Thanksgiving is upon us! Pies are made and tonight, I will make the stuffing, stuff the bird and Walt will put it in the refrigerator for me. Early in the morning, he will place the bird in the oven and shortly there after, the aroma will fill the whole house. Preparing Thanksgiving dinner together is hard work, but we love to do it. Walt has long taken on the role of cutting up all the celery and onions for the stuffing and the most important job of all; the taster.  According to him, “you can never have too much sage!’ For this, I am thankful! Because of him, my stuffing is some of the best!

Even in our most difficult years, when finances were tight and cupboards were bare, God has always provided enough to share with others. Whether it’s preparing a loaf of bread, opening a can of corn, slicing up a tomato or baking an apple pie, we’ve enjoyed God’s goodness and we’re thankful. Thanksgiving isn’t just about family and eating until you burst, it’s about reflecting on the year past and what God has brought you through. It’s about being thankful.

What are you thankful for? What has God done for you this year? Do you have a job? A home? A car? A faithful husband? If you’ve lost any of those, are you still thankful? Are you still alive? Can you walk? Are you still able to speak? Do you have hands that work? Eyes that see? Ears that hear? If you’re unable to do any of these things, are you still thankful?

Being thankful changes the atmosphere. Jesus gave thanks for the little fish and loaves and because of that, it fed the multitude. He gave thanks at Lazarus’ tomb and the dead man came to life. When we are thankful, God responds favorably, but when we whine and complain, we get misery and more to complain about. I choose to be thankful. It may be bad but it could be worse and I’m thankful for that. Colossians 3:17 says, “Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.”

Thank you Father for your provision for me, my family and my friends. Thank you for the strangers who come into my life because you even have purpose for that chance meeting. Thank you for the weird warfare I encounter, it also has purpose. For the good and the bad, I thank you. You’ve developed me into quite the character through it all and because of it, I’m totally devoted to you. When I’m down, you lift me up. When I’m up, I lift up others. I live to be an extension of your hands and your love because it has changed my life forever. It’s in Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

It amazes me to see people cry out for justice, but when it doesn’t go their way, they scream and yell, lashing out at others. Our nation has become a bunch of spoiled children who stomp their feet and throw tantrums when they don’t get their own way.  We see this played out time and time again in the history of the bible. A multitude of people willingly followed Moses out of Egypt until they disagreed with what they saw, then they lashed out at their leader, they were dissatisfied with the results of their Exodus.

Multitudes followed Jesus who healed their sick, loved on their little ones, raised their dead, but the moment accusations were raised, that same crowd turned on him, mocked him and crucified him. We’re all good when we agree with the message, but the moment things turn and we don’t get what we want, watch out! Mere suggestions of injustice has us up in arms when in reality, we don’t even have the facts, we’re merely riding on someone else’s emotional momentum. We think we have all the evidence, but it’s merely someone’s opinion, a fictitious account of made up reality. We want what we want and when we don’t get it, we are not satisfied until do.

Lamentations 3:19-23 NIV is such a ‘jerk my head back’ passage to me. It says, “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall, I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

The long and short of it is this; nothing else matters but the great love of God and that we allow him to consume us with it. Some translations say, “loyalty”. God’s loyalty to us. We can be so unfaithful, so self-centered and wrong yet every morning when we rise out of our beds, Gods loyal love keeps us from being consumed by the thoughts and schemes of others. We simply must remember that there is a devil who hates us and wants bad for our lives, but there is a God whose compassions never fail.

Thank you Father for your unfailing love, your constant attention and compassion for us. When we become full of our own wants and desires, you never stop loving us. You’ve commanded us to love one another just like that. May our love turn around the evil in the hearts of those filled with hatred and violence. I know they will always be in the world, but we are not of this world, we are of a much greater Kingdom of love and each morning when we rise, we plug into that love and get regenerated so that we can love fresh again.  May we lay down the hatred and our desire to be in control. May we simply love others and may that love make a difference. It’s in your name we ask this. Amen

Genesis 3:1-6 GNT; Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the Lord God had made. The snake asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

“We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden,” the woman answered, “except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die.”

