Rejection

"I can't be rejected because I have been accepted." - Todd White

Think about this. If you are in Christ, YOU ARE ACCEPTED! End. Period. Done. You CAN'T be rejected. NO ONE can change that. NO ONE! Walk in a day of acceptance! It's already been paid for!

Today has been a tough day for me as I have personally been dealing with some people who are less than kind toward me.  They saw all manner of evil against me.  They slander me, reject me, disassociate with me and they don't bother to follow what the bible says to do when there is a difference among the brethren; Matthew 18.  Jesus KNEW we would have disputes and differences and the Word makes provision for such things - talk to the person!

We are to GO to the person we have "issue" with and talk to them about it.  Seems many in the faith today have their OWN version of the bible they like to read.  They delete "friends" from social media, they don't invite family/friends to their personal events and they slander those they disagree with without EVER talking to the person they have ought with.  There will be an increase in lawlessness (in the end) and we are told this will increase and the love of many will wax cold. Matthew 24:12.  As believers, this is UNBIBLICAL to just "cut and run" and I have seen many in the "body" (even pastors, leaders and chaplain's) act in this wrong manner.  We are to come to terms quickly before it is too late, Matthew 5:25 says. God forgive us!

No wonder the world is screwed up, the church can't even follow scripture and we expect the world to want this gospel?

I don't post this because life is easy, I post this because God is faithful!  We have got to get to the point where all that really matters to us is what God thinks about us and things in our life.  We have got to get over our own comfort, acceptance, popularity and/or approval.

In a world that is full of opinion polls it's time to take a step backward and see what GOD thinks about things.  HIS opinion is ALL that matters in the end.  So, you can reject me if you like - God has called me accepted.  He hung the stars in the sky, gave the planet life, placed me in my mother's womb, saved my soul and healed my body.  Praise His Holy Name!

When people start doing ALL that God has for you, then possibly you could care about what people think.  Just sayin'.

Carrots, Eggs or Coffee?

Saw this on facebook this morning and wanted to share it with a larger audience.  Great lesson here.  Under pressure, do you become better or worse?  A real challenge here, I know.  Years ago, I had a teaching by a small group leader in which he said, "When you put pressure on a tube of toothpaste, what's inside comes out."  So what's inside of US comes out under pressure too.  Think about it as you read this.  ENJOY!

Carrots, Eggs or Coffee 

 - Author Unknown

Grandmother says... Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee; "Which are you?"

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft.She then asked her to take an egg and break it.

After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked. "What's the point,grandmother?"

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity--boiling water--but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

A Follow-Up on Miracle!

So yesterday I had a miracle in my family and I shared this GOOD NEWS with almost every outlet I could.  And with that, within hours, I heard feedback.  I wanted to share that feedback here as a point of faith - to strengthen you in your walk.  Sometimes, some people are NOT excited about the things God is doing in your life, for your life or to your life.  Hard to believe, but sometimes, these people can even be other believers.  This is why I am addressing this here.

I will start with some GOOD NEWS!  Always a good place to start.  I have two Christian facebook groups that I am involved in, one is located with many of it's members in my area of the country.  The other group is located with many of it's members in a different part of the country, where I grew up.  I know several people in each group personally.  The purposes of the group is to encourage each other in our most holy faith!  We need that - encouragement!  Everyone needs that!

The one group had the following as feedback, or comments:

• Awesome! God is so good. I'm am so happy he is safe.
• Praise God! He is so faithful to His children! Rejoicing with you and your family for the good news that Josh is safe!
• Wow! God is amazing!!
• My Father [God] took care of me in much the same way...in a motorcycle accident when I was 17.  Crazy similar.. I know this kind of protection from the hand of God & his angels. Twice... I'm glad to know he's ok and the Peace of God resides with all of you. Powerful stuff my friend.
• Thank you Lord! What a testimony to tell!
• How wonderful!!!! Tis such power to not just read and memorize verses but claim them, to say, sing and shout them out loud. What a blessed moment for you and your family to experience.
• Phenomenal! Do you know, last night I was prompted to pray specifically for [her son] on the road, & when he got back he said he'd had a scary aquaplaning incident & ended up inches from the interstate flyover. So I'm thanking God today for his protection of both our sons!
• So glad he is safe!
• Man right by my house! Glad he was ok! As you know my brother just had a major brain injury and still is healing from hitting a deer [on his motorcycle]. I so glad he is ok!! I'm glad someone stopped and helped!
• What a testimony of God's abundant love!
• Love this!!!! The Lord has a CALL on that Young man and He is letting him know that he is forever in HIS care!!! So excited about this report!! Woo- Hoo another miracle during the 52 days!!!

