The Little Things!

Today’s Reading: Mark 8:1-13

Hearing that Jesus was so concerned about a basic need of these people made me think about just how much he cares for us. I am sure none of these people were about to die from starvation, but after spending 3 days with Jesus, he wanted to make sure they were fed. Seems simple compared to all the miracles that Jesus’ had been performing, but shows just how much Jesus loves each one of us. He wants to heal us, he wants to comfort us, but most of all he wants to love us and that is what he is doing here. He is loving these people by meeting one of their basic needs. Think about it, when do you feel loved? When someone buys something for you or when someone does something for you? I have to say that I do like gifts, but nothing compares to the feeling that I get when someone does something for me. My husband has been telling me this for years, but I think it was just his way to get out of not getting me something! J However, I will have to admit this one time, he is right. When I think about our life together, I rarely think about the things he has given me, I think more about the things that he has done for me. Simple things, no frills, just little things that he does not have to do, but things that make me know just how much he loves me. Jesus does the same thing except on a bigger scale. Think about this, what if we spent one whole day focusing on the all the things that Jesus did for us? What would we discover? Would we see things that we usually don’t see? What would we learn? Would it inspire us to do more for one another? So since I don’t have the answer to any of these questions that I just asked I think I will try this---I will start now and do my best to notice all the little things and of course I will write about it tomorrow. How about this….you try it with me and let us all find the answers to these questions!

My Story!

Why do our minds get so lost?

So far from where they should be

I do want to stay focused

But I have forgotten how

I’m so far in to get out by myself

I need a higher power

I do need you God

Reach down and capture me

Into your presence I want to be

I am consumed with emotion

Swimming through my mind

Who am I?

I am not who I used to be

I am not what I want to be

I am still your child

But a child lost

Lost in a valley of emotions

Emotions spinning so fast

That I physically hurt.

I wrote this during a very difficult time in my life and never with the intention of sharing it with anyone, much less the world, but here I am posting it for everyone to read.  Trust me this was not my idea and I am not so comfortable sharing my past and all my struggles, but after sharing this with a beautiful group of women this weekend, I had a wonderful friend suggest that I share it on my blog because she felt like it would resonate with many people.  So here I am! 

You know some people would say I went through a depression and I even thought that at one time, but after much prayer and much studying of God’s Word I have come to the conclusion that it wasn’t depression but an oppression upon my life.  Now don’t get me wrong I know that depression is real and there are many people that suffer from this illness, but that wasn’t my problem.  I am not sure exactly how it started nor all the reasons behind it, but I do thank God for it.  Yeah, never thought I would be saying that either, but it is absolutely the truth.  God used this dark time in my life to make me new, to transform me into who he wanted me to be.  I learned that it really doesn’t matter who I think I should be or what I think I should be, God created me for a purpose and only he knows the person whom I will become and he is doing his best to get me there---I just have to be willing to follow the path that he has placed before me!  One of the most difficult things that I dealt with during this time was wondering what I did wrong.  Instead of concentrating on what God was trying to do through me I was constantly condemning myself for some great sin that I had committed, all the while wondering what exactly did I do wrong to cause such punishment.  These thoughts were constantly running through my mind and so I began to read the book of Job over and over again, and wonder why did Job not get mad, how did he keep it all together when he lost so much.  I would compare my life to Job’s---he lost everything and I have lost nothing and I still can’t get my life together.  Then one day after I began to climb out of that dark hole I was reading Job once again.  There it was, right in front of me----In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.  This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evi.  Job 1:1.  My answer!  Job was blameless and upright---God spoke to me immediately through these words and told me… ‘Rosanne, you did nothing wrong---you did not cause this to be upon you, I just needed you to become who I created you for---you are ok and I love you.’  Wow, I did nothing wrong, I was going to be ok, and God loves me, just what I needed to hear and at the exact moment that I needed to hear it.