The snake replied, “That’s not true; you will not die.  God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.”

The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it.

The great fall of man. It’s a story we’re all familiar with, even if we’re not Christians. This morning I’d just like to take a few moments and go over a few things we need to remember about our adversary, the snake. First, he is cunning. The dictionary defines the word as; artfully subtle or shrewd; crafty; sly. Hmmm, artfully subtle. Yeah, that’s descriptive of him! He comes up with thousands of ways to tempt us to do wrong, twisting the things God says to deceive us into doing the opposite of what we know is right. 

Secondly, he causes us to doubt the truth of Gods Word. Let’s take for instance Isaiah 53:5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” How many times has the devil tried to tell you that healing doesn’t work today, or that it’s not for you? Or that it’s just for big things, like things the doctors can’t do anything about because they haven’t found a cure for it yet? But that’s not what the Word says, is it. The devil doesn’t want you using your faith because he knows you’ll believe God and nothing will be impossible for you. So at the first pain, he convinces you it’s something ‘bad’ and gets you to run to the medicine cabinet or the doctors office. They give you a diagnosis and you tell everyone, ‘This is what the doctor says I have!” What about what God says? You’re trading the truth of Gods Word for the doctors report. Doctors have been known to be wrong but God is NEVER wrong.

But the devil knows these things and he still tries to confuse us and get us to stop trusting God and holding fast to his promises. Adam and Eve did die that day in the garden. Their faith died. They believed a lie and it cost them everything. They placed their trust in a voice that was not Gods and were sent away to live the rest of their days in a prison of hopelessness. But God had a plan for redemption and what a wonderful plan that was. That plan reinstated our authority over sin, sickness, disease and poverty, it gave us the advantage again to commune with God, to know the truth, to live free. It did NOT take away the voice of the sneaky one, the crafty one, the snake. He still continues to steal, kill and destroy, to take as many with him as he can.

Father, we acknowledge you and the truth of your Word. We believe but we ask you to help our unbelief. We don’t want to be double minded, listening to the voice of the enemy, the one who comes to take the truth from our hearts. Thank you for helping us to only listen to you and your voice. Thank you that you gave us power to overcome. Help us to use that power to recognize when we’re being lied to. Help us to call his bluff like Jesus did, shutting him up with your Word. We ask this in the name of your sacrificial Lamb, Jesus. Amen

One of the many things I love about life is watching our daughters and grandchildren and seeing the similar traits we have in common. Why not? They are flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. They contain our very DNA and nothing they could ever do will remove that from them. Singing silly made up songs, dancing in the middle of the store, our ways of changing our tears for laughter.  The times when I see them do something so much like their father and call them on it. What a wonderful sense of being a part of something so much larger than ones self and knowing that we live on through generations to come.

I’m reminded of Ephesians 5:1-2 GNT; “Since you are God’s dear children, you must try to be like him. Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God.”

Our love is God living on through us. As Christians, we are known for it. Love that looks beyond the exterior and sees straight to the heart. Love that gives without expectations, doesn’t care who sees, wants the best for everyone and is willing to do whatever it takes to be an extension of the arms of God. Love that refuses to look the other way when someone needs something you have. God is love and we are his children, what part of that do we not understand?

My girls resemble me, if not in looks, in deed. They’ve been around me far too long for some of this not to have rubbed off on them. Stacy physically looks like a younger version of me, Shannon has my sarcastic sense of humor with a twist of her own. Both of them share my love for people and God. Wait. That’s it right there, isn’t it. You can’t love people without loving God. The more we love God, the more we love people and are moved to help them in anyway we can. We can love people without God, but that love won’t last when they turn on you, say hurtful things, abuse and use you. Gods love is so big that it overlooks all of that and burns on. In fact the closer you get to him, the more love you have to give.

