04.27.2018 Hope From The Heartland – Your Value to God
03.01.2018 Hope From The Heartland
07.06.2017 Longing For More – Hope From The Heartland
06.22.2017
Within Our Grasp – Hope From the Heartland
06.20.2017
Delight in Waiting – Hope From The Heartland
01.05.2017
Resolution
Resolution defined: How much detail is visible. The act of bringing into focus. The sharpness of an image in photography.
That’s what is happening for you and me. Holy Spirit is bringing Resolution to our vision!
He is sharpening the image of what we see in this New Year. I’m really thinking that our resolution (resolve) is increasing.
Expect things to come into focus and for sharpness to be ours.
This will be a year of clear focus and resolution.
12.31.2016
I Had a Visitor ComeA messenger stepped into my living room yesterday and announced, “You’re going to be excited about what comes next.”Now, there is a lot we can get from that!
First, the message wasn’t an ‘everything is wonderful’ type message, or even a ‘you’ll like what comes next‘ kind of a message.
I took the message as an invitation.
Excited has the meaning of a feeling of eager enthusiasm and interest (Meriam-Webster Dictionary).
I relate this emotion to Faith – the evidence of things not seen.
Our inner-man perceives what is not seen and we come into anticipation and excitement.
Faith and my spirit-man (who leads in the human trinity of spirit, soul and body) grasps conviction of the things unseen in 2017 and beyond.
Not that it will be easy or always pleasant, but an adventure with our Father possessing our inheritance in a new season.
Have a Hopeful and Prosperous New Year!
http://wmpaulyoung.com/creating-for-connection/
Creating For The Sake Of Connection
From Cate 02//25/2016 Seasons of My Heart
Today I was sitting in my friends business having a wonderful time catching up and sipping coffee. They have a Quilt Shop. They sell all the supplies you need to make your own quilts from material and threads to the machines that assist you. There is an atmosphere of peace there.
I love businesses that bring out the creativity in people. I always get inspired without anyone saying anything to me. Even home improvement stores do that to me. But I am one to not always succumb to the long arms of creativity that reach out and taunt you until you say yes to their biddings. Then, before you know it, the tentacles grab you and lure you to buy all the supplies you need to make the perfect item you see displayed in all its finished glory before you.
I’m being funny here. I have learned my limitations of talents and abilities in the crafts department. And that is why I can say no to the taunts. I still get tempted but manage to pull away just in time. Quilting is beautiful and I love to cuddle under a lovely quilt……that someone else made. I lack patience in such a project. Maybe some day.
When my husband and I left the store we decided to take the country route home. It’s pretty brown here and gray in the winter months. But I noticed this barn with a “quilt” painted on the front – see image above.
My mind wandered from that point on. While with our friends we talked about seasons. How cold the mid-west winters are and how we long to be on a beach in a tropical paradise during those days.
We talked how the seasons in nature are similar to the seasons of our lives. I’ll tell you what I mean.
There is a purpose for winter. A time to die and lay hidden to bring forth life when the time to right. Sometimes those hidden things can never come forth or come forth stunted if they do not pass through the cold winter season.
Spring. New life. New colors. New blossoms. Multiplied beauty from the last year. Fresh and warm and welcomed.
Summer. Fun! Enjoyment of the fruits of a long cold winter. The fruits of spring rains and melting snow.
Autumn. The beauty of life slowing and changing into glorious colors once more before the frosty winds take over and put the seeds to sleep for another season of dying only to bring forth life once again.
As far as my life goes, my heart issues, I thought long and hard on this and still am. How often I, Cate B, reflect on the warmth of summer. How often I want the winter of my life to be finished and brought into spring way faster than it feels like it’s happening. I want it now. But, why do I want that so much? What is my hurry?
Sometimes winter is painful. Sometimes I can feel frostbitten on the inside and want so much to be blossoming like a field of wild flowers. But the more I listened to my friend talk with us from his heart the more I felt that I need to not rush this winter season of my life. Or any season of the heart. I really do want all of what God has for me in this life on this earth. So if going through the “winter of my heart” is what will bring me out blooming beautiful then so be it. After all, several times I have told my Lord that I just want all He has for me. I gave Him permission to make me into the person I’m to be.
