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Saturday, January 11, 2014
Thursday, August 23, 2012
God's Timing: Perfect!!
Chapter 1
Joan Santomenna posted this insightlul entry on her blog, "Journaling with Jesus"
Chapter 2 is my comment on her entry.
Chapter 3 is how the Lord used it in my life!
Beggars and Blessings
The beggar who waited on the stone piazza by the temple gate called “beautiful” could hardly be be considered “beautiful” himself. His body was twisted and weak. He had been carried there to beg alms. (Acts 4)
He had probably seen Peter before. The fisherman visited the temple daily with his friends. They were a happy group, praising God and greeting others in the crowd.
The lame man put out his hand, hoping to receive a few coins; but he was soon to receive a great deal more. As he reached out for the hoped-for coins, Peter spoke. ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, WALK”
Suddenly the beggar’s legs strengthened. He felt the change. He didn’t’ need to struggle. He sprang to his feet. He stood. He took a step. He leaped. He shouted, “Oh, my God! Thank you, Lord”
The crowd stared. Some cheered. Some whispered their hopes to others. Some turned aside unable to bear the conflict with their unbelief. Many joined themselves to the beggar's celebration. Tears of joy flowed from the eyes of the beggars friends.
Peter smiled and then grinned. He had seen this happen before.
He remembered when Jesus had called the twelve together and instructed them to go. “ Go to the lost sheep of Israel. Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts.” “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. (Matthew 10). The power was not Peter’s. But it was his to deliver.
The same power is not mine, or yours…it is the Lord's. But it is ours to deliver.
Go, Fear not, Prepare not,
Make disciples.
Will there be conflict! Yes!
But, “Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ." (Matthew 10:32)
Outside our walls the world waits, crippled by false values, begging for pennies, unable to enter the place of worship.
Will I remember what I have experienced? Will I doubt Him? Will I doubt myself? or will I put out my hand and deliver what I know and what I have seen?
Chapter 2
People are afraid of conflict. Not just the conflict of dealing with those outside the walls, but also with the conflict inside their own skin. The great, what if nothing happens? Will "I" be viewed as a failure? Did I think I heard the Lord say, "Do this!" but not hear correctly? Will I bring ridicule down the Lord? Will I feel foolish? Will I look like a fool?
But I think we often forget that we have been given permission to do this. We have been given the authority to do this. The outcome is in the Lord's hands. It is our faithfulness that counts. We carry the Holy Spirit with us where ever we go. We can't leave Him home. So when we use the authority that has been given to us to lay on others to ask for healing, He is already present. I like to think of how, when I lay hands on someone the Holy Spirit flows out of my fingers into the person I'm praying for. In that way, there is NO WAY nothing is going to happen! It may not be for me to understand how the Lord will work in each instance, but I have to understand that when the Holy Spirit leaves me to enter another, SOMETHING always happens!
But I think we often forget that we have been given permission to do this. We have been given the authority to do this. The outcome is in the Lord's hands. It is our faithfulness that counts. We carry the Holy Spirit with us where ever we go. We can't leave Him home. So when we use the authority that has been given to us to lay on others to ask for healing, He is already present. I like to think of how, when I lay hands on someone the Holy Spirit flows out of my fingers into the person I'm praying for. In that way, there is NO WAY nothing is going to happen! It may not be for me to understand how the Lord will work in each instance, but I have to understand that when the Holy Spirit leaves me to enter another, SOMETHING always happens!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The Right Hand of God; The Gift of Intimacy
Acts 2:25-28
Peter is quoting Psalm 16:8-11
“‘25 I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope ...’”
my body also will rest in hope ...’”
He used this passage to point to Christ, to the prophecy of his resurrection from the dead.
But when I read Acts chapter 2, and the Lord stopped me at verse 25, it seemed to be another message he was giving me.
“I saw the Lord always before me.” When he reaches out with his right hand to take us by our right hand then he must be standing before us. When he stands beside us, then his right hand grasps our left hand.
David had an understanding of intimacy with God;
Psalm 63:8
I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 73:23
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
I brought this “standing before me” up with the assistant pastor at our church last night. He pointed out that the person of Jesus is God the Father’s way of showing us how intimate he wants to be with us. Before the coming of Jesus people had no concept of intimacy with God the Father.
Isaiah 65:2
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations ...
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations ...
They relied on their faith, when things were going badly, that God would stand by them and help them by the power of his right hand.
I was directed to Isaiah 49. It seems as if the whole chapter is a prophecy of Christ’s coming, his rejection, his being cursed for us, his being a light to the gentiles. (that’s me)
But verse 16 is what really stuck out;
“See, I have engraved you on the palm of my hands.”
Jesus, God incarnate, is a face to face kind of person.
As an artist, I depend on my ability to close my eyes and “see” what I envision. And I see Jesus. He stands close to me. He is as close as my breathing in and my breathing out. He is as close as a bridegroom is to his bride.
One of my all time favorite scriptures comes from Isaiah 41:13;
For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
God, the creator of the universe, the creator of everything, the only perfect being, stands before me and holds my right hand. He never leaves me. And he promises he never will.
And isn’t that what the second chapter of Acts is really all about? Living a life of intimacy with the Lord?