Oh Father, I’m so thankful that I am your daughter. You are Spirit and I worship you in spirit and truth. The more I get to know you, the more I love you. I realize I’m not perfect, but your love is perfect and it’s your love that covers me. I’m perfect in your love because your love is in me, growing, maturing. The more time I spend in your presence, the more your love changes me. I want to be like you.  I know I will always be a part of you simply because your DNA is in me. May others know you by knowing me. It’s in the name of Jesus I ask this, Amen.

I’ve been meditating on a scripture presented at church last night found in Psalm 34:3; “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” The word magnify is to make large who God is but she threw in a statement that grabbed my attention; When we magnify God, it nourishes His presence.  Isn’t that an amazing picture of what praise does? Think about it for a moment. When you praise someone, their demeanor changes. Praise them long enough and they begin to believe they are who you say they are.

For years I have spoken affirming words over my husband, my children and myself. I believe that God has a beautiful plan for our lives and just because it may not look it at times, the more I speak it, the more I see change happening. What you see on the outside does not determine what God has defined on the inside. Praise has the ability to change the outcome of every situation you face. Who doesn’t like to live and work in an atmosphere of praise?

Luke 6:45, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” I wrote yesterday about a glass of dirty water, that when you place it in the sink under the faucet and turn the water on, an exchange is made. Out with the bad, in with the good. The good treasure of our heart is a heart filled with the knowledge of who God is and what He is capable of doing. When you magnify the Lord and exalt his name (that means make his name higher than any situation that comes against you), the fruit you yield will be good.

If that exchange is not made, you will continue to speak what you see and not what the Word of God says and the fruit you yield will rot and die. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The only way to change what you speak is to change what you put in your heart. We must magnify God everyday or we won’t believe he is able to do what he says he will do.

Father, I praise you! I exalt your name above every problem in my life. I know that you, oh Lord are bigger than the problems, bigger than this world or the things in this world. You have given me life, big life! It’s your desire to tell me secrets and give me greater understanding of you. I just love that, God. I’m running after you, not from you. I’m pursuing you just as you are pursuing me. May you find me nourishing your presence today. May I be a place where your glory will dwell and never leave. Oh Father, I’m so excited! You have plans for me that are WAY better then I could ever plan for myself. I’m always in good hands because your hands hold me. AMEN!

Have you ever been afraid? Of course you have! We’ve all battled fear at some point in our life. Fear can come in different ways and in varied degrees, but what fuels fear? Your thought life. The more you think about something, meditate on it and allow it to consume you, the more fear grows. You can’t think it away, you must replace it.

Picture a glass of dirty water sitting full in the sink. When you run the faucet into that glass, what happens to the water that was in the glass? All of the dirty water that was in the glass is exchanged by the tap water. If you run that faucet hard and long enough, there will be no trace of dirty water left in the glass. That is how our minds work. Just by living in the world, listening to the news, hearing bad news, our minds become so filled and cluttered by words that cultivate fear. It’s those things that satan uses to instill fear in us. The more he can get us to think on them, the more fear builds up. Trust me, he’s done it for a very long time and is good at his job.

But to run the tap water of God’s Word into our mind, replaces those fears and doubts with what is true, because God doesn’t lie. I love what Paul told the Philippians in 4:8-9, “Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise. Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.  And do what you learned and received from me—what I told you and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you.” 

Did you see that? What you think on brings the peace of God. It’s just a matter of thought replacement. When your mind begins to think a fearful thought, be quick to say; “God has not given me the spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind! Because I’m his child, I will think of all the good things God has done for me in the past and drown out the sound of your voice!” Be quick to replace the thoughts at the onset, don’t wait until they take root and grow into a huge tree that you have to hire someone to come and cut it down! Fear must be dealt with at it’s root! The enemy to fear is faith, but you have to stand guard and not allow fear to have any part of your thoughts. As soon as it comes, put it down.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ERV;  ^“We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments,  and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” 

I love that! We must destroy people’s arguments and tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. People’s arguments are proud ideas. They think they know more than God! But if we know the Word or Truth, it sets us free. We can’t capture every thought and make it give up if we don’t have the knowledge of God’s Word in us to come against those thoughts with. It would be the equivalent of sending our children into battle with squirt guns. I don’t care how real they look, you can’t kill the enemy with water! But the water of the Word will work if we know it and use it.