So I will keep layering my clothes to stay warm against the elements. I will prepare myself for the coming seasons so I can listen and receive all the dying and blooming on the inside that needs to be done. And I will gladly grab those warm surprise days that pop up now and then or the trip to the warmer climate for a week to help get me through. It is worth it. Being alive and aware and becoming me is so worth it.
Enjoy!
Cate B http://wingedprisms.com/2016/02/23/seasons-of-my-heart/
A New Years post for you by Cate
Here we go. Another year is ending and a new one beginning. Do you like that or dislike that?
I always like it. Even though I feel old and my life is flying by, I still welcome a New Year. I like the idea of changes to come and new adventures and old ones closing, perhaps.
I have very little idea of what is to come for Cate B. I will still be caring for my lovely grand-girls this New Year. But those days are numbered. Last year at this time I was dreading the girl watching to end and them moving on. I was ready to pack up and run with them dragging husband and dogs with me. But now, a year later I feel differently.
I feel that I should start dreaming again. Dreaming of things that I desire and that the Lord has instilled in me long ago. It’s still a bit fuzzy and foggy. I do believe the fog will lift and I will see again.
Sometimes I visualize a tug o’ war going on in my spirit. Little lies of “you’re too old” against great truths of “you’re never too old”. I am on the side of truth, even though, somedays it is a battle to believe. Especially when you say goodbye to a friend who died too young and you see headlines the day after Christmas of deadly storms sweeping the nation.
One of my favorite verses in the bible that tells of great advice for all is:
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”
I want to be worked into God’s most excellent harmonies! There’s a dream for the New Year and my life! I think I’ll start there.
So here goes, Dear Readers, may these last few days of the old year be joyful and fulfilling for you and even more, may the New Year greet you with more Joy and Dreams coming to pass. May you be able to choose the truth and dwell on it. And may you be found in His most excellent harmony!
There is so much to like about Christmas.
First of all I am not talking about the things we give or receive. The good in these things is that behind them stands love and generosity which reflects the generous heart of the Father that gave us the best gift of all on Christmas.Christmas really is the celebration of the humility of Christ. The willingness of the God-Head for the Son to humbly become a helpless baby born in the feeding place of live stock.This was the first of many humble choices the Son made for you and me. Ultimately leading to the ransom He paid at Golgotha.
God’s heart is so generous, the Son so humble. We are the recipient of an awe inspired gift.
Merry Christmas to All
Here is a post from a great woman of God and Friend:Brenda Alton Ministries – BAM
Morning BAM!I have become a wonder unto many – but are my strong refuge. (Psalm 71:7 NKJV)
Ever felt like you are a living spectacle? All eyes are on you. You are not seeking attention or accolades, but all eyes seem to be looking through your glass house. Take heart in the fact that this is not really about you, even though you are quite amazing.
People are in wonder and in anticipation to see what will be the outcome of such extraordinary trouble in your life. Those who are all “in your Kool Aid” are observing you, possibly talking about you, even abandoning you. The wonder exists because you are facing some steep challenges, but you are not crying. They are watching and wondering how you are yet dancing and singing, even though your road is rough. What baffles them more is that in the midst of your tough times, they also see an extraordinary confidence in God, and you are blowing their minds. You even have the audacity to say, “God is my refuge.” You proclaim, men will abandon me, but God will not. You unashamedly speak about your solution and not about your problem. No matter what happens, you continually praise Him.
I want to encourage you to keep on being a wonder to many. The world needs to see you victorious, but more importantly, the world needs to see God in you when you are facing challenging times. So, keep praising Him and keep living for Him. God will take care of those who seek to hurt you. Just stay focused on the prize and not the storm.
BAM! … you are not a spectacle; you are spectacular!