You see we can never understand everything that happens to us here on earth, but we can always know that God is in control of everything around us, and his hand never leaves us.  Since this time, one of my favorite scriptures that I cling to so often is Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  If you are a child of God things will come against you, let me rephrase that…Satan will come against you, he will be after you, he will do everything in his power to try and pull you away from Jesus Christ, but that will happen only if you decide to turn away from Christ because he will never, ever turn away from you! 

So if you are going through a difficult time in your life, the only advice that I can give you is to trust in God, read his word and seek him in prayer---your answer, your relief may not come tomorrow or next week, or even next year, but I am here to tell you that it will come and when it does you will be better for it.   Life on this earth will never be easy for a Christian, but it will all be more than worth it one day!

With Much Love and Blessings!

Rosanne

Faith Without Doubt

Today’s Reading:  Mark 7:31-37

Think about this…this man was deaf and mute, his friends brought him to this man called Jesus, and then Jesus took him away from the people he knew.  What do you suppose he was thinking?  He couldn’t hear what Jesus was saying, he couldn’t verbally respond or ask questions, yet he went with Jesus.  He trusted him without even hearing what he had to say, before he healed him of anything.  Not much different than what Jesus asks of us, to trust even when we don’t see him.  Now I am sure this man became concerned when Jesus put his fingers in his ears and then when he spit and touched his tongue I am sure this man was wondering what was going on.  Or was he?  Maybe his faith in Jesus was such that he didn’t doubt anything that Jesus was doing.  Maybe he had already put all his trust in Jesus and nothing else mattered now.  Isn’t that how we should be?  Aren’t we placed in uncomfortable situations?  Aren’t we sometimes asked to do things we don’t understand?  But let me ask something---has Jesus ever let you down?  I can assure you without a doubt that he has not only never let me down; there have been times when he was the only thing that kept me up.  When we put our faith in Jesus, just as this man did, then we have to trust what he is doing.  Whether we understand it or not, we have to have faith that what Jesus is doing with us, around us, and through us is for our benefit.  So what is the only difference between you & me and this man?  Unlike this man, Jesus is asking us to go tell, tell everyone what I have done for you.  Tell everyone about me.  We are his disciples and he is asking us to have faith in what he is telling us, have faith in what he is doing through us and tell others the ‘good news’! 

Humble Boldness!

Today’s Reading:  Mark 7:24-30

I have read this story many times and never really understood it completely, and maybe I still don’t, but I did get a message from it.  You know this lady was not considered one of Jesus’ people, she was a Greek, so she didn’t fit in with the group that surrounded him, nor did she fit in with those that followed him and asked for healing….but that did not matter to her.  It seems to me that she had a problem and she knew where to find her answer regardless if it was the ‘appropriate’ thing to do.  This woman fell at the feet of Jesus and begged him to heal her daughter.  She was bold and persistent, yet humble at the same time.  Can we be like this as well?  Should we be like this?  It seems that boldness and humbleness does not usually go together and especially when you describe someone.  Can someone really be bold and humble at the same time?  Yes, as a child of God we are called to be bold about our beliefs, yet be humble in the way we live.  Hebrews 4:16 says ‘Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need’---Isn’t this exactly what this woman did?  Isn’t this what we should do in our time of need?  We fall before his throne with humbleness, but we seek him with boldness because we know without a doubt that he has the answer, that he, himself is the answer!  So when you feel like you may not fit in, don’t let it bother you, be like this woman humble yourself before Jesus and make your request known with confidence that his mercy and grace will find you.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Freedom!

Today’s Reading:  Isaiah 61:1-7 & Luke 4:14-22

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Luke 4:18-19

Before you go any further, if you have not read the scriptures in Isaiah and Luke that I posted read them now!  My words will not make a difference in you, but His will change your life forever!

I just have to tell you that I have had an unbelievable weekend with some wonderful, wonderful people, but what God did over the last 3 days of my life has been more than I thought I could take.  I have yet to find a word to describe the way in which he moved me, renewed me, and filled me with his sweet Holy Spirit. 