Thank you Father for showing us yet again how to overcome; by the blood of your son and the word of our testimony. May we fill ourselves with your Word so that every time fear comes in, we allow the water of your Word to wash it away. You are faithful to keep your Word to us. We place our trust in you always. It’s in the name of your Son Jesus we pray. Amen

Here’s a scripture I ran across this morning that brought back a flood of memories; Job 5:7 GW says, “But a person is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly up from a fire.” As a child, I was known as an instigator. I’m sure many who know me well will agree that some traits never die! My dad used to say that my middle name was trouble. Really? I thought it was Kay. Oh well. I admit that I had the ability to talk my sister Vickie into most anything, simply because getting into trouble was more fun if it was shared. And we shared plenty of spankings (yes, and trust me we needed it!), but we made a whole lot of great memories together.

But perhaps what old Job was saying wasn’t that we are actually trouble, but born for trouble. Jesus even said we will have trouble in John 16:33, “I’ve told you this so that my peace will be with you. In the world you’ll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world.” He’s overcome our trouble for us! Trouble has purpose, it’s inevitable, but it has purpose. We know we’re gonna have it, but it’s what we do in the middle of our trouble that is important. When trouble comes knocking, stay in His peace. Depend on his ability to show you the way through it. You can crawl through it, fight through it or let Him carry you through it in peace. I’m opting for the 3rd.

Psalm 34:19, “The righteous person has many troubles, but the Lord rescues him from all of them.” It may be at the onset, it may be in the middle or it may be a grand finale, but the Lord will rescue you. He can’t lie, so I know it’s true. It may feel like you’ve been in it too long, but God has a plan for your trouble so trust Him. You may feel that your middle name is trouble cause you’ve been in it so long, but just as God took Jobs trouble and blessed in way beyond what he once had, God will do the same for you.

Father, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for the trouble that troubles me. Thank you that you never leave me to face my trouble alone, in fact you walk in front of me to take the brunt of my enemies attack, I just never see what you see. You have sheltered me so many times from those who would take me out. You’ve lifted me from depression and discouragement, given me a song, a praise to shout. You saw the waters rising, ready to wash me away, yet your hand reached out and lifted me to higher ground. My life is your life. You are my hope and salvation, I will not fear because you are my Father.  It’s because of your son, Jesus that I walk freely and victoriously in this world. AMEN!

Psalm 34:1-3; I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.  Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

In the good times, I will bless the Lord. In the bad times, I will bless the Lord. When I’m discouraged, I will bless the Lord. When my heart fails me, I will bless the Lord. When my cupboards are bare, I will bless the Lord. When I have plenty, I will bless the Lord. When my car breaks down, I will bless the Lord. Praise is not determined by my circumstances or situation. Praise comes out of my confidence in my God and His Word. Do you see that? David said, “My soul shall make it’s boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.”

You see, God pays attention to the words you speak and so do people. If you’re complaining, people notice! But if you begin to boast of God’s faithfulness and goodness, it makes their heart glad. I’d rather feed peoples faith rather than feed their doubt and unbelief. Come on now, magnify, make large the Lord with me today. Let us exalt or lift high His name together. Throw up your arms to the Lord and tell him how excellent he is. Let him know how much you love him and honor him. Give him some praise! Thank him for his provision, his mercy. You would be dead right now if it were not for the Lord.