There were also 16 other people who also just "liked" the post.

Now, on to the other group.  Remember, both groups are Christians who all profess their love for God. No one HAS to be in these groups, they want to be.  From that group I had 5 likes (seen by 7 others) and only one comment.  That comment is the reason for this post here today.  Let's look at it:

"Guardian Angels were with Josh last night. Praise The Lord. I'm happy for your family. 

Now see if you can get him to use a car as a sign He does not want Josh on a bike anymore. 

You are Blessed!  Amen!"

I was a bit surprised by his "conclusion" that the above writer posted about but then it also reminded me of the story by Max Lucado called The Woodcutter's Wisdom.  I felt I needed to address his post as I felt he missed the whole point; the miracle!  I feel as though he is like MANY Christians today who live under a veil of fear yet they are trying to "talk the talk".  They know in part.  They are not walking the victorious life that Jesus paid for them to have.

The days we are living in are about to become MORE full but God is also going to show-up with MORE miracles and MORE blessings and MORE goodness.  It's His nature to "save the day" and show up "just in the nick of time"!  He never fails, but all too often, we fail Him and give up too easily sometimes even blaming HIM for the trouble in our lives.  Lord forgive us.  With that, here is my response to this brother-in-the-Lord who posted:

"James your conclusion is a bit flawed my brother. My mother almost drowned when she was about twelve, and I almost drowned when I was seven, does that mean we should never swim again?

I got food poisoning from a restaurant several years ago, does that mean I should never eat out again?

My sister-in-law was killed in a car accident because someone else missed a stop sign, should we all put our cars away?  Should I never drive again?

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. - Hebrews 10:39.

I will not live my life in fear. I put my trust in the Lord. This (motorcycle)is his (my son's) means of transportation. He wasn't being stupid. He was on his way home from the young adults meeting at church and then..."it came to pass" (Luke 2:1, 2:11, John 19:36). The enemy sends things across our path, but they don't come to stay, they "come to pass".

People die everyday, James. We can't stop living because of fear. We have to put our trust in the Lord.  We REALLY have to purpose to do this!  I am rejoicing that God's protection was upon my son. I am Rejoicing at God's provision to keep him safe. I have to trust the Lord IN ALL THINGS (Proverbs 3:5). I can't fix everything in life but I certainly can snuggle closely to the one who can!

Don't miss the miracle here, brother. God was watching over him (my son). I believe God is faithful. We either believe the Word, or we don't (Matthew 13:58).  We know what people believe by what they do (Matthew 25:31-46). I believe nothing will take Josh (my son) from this planet before the Lord allows it.  I can trust God at His Word.  ALL of His Word. I also believe that God will honor His word, and I know that the fruit of my womb is blessed because God said so.

We can read in the Bible where God's heart was changed by men's appeals. I believe this is why we have a relationship with the Lord. When we walk in Truth, Truth walks with us (John 14:6 - Truth is a person, JESUS!) He is a good God and He desires good things for us, His children. We have a part in this relationship.  He is not some far off God who just throws fire and brimstone down upon mankind.  He LOVES mankind and wishes that NONE would perish (John 3:16&17).

Hosea said (Hosea 4:6)that my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge (this represents spiritual understanding, following God's way), I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

I can't control the blessings or curses of others, but I do have authority over my part of the world. This is why I walk closely with the Lord. I want to know Him, in all things, in all of His ways. He speaks to me. And He wants the same relationship with everyone but few will respond to His calling. He loves us! And He is good!!!"

Maranatha!

52 Days of Miracles

About 10 days ago, David Wagner of Father's Heart Ministries came to my church and had incredible prophetic ministry to many who came.  My son, Josh was one of many that was ministered too during that week-end.  One of the words he had for our body was that there was going to be 52 days of miracles.  Well, tonight, my family saw one of those.

An hour-and-a-half ago my cell phone rings with an unknown number to me.  I usually don't answer calls I don't know, especially at 10:30 PM but I felt the Lord prompting me to answer it.

I answered and no one responded.  I said, "hello" again and still no response but I could tell someone was on the line.  Finally a third time I said, "hello" and I heard a voice that sounded like my son.  He said, "I'm fine but I have been in an accident.  Can you come and pick me up?  I'm at I-20 and Trail Lake Road."  (About 20 minutes from our home).  I said, "Is this Josh?" and he said, "Yes."  I then begin to flood him with questions.  "What happened?  Are you ok?  Are you sure you are ok?  Are you in pain?  Bleeding?  Are you in shock?  Does anything hurt?"