Ah September! Even though the weather hasn’t fully changed, an elevated expectation of Fall is in order. With it I am looking back at the lessons learned in a busy summer.June and July consisted of two extended road trips. Ministry at twelve churches in the North East and graduation for two wonderful grandsons. That was in June. In July, Cate and I along with one of our sons and his bride, went from Kansas City to the Gulf Coast of Florida for two weeks. This trip was purely a vacation and a wonderful time with friends and family.August centered on recovering and preparing for daily life with our grand girls while their parents attend University and jobs. But all of this traveling and resting has instilled some wisdom……. People matter more than we know. Here are some of the priceless points God revealed to me:
- Seeing a Friend who was one week away from passing – knowing it was the last time we would speak on this earth together – priceless
- Precious time with Friends – things we don’t understand do not matter in times of deep relationship
- New Friends with so much love to give and generous hospitality
- Sharing adventures is way better with people you are close to
- Crossing a lake that contains over 1,000 alligators and walking trails in the Everglades -so freeing with those who get you and don’t think you’re crazy – cause they are too!
- Listening is an art – I’ve made a living for decades talking. Eight hours by a pool with people you care about gives you lots of opportunity to engage in listening.
- Gratitude makes everything better. Road trips; backseats too small; cheap hotel rooms; human idiosyncrasies; what you could complain about is a good place for an altar of Thanksgiving.
- Whatever appears to be a crisis is really a place to know God’s nature in a deeper way.
With a list like this Life is not as bad as you thought and the road really does lead to something good.
How Do I Love Those I Don’t Understand?When I was a young mom and involved in a church my husband just happened to pastor, I thought I was really something. I thought that our decision for me to be a stay-at-home mom was the ultimate call of God on Christian mothers everywhere. I actually had the mindset that all moms should be doing this.One day, after a church service, I saw a woman I hadn’t seen in a while. I liked her a lot. She had three lovely boys and they were awesome. Like me, she was a stay-at-home mom. Was. I asked, ever so cheerfully, how she had been doing. And this is when my perfect world crumbled……………
She began to tell me that a wonderful thing has happened. An answer to her prayers that set her free. I asked her to tell me. Excitement was rising in her voice and in my anticipation………
This is when she told me that she had been praying for a job. A what?? A job outside of the home. I think my mouth did one of those fall open and drool and no one but me noticed things. A job?? Yes, a job, she kept the excitement level up in her voice.
She went on about their need for more money and her desire to be outside the home and contribute. So she went looking and lo and behold, she was offered a great job. The whole family rejoiced.
I put on my Hollywood smile and hugged her and told her how happy I was for her (I think I missed my call on the stage). She went home and I went home…….. downcast and confused.
Let me take a side road here for just a second. One thing I am good at is taking my questions to the Lord. He and I just have a good thing together about asking and listening and getting answers. Trouble is, they may not always be the answers I was looking for.
Now, back on the main road……. I went home and asked him. Well, actually, I remember it well. I asked him before I even left the building. Something like this: “What were You thinking? How could that be Your answer to her prayers????? Huh????? Why did you let her take that job?????”
And right then the room faded away and I was there with the spot light on me – and Him – and He kindly said, “I let her have the job because that is where she is at. She asked me for a job.”
I remember saying, “What do you mean?” And He continued gently to tell me that He loves each of us so much. He let me stay at home with my kids because that is what I desired and what I wanted more than anything. Others want a career or a simple job.
I began to see a bit more clearly that day. I began to see a different perspective. More of God’s perspective. I didn’t know that woman very well. I didn’t know her dreams or desires or even how she is put together. Heck, I really don’t know how most people are built. Some can handle an intense career far easier than 24/7 diapers, bottle, crying, spitting – well, you get the picture. Some get total satisfaction from raising children. It doesn’t mean these parents don’t love their children less or more. It simply means God love each of us and He knows what is best for us at any given moment.
That half hour out of my life, years ago, changed me. To the good. I still think I’m really something, but I try really hard to see people as He does. It’s not easy. Especially when it’s turned around and others judge me and think they know who I am or how I’m bent. BUT, that lesson is alive and well and still at work in this imperfect person. It has helped me shake off any judgements that come at me – still not easy – but with the help of the One who answers my questions…… the One who let’s me ask questions …….. the One who answers me in a still small voice in my heart – I can love those I don’t understand.
Enjoy!
cate b
05.11.2015
I heard the word “Connecting” in the Spirit. Holy Spirit is connecting you with:
Divine Appointments – opportunities that match and are key to your destiny!
Eternal Purpose People – connecting with those that you can boost into their fullness and they will give you assistance in getting into your promises.