Father, how can we dwell on our past when you’ve delivered us from that! We should be jumping up and down for joy at your salvation. We haven’t even seen 1/2 of the traps the enemy had for us but you sent your angels ahead of us to spring the traps. You faced them for us. Oh God of wonder! God of miracles! One breath from your lips and our enemies are scattered. You have redeemed us! Even our mistakes, you have turned them into glorious triumphs. We lift our voices in praise this morning. We sing of your greatness and all the works of your hands. Your blood has covered us and that is enough, but you will not stop there. You never stop blessing us and showing us mercy. You never cease to show us favor.

According to Psalm 34:15, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” We will not cease to praise you today. When we are tempted to complain, we will remember your goodness and praise you yet again.

One of my favorite things about reading the Word of God is hitting on a hidden treasure. Just having God open the eyes of my understanding to show me something I hadn’t seen before, even after read the verse a hundred times. It’s the one thing that causes me to lose track of time in the morning, keeps me thinking about it all day long and excited to do it all over again the next day.

In Luke 8:10, Jesus used Isaiah 6:9 to explain this; He said, “You have been chosen to know the secret truths about God’s kingdom. But I use stories to speak to other people. I do this so that ‘They will look, but they will not see, and they will listen, but they will not understand.’ 

We as children of God are privy to these hidden things, but like with anything of value, you have to want it bad enough to search for it.  It doesn’t just come from reading, it comes from listening to the Spirit of God in you while you read it. Jeremiah 33:3 says; ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ That’s how to read the Word. It’s like finding your Fathers last will and testament and reading it just to find out he left you some very special stuff. It’s written in a way that only his children get the good stuff.

Father, thank you for the good stuff! It’s like being on a scavenger hunt, coming together with other siblings and showing them the treasure you’ve gathered so they can enjoy it too. I especially love it when you’ve given me a part and I talk with someone who also has a part, but together it’s like, BAM! We connect and it fits together like a beautiful puzzle. You truly make beautiful and amazing things from your Word. Help me today to share what I know with others so that they may be encouraged and grow to become treasure hunters as well. It’s in Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!  Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. Isaiah 26:3-4

Have you ever felt like something just wasn’t right? You walk around in a daze, you can’t keep your focus on task, you find yourself sinking and you don’t know why? Well here’s what the Lord showed me this morning; You have trust issues! WHAT? Lord, you know I trust you. I know that you will do what you said you will do. How can that be the issue?

Do you remember the big storm on the lake when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water and thought they had seen a ghost? In response to Peter, Jesus told him to get out of the boat and come to him on the water, right? He heard Jesus, he saw Jesus, he answered the call of Jesus and he did indeed walk on the water, at least for a few minutes. Let’s read Matthew 14:30-31; But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said.“Why did you doubt me?”

Do you see that? So many of us get a Word from the Lord to “Come to me!”, we leave our comfortable boat and for a few minutes we walk on water.  Here’s the part that happens to all of us, we begin to look at what’s happening around us and we begin to doubt God’s ability to keep his Word to us. The words we entertain, “Did God really say that?” is reinforced by very real wind and waves that try to swallow us in the very deep ocean of doubt and unbelief. It’s overwhelming! We take our eyes off Jesus, our prize for one moment and it’s like he has vanished in the dark night, leaving us alone and sinking.

Ah, but what was that opening verse from Isaiah 26:3-4? You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!  Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. YES! All I have to do is come against those thoughts that constantly beat against the shores of my mind and keep my eyes on Jesus, the living Word of God. 

What are you facing today? Like the children of Israel, are you picturing the giants in the land are bigger than the God who is for you? Don’t give away the power God gave you to defeat your enemy! Stop focusing on the ‘giants’ and focus on God. Stop looking at your situation and get your eyes back on Him. Is anything impossible with Him? Reach out your hand and ask for help! Peter did and so can you! It will only make you more aware of His ability to save, heal and deliver you.

So I will close with the words of Paul in Ephesians 3:16-21;

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.