Where the Spirit of the Lord is There is Freedom is a song that was sung this weekend and I have continued to sing it over and over, and of course ponder over the words to this new song in my life.  There is freedom with Christ and it is a freedom like no other which led me to get off of my schedule of reading in Mark to searching for what the Spirit of Lord can and will do for me.  My searching lead to the scriptures found in Isaiah and Luke.  God is telling Isaiah that this is my Spirit upon you and this is what your life will be like when my Spirit fills you.  You will be filled with freedom, comfort, beauty, gladness, praise, and everlasting joy, and not only will you be filled with it, you will be able to share it with others because of the calling on your life.  Then I get to Luke and I am blown away when I read these same words again.  Now these are not the first scriptures that I have read that have been in both the Old and New Testament, but it was how this was placed.  Isaiah is proclaiming what the Lord has already told him and in Luke, Jesus is reading these same scriptures to a group of people in the synagogue.  Once Jesus finishes reading he says to the people… “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” Luke 4:21. 

I am here to tell you that when you chose Jesus, when you gave him your life, these words in Isaiah and Luke have already been fulfilled in your life and if you’re not feeling it then read it again and claim it---Jesus died on that cross to give us freedom and comfort, and beauty, and gladness, and praise, and everlasting joy.  He tells us in these scriptures that he has anointed us with the Spirit of the Lord, but the anointing comes with tasks---he tells us that we have to preach the good news, proclaim freedom, recover sight, and release the oppressed. We do all this in the name of Jesus Christ, the one that saved us and gave us freedom from everything that has ever held us down. You see he freely gives this to us, but we have to claim it for ourselves and proclaim it to everyone around us!

I really could go on and on tonight, but instead I will leave you with this song and pray that the Spirit of Lord fills you with a freedom that you have never known!

With Much and Prayers!
Rosanne

Where the Spirit of the Lord is There is Freedom by Jesus Culture

It Goes Back to Love!

Today’s Reading:  Mark 7:1-23

So how many things do we do because of traditions?  Now don’t get me wrong I love traditions and I see nothing wrong with most traditions, but when we let the tradition get in the way of the leading of God is when there becomes a problem.  Isn’t that what Jesus was trying to tell the Pharisees, but they had on spiritual blinders and could not see what Jesus was saying.  While I do like traditions, I do think sometimes why we, as Christians, do some of the things that we do.  Do we do it because that is how it has always been done or do we do it because it is the way of Christ?  So what really matters?   I think Jesus said it best when he said it is what is in a man’s heart that is important.  So no matter what we do on the outside, no matter how many good deeds we do, no matter how many rules we follow, it is what is in our heart that matters?  Yes, I believe it is!  To me all this goes back to ‘love’----it’s all about love.  When you have the love of Christ in your heart, than you don’t need traditions to get things right, you don’t need to do good deeds, you don’t need to follow the rules because when you have the true love of Christ in your heart, you automatically do all these things without even thinking.  You do them because it is what Jesus would do, you do them because you want to do good, you   want to follow rules---so what’s the difference.  When you do all these things without the love of Jesus, you are doing them for man, for show, but when you do things out of love, you do it in service to Jesus and you don’t care who sees or knows.  We have no other choice but to listen to Jesus, there is no other way, we have to live the way he has showed us to live, we have to love and love as much like Jesus as we possibly can!

My Prayer

Alright, well this is not easy, but for some reason God has been speaking to me about sharing this prayer from my prayer journal. I wrote it last week, but quite honestly I have been putting off posting it until today, when I could no longer ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit.  I know I have shared my thoughts on the Word for a while now, but I want everyone to know that I am not an authority on anything, I am just a common person doing my best to follow Jesus Christ.  I am far from perfect and my life is no different, I have great days, good days, ok days, disappointing days, sad days, and angry days, but all of my days seem to lead me closer to Jesus and isn't that all that matters.  Oh, don't get me wrong I could do a lot better, I could love people more and witness to people more, but everyday I am learning and growing, and I have discovered that His Word is such a powerful tool for my growth in him.  So whether you read what I write or not, please, please read his word, I promise it will change
your life!