Arriving at a Broad Place (Job 36:16) – this represents prosperity and freedom. Holy Spirit is bringing you to the right place where you can flourish.
“Wait passionately for God, do not leave the path. He will give you your place in the sun…..” Ps 37:34 The MessageWaiting is a challenge! I don’t feel I am good at it, but God seems to be of another opinion because I am doing it often, waiting, that is…….
The verse doesn’t just speak of waiting (like for a bus). Wait, in this verse, means to be intertwined with. So, the wait in this verse goes deeper than just waiting for time to pass. We must spend that time intertwined with Him – waiting passionately.I’ve learned that those are the central things. I am not waiting for a circumstance or result, I am waiting for God. My last fourty-four years of relationship with Him convinces me that the interplay, conversations and times of silent promptings and challenges only deepen the harbor of my heart to receive more.
But to wait passionately, like the young bridegroom at the altar awaiting the procession of his bride to join him. With fiery love and expectancy on the inside awaiting fulfillment. I’m not passively waiting but passionately waiting for God.
II Peter 3:18
Peter, closing his first epistle to the church, is comparing people who fall back in their relationship (vs. 17) with Christ to those who move forward.
Our verse reads: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity, Amen.Grace is available to us, especially to grow. As in marriage, there is an ongoing progress and maturity being developed. Also, as in marriage, intimate friendship is the ongoing story, not just a legal relationship. Grace appears to persuade us in our hearts to move closer to Him and to let nothing come in-between.The word knowledge, here, is the experienced knowing revealed to us one precious piece at a time.
In prayer, meditation, worshipping and adoration, as well as fellowship with others, we gain experiences of His person. We are knowing Him.
Enjoy each moment.
Enjoy today in Grace.
For the Lord your God blesses you, as He promised you… Deuteronomy 15:6.
God, the Promise Keeper, blesses us as He promised He would.
Wherever we find ourselves today, whatever the situation, our life is not about the evidence presented in circumstances of the moment.
Our life is about promises and the One who keeps the promises. We are summoned to a deep trust, like Abrahams, described in Romans 4:17-25.
When we find ourselves in lifeless and/or hopeless situations we trust and rest confidently in the One who promised us. If there be no crisis but the mundane – we trust and expect our promises coming into fulfillment.
Living in view of the promises and the Author and Finisher (Hebrews 12:2), releases us from anxiety and pressure. We are brought into assurance, confidence and Hope fixed on the faithful heart of The Promiser.
In the past, at it’s origin, this statement expressed truth. In todays vernacular we have come to see it is speaking of unrealistic, foolish hope.
That being said, real hope is so very practical and realistic. Real hope is centered in the reality of who God is, His character and nature.
Human experience can be in many different stages of development. As we delve into the adventure of discovering who God really is – through worship, bible study, prayer and shared experiences with others, we find the foundation of Hope that really does spring eternal.
God continuously – like a spring – speaks to us of expecting His goodness in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.
He will do this every day for the rest of our days.
Contrary to popular belief, we’re not here to survive.
Jesus said, “Occupy till I come.” (Luke 19:13) The idea of the word, in the original, is to do business, trade, busy one self.In modern terms, we would say, “Be fully engaged till I come”. When we live by our circumstances, we tend to live the minimum – getting by – rather than fully engaging with purpose.When Jesus made the statement to occupy, He was instructing those He had confidently left the keys of the Kingdom to. (Matthew 16:13-20)
Their lives, fully engaged, were to be about His Kingdom and everything He is releasing on the earth.
Father God, give us a fully engaged heart so that we do the business of the Kingdom.
Jeremiah 31:2&3
In the wilderness the people survived the sword, found grace when Israel sought rest…..
from afar the Lord has appeared to me, saying I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
These verses tell us of a Divine progression in our journey with God. He is taking us through this progression so that we remain confident in the process.
So, as we find ourselves in barren dry places (wilderness) and intense warfare (sword) God is setting us up for the discovery of Grace.
It has been there all along, but our dry habitat and intense battles bring us to fresh uncovering of this treasure. Favor we never deserve (Grace) becomes our possession.
The verses also tell us that this discovery of God’s graciousness is rooted in seeking rest.
