He 's Alive

There were two men in shiny garments who spoke to the women who had come into the sepulchre where they thought Jesus would lay. Luke 24:5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down [their] faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

"Why seek ye the living among the dead ?" What a question to ask women who were in mourning.
"Why seek ye the living among the dead ? "It made perfect sense to the two men in shiny garments.

I hope you understand I am trying to get my own word of testimony spread out here so I can live it.

I want to not seek the living among the dead any more.

These last days have produced for me a confidence that I am not to be of this world , just in it.

So people of the world seek the living among the dead. Until they are asked , "why are you doing that ?"

I have been trying to get a clear picture of what it looks like to live in the world but not be of the world. At the same time remember that it is with the power of the Holy Spirit that I want to turn away from being of the world. With a spirit of love, power and a sound mind.

I am currently reading the story of The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. The allegorical story portrays someone who became obsessed with vengeance for his mother's death. While acting on this obsession he is trapped by an enchantment and loses all his freedom. As the story unfolds two children are sent to set him free. It is alright to accept help and Puddleglum agrees to go with them.

I think it is interesting that the way Prince Rilan handled his grief for his mother's death had something to do with his getting caught by the temptress.

I think it is a wonderful story and I hope it is a God blessed creation. Mainly because the called to be heroes keep messing up. Yet they are able at the last to do what they have been sent to do and help Prince Rilan be set free. Also these children were willing to do things in a totally different way than those of the world had done before them. They had some instruction of course .

There will be showers of blessing

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

There is an old song that goes : There will be showers of blessing , showers of blessing we need, mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.

I realize that fast is not always best. Although I know I stand before the Father covered with the righteousness of Jesus , I want the conversion experience. I want to be converted from a person who is no longer is resentful , bitter , unforgiving , rebellious , withdrawing from God and unbelieving .

I am looking forward to a time of refreshing. When I thank Him for His grace and mercy He blesses me with His presence. Learning who I am in Christ Jesus has broken down a barrier for me that otherwise would keep me thinking that being in His presence is to good for me.

So I've learned to experience what is my inheritance.

I have learned that this inheritance is not to be squandered.

This does not mean that it is okay to withdraw from God until I see evidence that I am now no longer a resentful , bitter , unforgiving , rebellious person . No , because the "just shall live by faith." However, faith is the evidence of things not seen . So if I continue to see evidence of resentment , (and so forth) I better recount my conversion experience. Some thing's gone array.

Number one question I am going to ask myself is : Was it by the power of the Holy Spirit that I turned from resentment , bitterness , unforgiveness , rebellion and withdraw ? Or was it by my own power ?

My Pastor used such a good analogy this past Sunday. It has stuck with me all week as I've been dealing with this sin problem that crept back into my life .

The analogy was of how he had taught his daughter to learn to float on water. To save time I won't go into all the details but the point was , floating was possible. He just had to insist that she stick with trying it until she did it.

Because I can make a good resemblance of not having sin in my life with very little power from the Holy Spirit , even I may think I am floating as it were , when I am not. Not until something comes up that makes it hard to stay on top do I realize I am sinking like a rock.

What do I do then ? Well, I think you already have the picture .

I praise God for mercy drops falling a round me, but for the showers I plead.

Drink of this Water

Acts 26 verses 16 and 17 Jesus tells Paul he is being sent ;
Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Before Jesus told Paul to do this , Paul's eyes were opened, he turned from darkness to light. Paul turned from the power of Satan and turned to the power of God. Paul received forgiveness of sins. Paul also accepted that he would be given an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in the LORD Jesus Christ.

Paul drank the water.

I picture forgiveness of our sins as a clear beautiful stream of water that flows near enough for us to see. However just seeing it is not enough. Turning away from the darkness to light , turning away from the power of Satan unto the power of God can happen because my eyes are open. I can turn away from bitterness , resentment , unforgiveness , rebellion and withdraw .

I can turn away from those things unto the power of God.

I can receive forgiveness for my sins of bitterness , resentment , unforgiveness , rebellion and withdraw .

I can and I do by the power of God , the love of God and with the sound mind that God has given me. I do these things and more.

I receive who I am in Christ Jesus . I am in that great group of people who are being sanctified by faith in the LORD Jesus Christ . We have an inheritance that we will not squander. We accept that all that is in our father's house is ours. He loves us and we love Him. We do not work in the field because we have to earn his approval. We are there because we love Him.

I know you have heard this before . This is and was and will be my testimony everyday I live in Christ Jesus. An other life style is not living it is existing .

Living a new life style is sometimes hard to stick with . The old ways start creeping in and instead of turning from them , they seem to turn me.

In the power of His name I can do all things. I can stop resentment , bitterness , unforgiveness , rebellion and withdraw from turning me. I can turn away from them and go drink of the water of forgiveness , today.

By Jove, I think I got it !

When I think about what kinds of situations are going on in my life , I often find a testimony. Somehow a rumor got started that things always come in threes. I don't know about that, how ever I have been amazed how I can find something in common with my biggest problems . Sometimes just realizing the common denominator as it were is the very thing that helps me take the problems to God and He fixes them. Also , the log and speck theory works well for me. If someone is bugging me, do I have a log in my eye that kind of looks like their speck ? Sure enough , and am I willing to go to the throne room of grace and receive grace and help in time of need ? Only then can I give the grace to that person who has a little bitty speck that looks like my log.

I have noticed every time I want to do something for the LORD it requires His strength . Before He gives His strength it seems He wants me to receive His grace for my weaknesses .
I like the way He has everything planned out. He is so wise.

You may find this hard to believe but I have been in the mullygrubs because there are some people I care about that just don't seem to "get it!" No, I am not going to tell you what "it " is , only that " it " represents something I see about their lives that they just don't .

