Working for the blessings of God???

Tonight I watched a minister on television whom I respect, teaching about being blessed by God.  What he said just did not ring true within my spirit. Something that I struggled with for a long time and still do at times is attempting to earn God's approval and blessings. This minister was pretty much saying that when we live holy lives and do what the bible says then we will open up the windows of heavens for God's blessing to pour out on our lives.
Now, I do agree that living holy will accomplish this; being obedient will accomplish this. HOWEVER.... I don't know about you, but I do not have the ability to just say okay, I am going to live holy, always respect my spouse, always walk in love, never say things in anger, always make the right decisions, never fulfill the lust of the flesh and then just do it... Oh I have tried to do that.. But it never lasts long. Then I am frustrated and crying to God, and being afraid I am screwing things up and on and on ad nauseum. Can anyone relate?

So what is the answer? Well, what the Holy Spirit has been teaching me ever so sweetly, is that having an intimate relationship with God IS what will accomplish ALL of this for me. That sounds easier doesn't it? But is that what the Word says? Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30; "Come unto me, all of you who labor and are forced to bear burdens, and I shall give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am peaceful and meek in my heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is pleasant and my burden is light.” In this passage Jesus tells us to take His yoke and LEARN from Him. What was Jesus' yoke?
“For I came down from Heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who has sent me.”John 6:38.
Jesus yoke was to do the will of the Father. Sooo, What is God's will? How do we know what God's will is for us in our life?
Well, lets think about how Jesus learned God's will. I think that he learned the same way any of us learn the will of another person. We talk to them, spend time with that person and get to know them. Jesus spent whole nights in prayer with God. I used to picture this as him struggling and pleading with God. But now I know differently. Jesus just spent time in God's presence. He learned to hear God with his spiritual ears and communicated with Him. He was empowered and refreshed by spending time with his Father. By spending time with God he learned to constantly be aware of God's presence and hear from Him. I know this because Jesus said, "I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does." John 5:19... JESUS said that He could not do Anything on his own!!  So what makes us think we can???

We can't. We can not do anything of eternal significance on our own. However, we Can do all things through Christ who strenghtens us!! The way we are strengthened by Christ is by spending time with Him.
I have seen in my own life that when I take time regularly to just sit down alone, focus on God, speak to Him, praise Him, listen to Him.. That His presence comes to me. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
In His presence is the fullness of Joy. His presence is so sweet and rich and welcoming. His presence is the most precious thing on earth. After I have spent time with Him, I feel like being loving to others. I am calm and peaceful. I feel loved and cherished. I have no worries and cares because I Know that He cares for me.
Things that would usually bother me or tempt me no longer have power over me. I become empowered to do His will, which is to walk in love.
There is a catch though. This is an ongoing process. I have to do this regulary. The more often the better. I believe this is our yoke. And it IS pleasant and easy. Our Father is love; and love never fails. Love is powerful. When you walk out love in your life, your actions become powerful and produce the fruit of the Spirit of God. You are automatically blessed and not stressed!! All we have to do is spend time with God. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." How do we love him? We spend time with him and He empowers us to keep His commandments!!!

I welcome any comments or thoughts on this subject..

The End of the world as we know it???

Okay, so tomorrow the United Nations will be the place where the bid for a Palestinian State will come up for a vote. Anyone aware of what that could possibly mean for the world as we know it now?? Well as far as I can tell it means that (if it is approved) Israel will be told, " This is the way it is, we are taking part of Jerusalem and part of your other land to make the new Palestinian State, whether you agree or not." I don't know about you, but I don't think that will go over too well. I am thinking it will be the start of another war. But this time, it will involve Israel. The implications of that are overwhelming. Zacharia 12:3 comes to mind, " On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves."

We must pray that our National leaders do not turn against Israel at this pivotal moment in History. It would mean a terrible time of disaster and the removal of God's hedge of protection from this country.
I am not trying to instill fear, far from it. But we need to be aware of what is happening in the world , so that we can be Salt and Light. It is our responsibility to preserve the earth while we are still here. I know that we can not stop inevitable prophetic events from eventually occurring. But, I do believe that God expects us to be aware and involved with our prayers.

I would also like to make my friends aware that 6 days after this vote, on Sept. 27, the comet Elenin will be aligned with the Earth, Sun and I believe Mercury.  If you do not know, the last several major earthquakes that have happened including the recent Japan earthquake all happened when this kind of configuration in the sky was in place. So what does this mean? It is very likely that there will be another major earthquake somewhere on earth around this date. We must pray for the safety of God's children during this time.
I have been very interested in all these end time events as of late, at times allowing myself to become a little overwhelmed with concern. But, praise my Father God, He is So Good to me. He has told me the only preparation I really need is to prepare my Heart to be strong in HIM. He is more than able to deliver us from destruction. We must Not allow fear into our hearts and minds.

Just remember,
 ¹He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
 ²I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
 ³Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
 ⁴He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
 ⁵Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
 ⁶Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
 ⁷A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
 ⁸Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
 ⁹Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
 ¹⁰There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
 ¹¹For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
 ¹²They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
 ¹³Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
 ¹⁴Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
 ¹⁵He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
 ¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Psalms 91..

Deception in individual believers.

Something that has been a concern for me in my own life here on this planet, is the issue of deception. I don't think that Christians, or people who have accepted Jesus as Lord, for the most part, really even consider that deception could be a part of their lives. But the Holy Spirit has taught me a couple things that I was actually able to get through my thick skull! One of the most important things being that fear and deception are satan's primary weapons that he uses to destroy us and our lives.
I am not even exactly sure how it happened or with what situation it first occurred, that the Lord revealed to me an area of deception in my life that was harming me in some way. But I do distinctly remember having a realization of deception as an entity, trying to influence the course of my life. I prayed then and there that Jesus would not allow me to be deceived in any area of my life. God is faithful and he continues to lead me into the light on a regular basis by His own power.
One thing that I pray always, is that the Lord won't allow me to stay deceived in any area. I know that most anyone who reads this post, has had some experience in their life where you had a realization that your eyes had been blinded in some way, and you had a 'light bulb' moment. It is almost kind of scary to me when it happens. Scary, because I do not want to be functioning under some false assumptions about Anything! That leads to trouble in more ways than one!
The reason deception is so bad, is You don't Know when you are deceived, Because You Are Deceived! That is why it is important for us to keep an open , humble heart before the Lord and everyone else. Humility will protect you from deception. Constantly recognize that you are helplessly dependent upon God to keep you free and walking in the truth. Seek Him and his counsel all the time, every day in every situation. He hears those prayer and answers readily!

Fear is different. That is an old enemy of mine. The Lord delivered me physically from a spirit of fear that had taken up residence within my very body. Isn't that annoying and presumptuous and down right overstepping some personal boundaries!! I became quite outraged over the whole thing once I realized what had happened!!  I think it was a generational spirit that was passed down to me. I had heard an older cousin of mine who knew my paternal Grandfather, talk about him. He died two years before I was placed on the planet. Anyway, this cousin, Elle Bee Roberts, told me that my dear departed Grandfather was the scaredest man he ever knew! I remember him recounting this to my Father and I when I was a child. He told some tall tales as examples but I am pretty sure they were true. I wish I could remember better but I was young. It did stick with me though. In more ways than one unfortunately!
But Praise God, I am free from that disgusting thing now and have been for years! Satan will deceive us and keep us in bondage to fear or anything that we allow. But God is faithful and true and an ever present help in trouble!'s
Well that's all I got today. I think I will enjoy writing this blog even if no one else reads it!