Warfare is a reality but rest is the place we operate from (Hebrews 4).
We’re next told that through our perception that God is far off, that out of eternal love He is showering us with mercy (loving kindness) and drawing us near.
There is the sight we have with natural eyes – but this speaks to the eyes of the heart (Ephesians 1:18) to perceive and see beyond circumstance to the royal journey God has us on.
(Revelation 21:6b&7) “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
This amazing verse contains outrageous promises for those who believe. Jesus proclaims that, because we thirst (desire) for Him, that we will drink in abundance out of the springs of Holy Spirit life.
He then promises that for our faith (overcoming) we will inherit Him, His Kingdom manifest in and through us.
The Kingdom is multi-dimensional but it certainly includes:
Peace
Healings
Provisions
Miracles
Gifts
Power
Authority
Fruitfulness
This is a Much More promise from God!
The last part of our passage promises the ongoing experience of sonship with Him. We live in a union with Him in true Family.
I encourage you to prayerfully ponder these promises.**be sure to check Pat’s upcoming itinerary in the Pennsylvania area**
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01.02.2015
“Expect, Expect, Expect” These are the three words that God put in my spirit for a friend. Though that was a specific word for Him, there is something here for all who will receive. Expectations can empower us or defeat us. Romans 15:13 says, ” May the God of Hope [confident expectancy of good] fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in Hope [confident expectancy of good] by the power of the Holy Spirit.” [the bracket definition is from Webster] So, if we are Hope-filled and expecting the God of Hope to show up in our lives today and tomorrow, we must know that it comes from the working of the Holy Spirit. This presents a great opportunity to confront negative expectancy, fears and doubts; and beyond all that to declare who God really is. I think this is a huge component of the believing that is mentioned in our verse. In this new season, may you be filled with expectancy of the goodness of God today and throughout your new year. |
Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick but when the desire comes it is a tree of life.”
The word deferred, in this scripture, means to prolong, delay, drawn out.
Now remember, this word is used in the first half of the verse. So often in Proverbs the style of writing is to contrast two extremes.
The first delay relates to delays – drawn out processes with regard to what we hope for.
Hoping is a huge part of God’s economy. The trinity of virtues, Faith, Hope and Love, are exhaustive subjects and interrelated.
Our ultimate Hope is Jesus, but God fills us with confident expectancy of good which is the practical definition of Hope.
As we confidently expect God’s goodness, we often find ourselves in delays. We long for something from God’s goodness, but arrival is not in our preferred time.
Romans 5:1-5 takes us through this process of trials, patience and persistence, all developing our character and maturing and producing real Hope in us.
The verses end with the statement: hope does not disappoint because we overflow with God’s love.
This gives us perspective of delays.
The second part of Proverbs 13:12 says that when the desire comes (when it is fulfilled) it is like eating fruit from the tree of life. Hope ushers us into the fruitful place of receiving the goodness of God on the inside (our spiritual growth) and the outside.
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord is in your midst…..mighty to save….rejoicing over you with gladness, quieting you with His love, exalting over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:19
Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors, and I will save the lame and gather the outcast.
And I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.The simplicity of what the prophet says: As we recognize and welcome the reality of God in our midst and receive His delight in us – all our oppressors are dealt with.
All our weakness and wounds become transformed and we become known for knowing Him.
All of this is centered on seeing God in our midst. He is not out there or far away.He has invested Himself in us and our situations. He is the Near God who delights in us and in transforming life through us.
Jude vs 1-2
Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.These verses contain three titles, or descriptions, of believers.
Jude, the half brother of Jesus in the natural, called himself a bond slave of Jesus. Tradition says his nickname was “Old Camel Knees” because of the large calluses he developed on his knees from kneeling often in prayer.
Jude , who was much in prayer, said we have three amazing titles.
The Called. We have heard the Good Shepard (John 10:14 & 27). We responded to the voice of the one who knows best.
Beloved. We are the object of everlasting love and life in which to experience it. Being the targets of His love changes everything. I am loved.
Kept for Jesus. I am preserved for Him. What security! How confident we should be in this!
God can pour His grace into and onto situations and people – who don’t appear to be able to overcome.
His grace transforms everything.
Life teaches us to expect little and much less than what God desires for us.
