy…but nourish us…and…give us strength.

“Because Your lovingkindness is better than life…
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, 
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.”
Psalm 63:3-5

I have wasted too much time on the empty calories of the world’s so-called delights. I want a meal. The meal with Jesus that He continually invites me to…yes…I want to feast in His presence.

Feel free to share...

photo: Julia Trotti

 

 

I Shall Not be Moved...

A very dear friend received some…very…difficult news today…

We all…have received difficult, life-altering news at one time or another. And…the trend for living in this broken, sin-scarred world, is that there may be a good chance (no, I am not inviting this…but it is true), that we…at some time…may face difficulty…again…

Now…for the good news…

“I have set the LORD always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”
Psalm 16:8

When I set my sights…all the time…only on King Jesus...it changes everything. Yes. Everything.

When He is all that I see…that I choose to see…from the first morning alarm, to the final good-night kiss…life is different.

Oh…so different.

When I cause Him to be all that fills me and satisfies me, His presence encompasses my being just as Psalm 139 talks about. (Yes, He always covers me…it is whether I am aware of it or not…correct?). When I invite His Spirit to saturate my soul…and I feast on His Word...well…trials just don’t have the effect they used to…I am no longer overcome, overwhelmed, undone, or shaken.

This is just not the theory of Christianity…but the living, tangible reality of it…the irresistible truth of it. That when I set the steady gaze of my heart and affections, ever and only upon Him...He is all that I need. I am changed...He will take care of the rest.

I want to live this way…what is your heart of hearts telling you?


photo: Verity Hope on Etsy

Holy Ground...

I tell ya…sometimes…God’s Word knocks me off my feet…

And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "   Exodus 3:14

This amazing passage takes place as Moses…tending sheep on the back side of the mountain…encounters the burning bush…that is not consumed by its flames. There…the God of All speaks to Moses…gives him assignment…and Moses takes off his sandals on…such holy ground.

“Who should I say is sending me?” is the question Moses asks of God. The reply? “I AM is sending you…”

I AM.  God’s Name meaning simply “TO BE.” Think of it! Our God is eternal…no beginning, no end. Not created…HE IS. Outside of time…outside of human understanding…out of the box. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…have always been…and always will be. The “Uncaused Cause” my Bible notes tell me. And then…I read…

Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."   John 8:58

In this simple, short statement…Jesus established His divinity. Co-equal, co-divine, co-eternal, and co-existent with the Father and the Holy Spirit…and so

Sometimes, it behooves me to remember…

Yes…Jesus is my dearest friend…but yes…HE IS GOD. He is the great I AM. I can’t…ever…forget this…because sometimes…I am…too casual, too cocky…too something.  And…when He invites me come dine with Him (Rev. 3:20)…I need to remember to come humbly…and remember that I, like Moses, stand on holy ground.

 

photo: Style Me Pretty

At the Start of This Week...

At the start of this week…

Should you wake up one morning tired, crabby, cranky…you name it! Fall to your knees asap! He is waiting to restore and refresh you. He has assignments for you that you don’t want to miss. He has a loving word to whisper in your ear that you need to hear! And see…if the His Spirit doesn’t lift you on eagle’s wings!

Should your scale look high, your bank account low, and your relationship with your bff, spouse, kids, co-workers, or school-mates be sagging in the middle somewhere…look to the Lord for HIS wisdom. What you have been doing may not be working. He will give you new direction and vision.

Should need a way…where there seems to be no-way. This is God’s specialty! However, you have to place it firmly in HIS hands and…Keep your hands OFF. See what He does.

This is a week of new beginnings, hopes that will be realized, and miracles to watch for. Keep your eyes open, your heart tender, and your mind from distraction. This week will be awesome in Jesus because Who is in you is greater than anything!
1 John 4:4


photo: Beth Kirby via Flickr