See, he was on a motorcycle and wearing a helmet but the weather had turned cold and rainy here tonight and he said he slid and fell on his bike.  He then goes on to tell me he slid on his butt on the freeway.  It was strange but I felt like it was very abstract for me.  It felt like I was sleeping or something.  I had total peace.  Very strange.  No fear, just information being shared.

I walked to find my husband (Keith) while I was gathering information from Josh and then we hung up as Keith was heading toward the trailer asking me to get another son out to help him load it.

When Josh got home we talked and he didn't know how, but the bike just started turning right and he said it was really surreal.  Like slow motion.  He then felt that he was sliding off the bike and was just trying to keep riding it as it kept dropping.  He saw sparks come as the tailpipe dragged on the concrete so he pushed the bike away with his left foot and he continued to slide on his back right hip down the road.

Josh had tried to stand up, as he thought he was done sliding but he wasn't.  Thinking he was stopped he moved his feet to stand but he was still moving forward and tumbled into a somersault hitting his left knee.  All this is happening while he is in the middle-lane of the interstate.

He finally got his footing and walked to his bike which was still running quite a few feet ahead of him.  The bike was facing on-coming traffic and he needed to clear the roadway.  He left the bike heading in the wrong direction with it's headlight shining into the on-coming traffic as he walked toward the shoulder.

A drunk man then stopped his car in the slow-lane and got out of his car to yell to the traffic behind him to go around.  Josh was shielded from the traffic with this guy in his car.   He then pulled over to check on Josh and to see if he was ok.  He was in a hurry and wanted to go but he also wanted to help Josh.  Wouldn't look too good if the police came and saw a drunk helping a motorcyclist who was in an accident - ya know what I mean?

Josh had no phone as his battery was dead so he had no way to call us and so this guy let him use his phone.  So that's why I didn't recognize the phone number when he called me.  It wasn't his phone.

Josh had pushed the bike to a nearby Starbucks parking lot and was waiting for Keith to come and get him.

I looked Josh over and there wasn't even a scuff on his jeans from where he road the pavement.  He did have a whitish smudge mark on his black jacket - on the shoulder that was NOT on the ground but other than that, he was just soaking wet!

I asked Josh if he felt that God was with him or if there was some heavenly help and he told me, that's the only thing that he could come up with.  He was driving at 65 miles an hour when this "slide" began and he really doesn't know exactly why or what happened.  Again, it was all just too surreal; like watching a movie but it happened to him!

Our God is SO faithful to watch over our children. Psalm 91:12 was the first verse the Lord gave me tonight:  They (the angels) will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Then he said to me:  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee. - Isaiah 26:3.  This is the verse the Lord gave me tonight.

I am rejoicing that indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  - Psalm 121:4

We serve a FAITHFUL God and tonight I am just grateful for all the goodness He pours out to me.  Thank you Father that you love me and my son, so!

the HEAVENS are declaring HIS Glory!

Ok - How COOL is this?  How amazing is our God?  Really?  What are the chances?  Wow!

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) defines the occurrence of 4 consecutive total lunar eclipses as a Tetrad. In the years 2014 - 2015 a rare Tetrad sequence will occur on the Jewish Holidays of Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. 

So if that is not cool enough, in addition to the Tetrad occurrence, 2 total solar eclipses will complement the 4 lunar eclipses on the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Trumpets.

Look to the heavens because our redeemer is drawing NIGH!  Maranatha!

Conflict; It Doesn't Have to be a Dirty Word

When two people are just alike, one of you is not needed.

Conflict doesn't have to be bad in relationships.  Conflict can make relationships better when used properly!  Have you ever stopped to think about it?

Remember this?  "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17  So what does it mean?  How does iron sharpen iron?  Well, let's see...hmmm, when you need to sharpen a blade you can rub another blade together over it and, if done properly, the edges become sharper, making the knives more efficient in their task to cut-and-slice.  This is not exactly a "gentle" process; rubbing steel-on-steel to sharpen, but it is effective!

Think about this, when a blacksmith is forging iron, what does he do?  He uses heat and pressure.  Then also uses a rather LARGE hammer and begins to strike blows on the metal to reshape iron.  Sounds like another "soft" process - um, NOT!

To begin, a blacksmith will first have to heat up the piece of iron that he needs to modify in a fire.  He does this until the metal becomes a yellowish-orange color and then, when almost red he removes it and lays it on a cold, hard piece of steal (usually an anvil). He then takes his iron hammer and starts to BEAT the hot metal, modifying it's shape and remolding it to it's desired shape and size flipping it back and forth and striking it repeatedly.  He has to work quickly as the metal is cooling and it won't bend properly when cold, in fact, it could break.  If he doesn't finish his modifications, he has to heat the metal back up and resume the pounding.  He continues to do this process of heating, hammering, shaping and molding again and again until he has finished his desired work.  Finally he places the finished piece in water to cool it down to touch.