Hope is the posture of our inner person that constantly expects God’s goodness, and grace, in every situation.
Circumstance and situations that are all messed up and don’t qualify for man’s understanding are ripe for the goodness and grace of God to break in.
Such is the character of the Beautiful One who redeemed us from all our sins (Psalms 103).
No trouble is too difficult, no failure too great.
Goodness and Grace triumph.
I was pondering the beautiful interplay between faith, hope and love. In this trinity of virtues, each has their excellencies, and each never operates alone.
Faith blossoms out of hope.Hope being a confident expectancy of the goodness of God in our lives, now and into the f future.
Faith possesses what is hoped for; taking title to it, possessing it. (Hebrews 11:1)
Scripture says Faith works through Love. (Galatians 5:6)It also says Love hopes in all things. (I Corinthians 13;7)
Galatians 5:6 implies that religious activity counts for nothing but Faith activated and
energized and expressed, working through love, counts.
As we look at who God is with enlightened hearts, Hope grows in us then Faith easily comes forth. As this happens, we overflow in His love. (Ephesians 1:18)
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09.11.2014 www.wingedprisms.com Another Year
Psalms 32:10b – but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
God’s love and care for us is not haphazard or hit-and-miss. He is very intentional and focused in His goodness.The first scripture says He has appointed His persistent affection and care like watchmen standing guard. Maybe with this in view, Apostle Paul asked, “What shall separate us from the love of God?” (Romans 8:32) Then he answers his own question by saying, “Nothing is able to separate us from the Love of God.”
The second verse tells us that we live in a constant atmosphere – surrounded in the love of God.
Faith perceives this at all times, but circumstance doesn’t always affirm that it is so. We are invited to trust Him.
To trust His steadfast love and faithfulness.
07.20.2014
We almost always underestimate the grace that God gives us to bless others.
From our perspective, “we don’t do much”.
From the perspective of the receivers, “it is amazing”.
The widow gave the least but gave the most (Luke 21:1-4)
The Good Samaritan did what he could and he is forever set as an example of brotherly love (Luke 10:30-35)
The churches of Macedonia received grace from God to give with joy out of a state of extreme poverty.
(II Corinthians 8:1-5)
Grace to give comes to our hearts and enables us to think of others as far more important.
We adopt Jesus’ view.
Blessing rises up from the inside and overflows in our prayers and actions to others.
Lord, bring this forth through us today.
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07.13.2014 |
Isaiah 43:18 & 19
This is what the Lord says,
He is the one who made a road through the sea
and a path through rough waters.
He is the one who defeated the chariots and horses
and the mighty armies.
They fell together and will never rise again.
They were destroyed as a flame is put out.
The Lord says, “Forget what happened before,
and do not think about the past.
Look at the new thing I am going to do.
It is already happening. Don’t you see it?
I will make a road in the desert
and rivers in the dry land.”
Job 38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind..Job 42:19 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he prayed for His friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.Job is often just remembered for his sufferings. With that, many speculate on the reasons for his trials. We won’t pursue that, but what Job learned is very interesting.
Job 38:1 shows the beginning of Job’s person to person encounter. Job was in a storm – a whirlwind of not understood challenge. God answered Job out of the whirlwind. What was overwhelming to Job, God operated through to reach Job’s heart.
Job 42:19 God’s redemption is displayed – restored fortunes.
Scripture connects this with Job’s intercession for his friends. Job’s restoration gave him double his previous wealth and the doorway for all this was Job’s heart being turned to others in prayer – releasing God’s goodness at a new level.
Positioned – God is setting us – right now! – in the right place for our next step.
Now, in terms of circumstances, this may seem to be far from reality. But He who works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11b) knows exactly what He is doing.
The same One who positioned Abram (Abraham) to become a Father of many nations (Genesis 17:4) is positioning you as you trust Him.
Abraham Lincoln’s personal and business bankruptcies positioned him to lead a nation on the edge of failure.
You and I are positioned strategically for our next step. Knowing this brings us into strong confidence and expectancy of God’s goodness.
