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A Time Of Love

There was a time in my life when I was all alone.  I was in darkness.  I was cast out for dead.  No one cared for my soul.  I was cold, shivering, dying in my own iniquities.  Have you ever had a natural experience like this?  Perhaps you got wet in a thunderstorm or in the snow and your clothes become damp and clingy.  You are so cold that you are shivering.  You only want one thing and that is to be warm and snug.  You are like a baby wanting someone to comfort it.  Then all of a sudden someone spreads a warm, soft blanket over you.  All of a sudden you are warm and dry.  You feel comforted and at peace.  This is what Christ does for you when he saves your soul.  He spreads his skirt of love over you and covers your nakedness.  All that misery and wretchedness is gone.  It is like going from being naked, cold, wet, and shivering to being covered by the softest, warmest fur blanket that you could wish for.  It happens in an instant.  The change that salvation brings doesn’t take days or years, it happens the very moment that you accept Jesus as your Savior.  “Whoosh”, just like spreading a blanket.  Thank you, Jesus, for covering my nakedness, my sin, my iniquity.

Ezekiel 16:4-8

[4] And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
[5] None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
[6] And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
[7] I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

While We Wait

Today I would like to talk about a tough topic when it comes to a persons walk with God: waiting. There are moments in my life where I cannot move any further in a matter. Even if I could intervene, it would be the wrong course of action.

Let us read a passage:

Romans 5:1-5

[1]Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
[2] By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
[3] And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
[4] And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
[5] And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

There are three key points that I would like to make here.

First of all, I cannot be justified by faith unless I actually use it. Why would it be spoken in the word of God that you have access to something if you did not need to know that you had to go and access it?

Secondly, Faith without works in my life is dead; I can’t sit back and just wait for it all to happen for me. I have to be faithful through my experiences and believe that God is going to help me with the long-term things as I obey him through the short term! I stand in my faith not literally, but through endurance of grace I make it through! I also rejoice! I can come to God’s house and praise the Lord! I can come and not be fearful of what anyone would direct otherwise! God would never have you be in a place where you could not step out through obedience to grow!

Finally, remember that which is in you and around you! The love of God (as given by the Holy Ghost) is always in you, always ready for you to be able to step out and make a difference each day. You might be in a place where that is frowned upon, but just hang in there! God will make a way for your ministry to grow! Remember who it is that you worship, and who it is that you serve! If it is anything other than God, than you cannot survive long-term! Tribulation was never meant to be endured without God!

You Are Not Forgotten

Genesis 37:2-11

[2] These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
[3] Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
[4] And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
[5] And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
[6] And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
[7] For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
[8] And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
[9] And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
[10] And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
[11] And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

When Joseph received the dream that he shared with his brothers, he was only 17 years old. There are many of you out there that have a dream that God has gave you to fulfill. Joseph could not help the dream he received, and was only trying to share his vision with others. He wasn’t aware though of how his brothers envied him, and they did not receive it; in fact they rebuked the dream, questioning him in the process.

There will be many people that we face in our lives that will reject your dreams that God has placed in your life. Maybe it is to be a worship leader, minister, or a teacher: Just remember that if God gave it to you that he will not forget the vision that he supplied. Through the next phases in Josephs life, he faced being sold into captivity, faced temptation from another woman, being placed in jail, and truly did not see the full success of his dream until he was 30. There might also be some hardships and time that will pass before you can ever see the fruition of what God has placed in your heart. He told people to remember him, and they forgot him.

There are many people that we can count on in our life, but at some point we will be left behind by them. It’s just a natural occurrence, and should not be let down by this. The beauty of this story is that Joseph, after all of the trials he faced, still had the heart to help those who wronged him. Being placed as the governor of the land to follow through on his calling, God knew from the first day where he would be. All he had to do was endure.

So I will end this post by saying this: You are not forgotten, and if you just endure with your faith that God will come through for you, the opportunity to make a difference for others will come. Not in our time, but in Gods. Take the hardships as they come with love, and just remember the ones before us that showed in the scriptures that we are not neglected without justification for benefits by God’s blessings. Have a great day!