Lord, thank you, thank you , thank you for all your many blessings that you bestow upon me and my family.   I know without a doubt that I am blessed beyond measure.   You know it was just a few days ago when I took a stand and said no more to allowing satan to attack and cause chaos, negativeness, and confusion in my life.  And I was doing really, really good with that, so much so that all night and all morning I have been praising you and feeling such a powerful rush that I know only comes from the Holy Spirit.  And I knew, I knew that satan was on the look out for something to trip me up, but I was ready.  Then it happened, just when I thought everything was running smoothly and I had it all together it hit me like a ton of bricks.  Oh, I kept on praising, even when I was falling apart I kept on lifting your name, because if I have learned anything at all over the past few years, I have learned that no matter how I feel---you are there.  Whether things are bad or good, whether I can sense your presence or not---YOU ARE ALWAYS THERE!  So here I am late at night not being able to sleep until I write, write something and know that through these words you will speak sweet peace to my heart. 

You know this all started when I got to work and realized that I left my Bible at home on the table---I kind of got that uneasy feeling, but I told myself that it would be ok.  I already knew my day was full and I would have to be running all day to get everything done.  So when my first meeting of the day started 40 minutes late, I was trying to tell myself that it would still be ok, even when I felt the anxiety start to build and that voice saying ‘you are never going to get everything done today'.  Then it starts…phone calls, emails, people with so many questions/problems that I can’t get one answered before another one comes.  I am trying to take care of each item as they come, but I just can’t keep up.  Then I get to the doctor and it’s the wrong day, really?  Can this not just be easy?  I am trying to hold it together, but I feel it coming.  Then more questions, more stuff, no respect from some people, everything is adding up and adding up quickly---so quickly that I break and I do not like this----I don’t like to loose it.  What am I doing, I have got to slow down just for a minute and pull it together.  My heart is racing, my mind is racing----but no, no I won’t do it.  I won’t let it get me, not this time.  It is but a moment and this is just another moment that makes me desire a better country, a country that is my true home, my heavenly home.  A place free of all this chaos, but more importantly a place where my Savior will be waiting on me.  I may have not handled everything perfectly today, I may have let satan get to me a little, but more importantly I am closer to my Jesus because of today.  He is my friend, my savior, my father, my leader, my guide…..my deliverer!  Jesus I don’t know what tomorrow holds, I don’t know where you will take me, but I know you are there, leading me on and that is all I need to know.  So again I say thank you, thank you for simply loving me unconditionally!

"It's me, I'm here, don't be afraid"

Today’s Reading:  Mark 6:45-56

You know we are no different than those disciples on that boat in the middle of the storm.  We see the waves and start thinking about everything that could go wrong.  We let fear over take us, we let it get the best of us and eventually find ourselves operating out of fear.  But you know, Jesus is no different today than he was then.  He is there, he is there right beside us saying ‘it’s me, I’m here, don’t be afraid’, but sometimes we are so consumed with fear that we can’t even hear his voice.  I know this because I have been there, I have been where I wasn’t sure if God was with me, I doubted if he would save me from the storms that surrounded me, but he did.  He not only saved me, he changed me, he transformed me into who he wants me to be.  I have realized that it takes those storms, it takes those dark times to realize how awesomely amazing my Father is.  I am just so thankful tonight for what Jesus has done and continues to do for me.  I so don’t deserve what he has blessed me with, but you can be assured that I thank him every day, usually numerous times.  There is so much he has shown me in the last few years, but the greatest thing that he has taught me is to see things with his eyes.  I see everything so different now and the things that I thought really mattered before seem so insignificant when it comes to serving Christ.  I know that there will be many more storms in my life, but I do know, without a doubt, that he will be there whispering to me, ‘it’s me, I’m here, don’t be afraid’ and it’s my job to listen to that still, small, voice!

What Were They Thinking?