06.03.2014
Many things come to us seeking to define us and prescribe the limits of our days:
Work
Deadlines
Studies
Pressures
Bills
Illness
Responsibilities
God wants our lives to be defined by worship and intimate friendship with Him. He wants us to take John’s invitation to “come up here and I will show you….” Revelation 4:1
We all won’t be caught up into heaven as John was, but we can each choose to be heavenly minded.
Matthew 6:33 and Romans 8:5
Just when challenges seem too great. Just when we thought we would give up. Just when we feel we are at the end of our rope…..
God breaks in.
We discover,
We marvel,
We are awed
at how much greater, kinder, compassionate, merciful and gracious is the One who holds us.See Exodus 33:18 & 34:6; I Kings 19:1-18; Psalms 18:6-19; Jeremiah 29:10-14 and Acts 16:25-34
You are all pearls in His eyes.
Hope, specifically, is about what we don’t yet possess.
Webster’s Dictionary says it is a desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it…
A confidence or pleasing expectancy.So, hope is closely related to what we expect. Too often our disappointments have come to diminish our expectancy.
This is a problem for anyone, but if we are believers, the Bible says that our Hope is Christ. So really, we are diminished in our expectancy of Him. A good occasion to shift.Shift from focusing on what hasn’t come to pass to focusing on all that He has done. Thankfulness becomes and onramp to expectancy. Expectancy of good (Hope) always is accompanied by faith and love.
The wrong view can reduce life to a series of struggles. The same life, from the heavenly perspective, is great promises coming to the tipping point of fulfillment.
What will make the difference is concentrated prayer from the person with the Promise and those who partner in community and faith with Him.
So often this last ingredient, in this recipe, is neglected or left out all together. God invites us into connectedness with others at a heart felt level and into supporting one another with intense prayer.
A man lost in the hills of Tennessee, asked a local for directions and was told, “you can’t get there from here“.
That is where we find ourselves without the heavenly view and the last ingredient.
Need Hope for a Life-Long Relationship? Our friend, Bob Hartley, tells his story of meeting his wife, Terry. God cares about our every desire. Just ask. http://vimeo.com/24176624
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller
Miss Keller lived in a sightless, soundless, natural environment but saw more than many who had those faculties and advantages that she did not possess.A friend of mine says that we should see more with our eyes closed than with our eyes open.
What we see, or perceive, is central to how we live. Living only by what appears is to live far below our destiny.
There is a summons for us to not merely look on the surface but to see the beauty in every experience of life.
Knowing and gazing on the beauty, King David said it was his chief desire. Psalms 27:4
May we see beauty today.
Because of what we’ve experienced in life it is difficult to believe that this verse expresses God’s passionate love for you and me.
God’s heart is passionately moved over us, our lives and our journey. Whatever life’s journey looks like, the starting point for God is a heart moved; compassion ignited.
When we take time to feast our eyes on Him and His goodness (Exodus 33:19; 34:6-7), life begins to be seen from a different perspective. We start with God and His heart for us, and them we view the circumstances of life from that perspective.
This is the “above the clouds (of doubt, fear and hopelessness) view” we are invited to. We begin to have eyes that see differently (Ephesians 1:18)
It’s that confident expectancy of God that is Hope. It sees.
Loosing sight of your open door? Stop, take a breath and turn slightly………there, can you see it now?
I was afraid. Conviction and the awareness it brings, brought the darkness of my heart to light. Selfishness, fear, anger, judgement of others – all of them came out like cockroaches in the darkness – then Holy Sprit illuminated things and I wanted to run for cover.
Even after fifteen thousand days of experience, I’m still tempted to run anywhere else but to the One who knows me best and loves me most.
A worship leader sang these spontaneous lyrics the other day, “I have left you one thousand times, but You haven’t changed Your mind”.
We come to Him in all our weakness and sin and receive forgiveness and welcome love.
“Which way do we go, George?” – a modified line from am old Looney Toons cartoon.
Life brings us opportunity to choose a path, but which way do we go?
In my sixty-five years I’ve just begun to realize that choosing is rarely a crisis. Do-overs in life happen all the time.
It’s not an occasion for anxiety, but anticipation.
Confident hope undergirds me in my choices.
Pat
Figure It Out??
I had a “situation” this last week. Everything that I could figure out or conclude from available information indicated a bad circumstance coming right at me.