Heat and pressure is the process that works to sharpen the iron; heat and pressure.  Lovely!

Sometimes relationship have "heat and pressure".  This CAN be a good thing IF we handle it properly.  Remember at the beginning here when I stated that we are not alike? This is a good thing!  You have picked your spouse most likely because of how they are different from you.  Embrace this!  Don't look at things like "I'm right" and "your wrong" but rather "what do you see that I don't"!  You still may be on different sides of an issue but the end result will be better for all as you can "come together" in agreement!

We need this so much in this hour; in our marriages, in our homes, in our churches, in our schools, in our communities, in our government and in our country!  Conflict doesn't HAVE to be a bad thing when handled properly. It's not about WHO is right but WHAT is right!  Let's be committed to WORK it out - not BAIL out!

Guard Your Heart!

"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl." - Job 31:1  This was one of the first scriptures I had my boys memorize.  They were usually just starting to talk when I poured this scripture into the foundation of their soul.  I felt they needed to know the TRUTH from a very early age; the truth that God put THEM in control of what entered their spirit, their soul and their body.

Today, I am reading DISTURBING information (Children and the culture of pornography - WARNING this article is GRAPHIC and tragic) that has always been around because the heart of man is evil but it never has been so easily accessible or attainable like it is today with the Internet and smart-phones all at the fingertips of our children.  Where is their innocence?

As a Christian parent, we HAVE to have the HARD discussions with our children about things that many of us never thought we would have to do.  I know for me, there are things I read about today that  are things I never knew about, never cared to know about and quite honestly don't want to know but I have to get informed to protect my children, my home, and my investment in the future!

Personally my younger children don't have unlimited access to the Internet but they do have some access to it.  They also have many friends who DO have access and with that comes entrance to my home too.  We have rules in our home that require a "buddy" to be with you when surfing the net and younger children don't have cell phones with the capability in our home.  Older children in my home have submitted themselves to an on-line accountability program called: X3watch.com.  This site sets up a "buddy" system for you where emails are sent to a "buddy" you selected by sending them a "report" of sites and links you have viewed on your phone or on your computer.  For husbands this is great because sometimes wives don't want to know or don't handle the information gained in a way that is helpful to the marriage; some wives have no problem with helping their husbands in this area.  In this messed up culture now, we even have women having issues with porn that really weren't issues in the past so it too can be helpful to women.  For young men, it is a fabulous tool as they can have an accountability partner that helps them stay pure and be free!  I encourage you to check it out!

Regarding television we have another wonderful tool called Clearplay.  This is a DVD player that comes with a jump-drive where you download "filters" to over 4,500 movies and then dump those filters onto the player.  As soon as a movie is released, there is a filter available.  You can even use it on rented DVD's.  Every month we download all the filters and upload them to the DVD player and then we are set.

There are several filters available with several different levels of filtering.  Some of the filters are offensive language, excessive violence and sexual situations.  You can set the depth of the filter to none at all, mild, moderate and all and each category is set separately. There are even settings for things like vulgarity, crassness, and flag burning.  It is a great tool for a parent to control the movies that are played in your home.  You can even password your settings so they can't be changed.  We have the sexual filter enabled on our player and I am the only one in the family who knows the code.  (If you do choose to purchase this player, please tell ClearPlay that I (Suzanne Carlson) referred you...it will get you a discount and me one too!)  We have had this player in our home for 10 years now and when you continue to renew with them there are perks that are made available to you too!  Be sure to ask!  (You have not because you ask not!)  It has been a worthwhile investment to be able to watch a movie without having an offensive scene come up while my boys are watching with me.

REFOCUS and SEE!

Today I am just captured by visions of beauty and thoughts of splendor.  I hardly can express the magnificent beauty that is stirring in my mind and churning in my soul.  There is goodness bursting forth and I find myself grasping at words to express it and then I remembered this:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. - Philippians 4:8

These are exactly the words to describe the thoughts that are in me; true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, good, excellence, praise worthy!  Normally I USE this verse to refocus negativity out of my mind but today, my mind is reeling like it does when I sit on a beach and watch the waves roll in or I see a magnificent sunset or a majestic mountain and yet I am just sitting at my desk looking out to see in the natural a cloudy, dreary day but somehow LIFE, HOPE and EXPECTATION are springing up IN me!

If your "weather" is down or your circumstances are "hard",  I pray you may not be moved by what you "see" in your natural setting, but that you may also choose to "refocus" and set your mind on things ABOVE!

Have a blessed Tuesday friends!  It is a GREAT day to be alive and you are exchanging a day from your life for it.  Don't waste it!