Now that I think about it, isn’t that really what the entire Bible is all about?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The Wonders of God
7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
Acts 2: 7-11
They had come from every corner of the known world. "some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.[b]” (Isaiah 49:12)
Acts 2: 7-11
They had come from every corner of the known world. "some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.[b]” (Isaiah 49:12)
It was an appointed time, to come together to remember the day that Moses came down from Mt. Sinai and presented their ancestors with God's law.
And instead of the babel that they usually heard as they walked the streets of Jerusalem, they heard people declaring the wonders of God, each in his own language!
The Wonders of God!
When we go to church we hear about the wonders of God. When we walk the streets we do not necessarily expect to hear that. But how about when we gather together as friends? How much time do we spend sharing our experiences of how good God is to us, how much he's blessed our lives since the last time we came to together?
Yesterday I made a trip to a christian conference center near my home because dear friends, that I hadn't seen in several years, were spending the week there. I was so much looking forward to spending the day with them! The whole day, to catch up, to share hugs, to spend time in worship and instruction with them!
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| www.americaskeswick.org |
Something that the morning speaker said ignited me with such an impatience to just sit and talk with my friends about all the wonderful things the Lord has done for me!
After the lecture time we took a walk to secluded spot, ate our box lunches and started sharing. One blessing after the other came pouring out of us as we shared the joys of living with and being "intimately acquainted" with the Creator of all that is! Tears came flowing as we talked about watching dear ones cross over into Glory. But laughter flowed as we talked about seemingly small things that had our Lord's "fingerprints" all over them!
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| Where we shared lunch and met Scott |
Suddenly a young man appeared and we invited him to join us. We had never seen him before but he eagerly joined our circle and began to share the wonders of his relationship with the Lord.
Every day I do my best to remember God. I step out my door and glory at his gift of nature! I sing songs to him throughout the day. I try to stay mindful of him by thanking him for each small gift he presents to me, whether it be a good parking spot, the fact that I found the keys I had been missing, the flash of a cardinal flying through the trees. And I can't wait until until my husband comes home, or my best friend calls, or my daughter shows up, unexpectedly at my door, to share with them all the incredibly neat things the Lord has done for me since the last time. The Wonders of God! The WONDERS of God!!
Encourage each other, every day, with the Wonders of God!
Monday, July 16, 2012
That's It! I'm Painting the Car!
Finally! At the ripe old age of 52 I've made it to Woodstock! I went with my husband's boy scout troop last weekend and did we have a ball? You bet! But the biggest thrill was seeing the bus!
In 1992 we had a blue '83 Dodge Colt. It had been in a front end accident and we had to replace the hood and front fenders and the parts we got were white. Well! I certainly couldn't leave it looking like that! So I painted a huge sunburst on it! (If I could find a photo I'd post it, but alas, I can't.) We drove it like that for 3 years. I named it the "Trigger Sunshine Mobile".
Fast forward a couple of decades. We bought a silver PT Cruiser. The moment I knew we'd be buying it I thought to myself, "This baby's getting painted, just as soon as it's paid off!" We paid it off a couple of years ago and I just haven't done it.
But! Now that I've been to Yazgur's Farm, and seen that beautiful bus, I'm all fired up and rarin' to go!
It's gunna take a lot of paint. I'll be buying it a little at a time. Hmmm...... Should I paint bits as I get the paint or should I wait till I have the whole lot and do in all at once?
More photos to follow!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Something Fresh and New
Tonight we started a new bible study. But it really isn’t a bible study. It’s really more of a journaling exercise. I don’t really have my mind truly wrapped around what it is, but it’s something like this;
We’re given a chapter, say Acts 2. We read it and then write about what it means to us. What it means to me. How does the Holy Spirit speak to me through it? Is it relevant to what’s going on in my life right now? Does it call to mind something from my past?
The Lord uses every word of scripture to speak to us. We should expect to hear from Him and to interact with Him every time we open the bible. And that’s part of what this experiment is about, interacting with the Lord in a truly personal way.
It will also be used as an opportunity to build up and edify each other. When we gather together, either biweekly or once a month, we will share what the Lord has shown us and compare notes. If it’s that we’re all using the same scripture verses then it will be so fascinating to see how each of us interprets that verse.
Then, we will post them on our blogs and hopefully share them with the blogosphere.
That way we are also using them as witnessing tools.
I’m excited!
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LIFE IS JUST SO FULL OF COOL STUFF!
- Judy Goddard
- Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States
- My nane is Judy and I've been a christian for more than 3/4 of my life. I believe in redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that God, the Spirit lives in me and gives me the power to do His will and to live a joyful life. I have a Godly husband, a grown son and daughter. I live on a farm with 3 goats, 2 chickens, 2 horses, a cat, a dog and a python. I am an artist and a singer. I was a full time stay at home mom, the hardest job you'll ever love! I have two handmade shops on Etsy. Leaning on the Promises www.leaningonthepromises.etsy.com (Hand Painted Walking Canes) and Beaver Creek Pottery www.beavercreekpottery.etsy.com and an Etsy shop for selling Vintage and Antiques. Jersey Pine Pickers www.jerseypinepickers.etsy.com I post about my relationship with God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, about the things He teaches me, delights me with and how He uses me.