In New Jersey, at one time, we lived on a tidal lagoon connected to the nearby river. When a “Nor’ easter” would hit, you could watch the rising tide come up into your yard and surround your house, which could result in house flooding (which, thankfully, never happened).
That is how I felt, watching the rising tide of circumstance. Now, at the same time, I was deliberately setting myself to look at the Hope I have, knowing there is a good plan for my life.
Interestingly, in five years and three nor’easters at the shore, our house never was flooded, just surrounded once or twice. Same thing with my “situation” – not what I feared, but what I hoped for.
A Paradox
A paradox – Webster defines a paradox as a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense. That may, nonetheless, be true. If you walk with Jesus for any length of time it is not the statements of others that presents a paradox, it is rather, the statement of our life that is a paradox.
God is a god who hides Himself (Ps. 89:46; Ps. 27:9; Like 24:13-32). But our spirit man is supposed to be bathed in the revelation and wisdom of God (Ephesians 1:17). What I am saying is: His hiding is for the express purpose of revelation at the perfect time.
Joseph’s prison cell became his altar and prayer room. When the day of revelation arrived – after seventeen years – the wisdom and revelation of his spirit man opened, literally, every door.
Recently, Holy Spirit whispered to me, in some challenging situations, “The set-up for what is next, is up!”
That is why our spirit man is in anticipation and excitement while our outer man is uncertain or afraid. As we mature in him, how confident we should be! See the boldness of Joseph when he was first brought from prison to appear before Pharaoh (Genesis 41). He was strong and confident in his spirit man, ready for what God had prepared.
The paradox of the prison experience didn’t limit or inhibit Joseph from taking possession of His promise.
God is bringing you to a revelation time to take possession of a promise.
Blessings,
Pat
A New Year
I heard someone say that this new year is a blank canvas – and that the Artist (God) can paint on it what He wishes.
I wish it more blank – but my “oops”, “boo-boos”, “mistakes” and “sins” have already muddied the canvas, spilling over from 2013 and years before.
The canvas isn’t blank, but He is doing something new. Isaiah 43:18&19.
The newness is in His mercy and grace. Beyond that the passage directs me, not to looking back, but to look forward to the new that God is doing.
Because of Precious Blood and the Gracious Living Heart of God, I can confidently expect to see His mercy and His goodness. Psalms 27:13
Now, in the land of the living, the God of goodness (Exodus 33:18&19) is passing before me into this New Year and New Season of my life.
Happy New Year! Welcome 2014 http://wingedprisms.com/2013/12/31/2014-a-hope-filled-year/
Hopeful Words
Christians profess belief in the sovereignty of God. Sovereignty means Kingship. We declare what scripture says, Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords
(I Timothy 6:15). This is all sound theology. If we were honest, our practice is often different.
When things don’t turn out as expected, we may object, complain, or question God’s wisdom.
Daniel and Paul both exemplify men who chose another path. They embraced the difficulties, coincidences and mysteries that they were brought into
(Daniel 5:11-12; I Corinthians 4:1-2; II Corinthians 12:10)
Faith and experienced knowledge of God’s true character propelled them forward when the unplanned and challenging arrived in their lives.
Holy Spirit, Give us revelation of your heart born out of intimate experience of your goodness.
Jesus is wise in all that He does. Isaiah 55:3 (New Century Version) “Come to Me and listen, listen to Me so that you may live… The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like My ways… My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Romans 8:6b says, “…the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”
God, in this hour, is inviting us to a Holy Listening to His heart and voice. He is inviting us to a Higher Mountain view that lets us discover His ways and His thoughts.
Pressures cannot be the excuse to indulge in lower earthly thinking. He is inviting us, by listening, to have Life. Are we accepting the invitation?
Just Thinking ……. July 7, 2013
…….of the truth that God never changes (Malachi 3-6; Hebrews 7:21).
God never has to change hats or multi task. He is always the God of truth.
When mercy is needed, He hasn’t changed. He IS the God of mercy (Matthew 9:13).
Our circumstances can never move the kind God to be anything other than kind (Psalms 145: 13 & 17).
How awesome to discover the many faces and manifold blessings of His person – The Unchanging God. 😀
Off the Beaten Path 