Today's Reading:  Mark 6:30-44

So what did they think?  What were the disciples thinking as they were picking up the baskets with leftovers still in them?  Were they amazed at another miracle by Jesus or were they kicking themselves for doubting that 5000 people could be fed?  Isn’t that just like us humans questioning Jesus about all the little details instead of just trusting him?  Funny, these men were walking along side the Son of God, the Savior of the World and they were worried about spending too much money on food to feed these people.  So I have to ask myself, what am I worried about.  Don’t I have the Son of God, the Savior of the World walking beside me each day?  So why do I worry, why am I constantly trying to figure everything out instead of just living my life in service to him and allowing him to put everything else in place?  Has he failed me yet?  Have I every fallen and became worse because of it, or do I fall and learn from it?  With every trial, doesn’t my faith grow even deeper?  So lots of questions tonight, but like I have said before, Jesus is always the answer.

Lord, help me never doubt what you are doing in my life; help me to have faith that you will see me through every situation that I ever have to face.  Lord, remind me that you are always by my side, and that you have walked this path before me.  You are my Father, my Savior and I love you with everything in me, I so desire to serve you with all my heart, but I know that I cannot do this without the strength that can only come from you.  Thank you for giving me your Word that helps to guide me and remind me of how awesome you are!

Thank You for Truth!

Today’s Reading: Mark 3:13-29

After reading these scriptures all I can think is how sad. How sad it is that John was disliked so much by Herodias because he spoke the truth about her and the relationship between her and Herod. John was telling them the truth for their benefit, yet their self-centeredness kept them from accepting the truth. How sad it is that Herod knew what John was saying was the truth, but would not acknowledge it. He may have been puzzled by John’s words, but he enjoyed listening to John because of the truth in his words. How sad it is that Herodias used her daughter in such a way. How sad it is that Herod did not have enough courage to stand up to Herodias evil demands. How sad it is when they are used by Satan himself. As I write these words I pray that God will keep my eyes open to the truth, that he will give me strength to stand on truth even when it is most difficult, and that he will keep me in his precious will so that I may never be swayed. In the past I would have looked at this story totally different---I would have felt for John, look at him doing the right thing and then loosing his life in such a way---poor, poor John. But now, although it hurts me to know that John had to endure this, the sad part is the ones that were lost, the ones that refused to listen to the truth. It is those people that I my soul hurts for and I am sure John felt the same way.

Praise God that I heard the truth, that I accepted the truth and that I live by the truth. I am by no means perfect and I mess things up daily, but I can honestly say that I do my best to live by the standards that Christ has set for you and I. Thank you God for your guidance that so many times comes through the words of this great book that you left us with.

Psalm 35

Alright, well I am off my schedule once again, but you know I figured out a long time ago that my schedule is not always the one that God goes by. J  Anyways, I was telling a friend today about reading Psalm 91 all the time and she said have you read Psalm 35 because it so good and I have been reading it every day.  She then went on to say that since she has been reading it things have changed in her life.  So before I could read it, she grabbed a Bible and began to read it aloud to me and everyone else who was nearby.  So I am learning to listen to what God is telling me and he used her today to give me this word and what a word it is…so powerful!  So here I go again analyzing every word---so where did my thoughts lead me today?  David!  I think David had had enough and said you know what Lord I belong to you and I am proclaiming that today by boldly speaking the truth!  I can just see the Spirit of God all over David as he is writing these words down.

You know so often I try to fix all my problems myself, I analyze situations and try to resolve the issues, but God so powerfully reminded me today that it is not my job to fix anything.  I am called to serve him, praise him, follow him, live for him, and worship him----that’s it!  Now I know what you are thinking….what about all the other stuff that we have to do like work and all our tasks at home. Well I do have to do those things, but doesn’t God tell us to do everything for his glory?  Our job, our duties at home, and even our extracurricular activities are all a part of our day to day life, but they are not our life.  All these people that we read about in the Bible had other things to do, they worked, they had other tasks, but they let God be at the center of all that they did.  David was an extremely busy man, yet he took the time to speak to God, to listen to God, and to write everything down.