I was getting tired of these mullygrubs. Not much fun and it has definitely been quenching the Spirit thus a lack of Word of Testimony. As I was sitting and meditating yesterday morning before church I thought about what we are studying in 2 Corth. Wasn't Paul kind of having the same kind of problem ? These people just didn't get it. Oh, but they thought they did get it and that Paul was the one who was crazy. Somehow I began to feel a whole lot better.

You know how Paul said, "Rejoice in the LORD always and again I say , rejoice." Well, I think he meant to say that to me. I also think there could not have been a better time in the world for my pastor to teach on 2 Corth. 8:16-24. Those words he spoke to me yesterday just brought me alive again.

The main scripture and my word of testimony for today is : 2 Corth.8:16 But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus.

I am thanking God that He puts earnestness in hearts of people like my pastor. I am thanking God for the many Titus' in the body of Christ that there are. I am thanking God for messengers who minister or serve for the glory of God.

I am thanking God that I finally "got it", something I am sure others might of seen but I could not for some reason. I "got it " now .

The Word of My Testimony

From the very beginning of my life I was made to know that a God existed. This God that I was taught about is not like the God I know today. I believe that I am in a process of knowing the Creator of the Universe , His Father and the Holy Spirit. People sometimes marvel when I tell them that I am most grateful for the parents God chose for me to raised by. My testimony is sincere. I was raised by parents who believed God wanted us to know Him. This "know Him" to them meant the kind of "knowing" one would get from being around Him. He was always there I was told. We were to walk with Him, talk with Him, invite Him into our hearts ( a concept I really did not get until I became an adult ), please Him ( by obeying my parents ) to name a few of the lessons I remember from my youth.

The walk with Him and talk with Him never left me. This belief has been the thread that has pulled me through my whole life.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

I became aware that there was an opposing force that did not want me to know God, nor walk with Him or talk with Him. I think that force began working at trying to hinder my quest even at the moment I was conceived. I however have taken a great interest in learning how to overcome that force. Here in Rev 12:11 I read a truth.

New Land !

My word of testimony today is Deut. 31:6 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.

Jesus tells us that the enemy has come to lie, steal and destroy but He has come that we might have life and life more abundantly.
Since He is the Life that He was referring to, He was saying , "You have Me. " When the lies comes , I have Jesus to tell me the truth. When I see the enemies plan to steal stuff, I have Jesus to tell me how to respond so that the stuff will not be taken. When I hear the enemy say, "I will destroy you." I say, "No, I have Jesus, you can not destroy me, my life is His."

I have rejoiced every time truth has come when the enemy had sent a lie. I saw that the principle was basically the same when the enemy came to steal . It has taken me awhile to "really" understand. That day when I totally understand will probably be the day that I see Jesus. However, every day that my understanding is increased I see it as a day that means I have more light than I did the day before. More light means so much. If you have ever tried to function in a very dark room just the way you would in a room filled with light , you know the difference. In the dark room I am fumbling around hoping to touch the item I am looking for , then fumbling some more to take the item where I want to use it.

As light comes to my understanding about what it means to have Jesus with me when the enemy comes to lie, steal and destroy I feel as though I am entering land I have never been in before. Land that the enemy once thought he would successfully keep away from me. Maybe he even thought his lies would keep me from trying to walk in the land that was mine.

I want my word of testimony to be more than just a repetition of what you and I can read in the Bible every day. I want to say this : I once thought it would be impossible to love my enemies. I once thought that to bless those who curse me , was beyond anything that I could do. But now that I have Jesus , all things are possible. If I can give the truth in love to those around me, I will be walking into a new land. If I can say to the LORD ," I surrender to You all that I was hanging on to before. I receive from You new garments of warfare , the ones only You could create and the ones You have said for me to wear." Then I won't need to tremble or be afraid. The LORD my God will be with me and the stuff that belongs to me , show me how You want me to go about getting it .

Life and life more abundantly is not laying around on the ground like manna to go and pick up like it was when I was in the wilderness. That season is over and has been for quite a while. The Life and Life more abundantly requires that I receive as much of Jesus into my life as I possibly can. It means that I do not ignore the Holy Spirit but welcome Him into my life. It means that I expect everything that happens , happens for good. It means that because Jesus is with me I expect to be able to forgive those who persecute me and love those who despite fully use me.
Not because I am anything, but because the LORD my God is ! My God did those things ! My God , the One Who I want to be my only God, that One , He did all those things and He is with me.

Building The Walls of Jerusalem

The word of my testimony today is Zechariah 4:6 "Not by might nor by power; but by my Spirit," says the LORD Almighty.

Families and our need for relationships is all a part of the divine plan of God . If Jesus had not thrown that part about He would be returning for His Bride , the church , I might just over look the whole relationship thing. Except for that part I could just hold on to the most important ten and feel pretty good about myself.

Aha, no that is just exactly what He did not want. He did not want me feeling good about myself based on what I can do. His plan is that I should feel good about myself because I have said , "Yes", to His invitation to come and be a part of the Bride of Christ.

Saying "yes," means I will be learning how to live with others , yes even loving others , His way.
That means my children too. I believe my children are special to the LORD, just as I am special. He is looking to see what I am going to give them as an inheritance.

I am so fortunate to belong to the Kingdom's economy system. Just as Peter told the beggar sitting at the gate of the temple , so can I say to my children , "silver and gold have I none ." What the Spirit of the LORD has given me , I want to give to you.

I have a friend who really has a vision for seeing every day as a wall building day. "Just keep being obedient to the LORD ,do what He has told you to do." I love talking to her about this because it is a truth revealed to her heart by the HOLY Spirit. Her word of testimony has inspired me so many times to keep going and not give up.