So when I read Psalm 35 I don’t really think about harm coming to my enemies, I think more about who I am to God.  I am proud and humbled at the same time when I say that I am a child of God, what an honor and a privilege for God to send his Son to die in order for me to be his child.  So when you think ‘who am I?’ be reminded that when you choose Jesus as your savior ‘who are you not to be?’

Psalm 35

¹ Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
   fight against those who fight against me.
² Take up shield and armor;
   arise and come to my aid.
³ Brandish spear and javelin
   against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
   “I am your salvation.”
 ⁴ May those who seek my life
   be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
   be turned back in dismay.
⁵ May they be like chaff before the wind,
   with the angel of the LORD driving them away;
⁶ may their path be dark and slippery,
   with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
 ⁷ Since they hid their net for me without cause
   and without cause dug a pit for me,
⁸ may ruin overtake them by surprise—
   may the net they hid entangle them,
   may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
   and delight in his salvation.
¹⁰ My whole being will exclaim,
   “Who is like you, LORD?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
   the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
 ¹¹ Ruthless witnesses come forward;
   they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹² They repay me evil for good
   and leave me like one bereaved.
¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
   and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
 ¹⁴ I went about mourning
   as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
   as though weeping for my mother.
¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
   assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
   They slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶ Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;
   they gnashed their teeth at me.
 ¹⁷ How long, Lord, will you look on?
   Rescue me from their ravages,
   my precious life from these lions.
¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
   among the throngs I will praise you.
¹⁹ Do not let those gloat over me
   who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
   maliciously wink the eye.
²⁰ They do not speak peaceably,
   but devise false accusations
   against those who live quietly in the land.
²¹ They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
   With our own eyes we have seen it.”
 ²² LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent.
   Do not be far from me, Lord.
²³ Awake, and rise to my defense!
   Contend for me, my God and Lord.
²⁴ Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God;
   do not let them gloat over me.
²⁵ Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
   or say, “We have swallowed him up.”
 ²⁶ May all who gloat over my distress
   be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
   be clothed with shame and disgrace.
²⁷ May those who delight in my vindication
   shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The LORD be exalted,
   who delights in the well-being of his servant.”
 ²⁸ My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
   your praises all day long.

Just Go!

Today’s Reading:  Mark 6:7-13

What clear and precise instructions Jesus gave his disciples.  Something we need to follow today.  Instructions that is simple, honest, and to the point.  I just think that we let so much junk get in the way of simply speaking the truth.  We think we have to have this in place and that in place that we have to be rehearsed and versed before we witness to anyone.  Our witness is what Jesus did for us and we should have no problem telling that.  Think about it, first of all Jesus sent them out in groups of two, he knew they would need a friend, a companion to share this journey with.  Then he said don’t worry about what you will need on this journey, just go, go and tell everyone about me, show them this love that I have given you.  We are no different; he is telling us to do the same.  He told them and he is telling us to quit worrying about having everything in order, when we step out and do his will he will provide us with what we need---he is just asking us to trust him.  When we accepted Christ we were called for this very purpose, just as he gave them authority over evil spirits, we have that same authority through the Holy Spirit that resides within us.  Our situation may be different, the time period may be different, but the calling has always been the same.  To me he is also saying don’t rush a good thing when he tells them to stay in the house that you are welcome in until you leave that town.  Jesus is not a quick fix that will disappear in a few days; He will remain with you until the end, so when we tell people this we have to show them this too.  How?  Not being rushed when we talk to them or when they talk to us.  Listening, truly listening, to people makes a huge impact on them.  I think I have mentioned this quote before, but it is so true…’people do not care how much you know, they only want to know how much you care.’  Jesus also let the disciples know that not everyone will be willing to listen, not everyone will welcome you in, but that’s alright as long as you tried, as long as you fulfilled the calling that Jesus has placed within you then you have did your job.  We have to remember as we witness to people that it is not our job to save them, but to tell them about the man who can, Jesus Christ.