Changed By Love

Changed By Love

Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4

Seek and You Will Find

For the last several weeks I have sensed a disconnect from the Lord. I have been trying to praise Him, talk to Him, thank Him, feel His presence, read my Bible – anything! But it has felt like I couldn’t get through to Him. I tried to find good worship music online. Every time I tried, the music player wouldn’t work on my computer. It usually works fine. I tried to just take off on a song, but it didn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t really feel His presence or any kind of help in praising Him like I’m used to getting from the Holy Spirit. I even planned a get-away so that Gary and I could be alone together for our anniversary and pray together. That didn’t work. I described how that turned out in this post.

I keep praying and asking Him to help me with this. He keeps telling me not to worry (be anxious) and to make my requests known with thanksgiving. He tells me that over and over again*, but my connection with Him is so weak that even that is difficult. I do it, but it feels mechanical. It feels like I’m forcing it. I still keep trying. I can’t give up.

One night I couldn’t sleep, so I went in my closet and read my prayer journal  from our Journey of Fire. It was good for rekindling some memories and concepts that I had forgotten. I could feel myself re-connecting a little bit.

Thursday morning as I was waking up, I had two phrases going over and over in my mind. They repeated so many times that I was sure I would remember them when I woke up. But when I was fully awake, I couldn’t remember what they were! I prayed throughout the day that God would help me to remember what they were. That night I read through the verses I have posted on my bathroom mirror. One verse stopped me short. It said, “You will seek Me and find me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

I knew that that was one of the phrases I had heard over and over again that morning. The word “seek” stood out to me. I knew that was the operative word. All that next day I tried to remember what the other phrase was. I couldn’t seem to settle down enough during the day to think or meditate. It would flit through my brain that I needed to find out what the other phrase was and then find out what the Lord was trying to tell me. But I just couldn’t be still during the day.

Then I lay down to go to sleep last night, and, of course, I couldn’t go to sleep right away (that’s been a pattern lately). I again asked the Lord to help me remember what He had been saying to me. After several minutes, I remembered “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart”. All right! Now what else was there? Oh yes, the other phrase was “Your face, Lord, I will seek”. There it was! Now what are You saying to me, Lord. Well, then He started downloading all these snippets of verses and songs. “Seek the Lord while He may be found.” Then the song, “My soul followeth hard after Thee, early in the morning I will rise up and seek Thee.” There’s that word “seek” again! Another song “My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water… I will seek Thee earnestly.” That’s one of my favorite songs by Matthew Ward. I never even thought about the word “seek” being in there.

Ok, I get the message: God wants me to seek Him! I may be dull, but God is full of mercy and patience, and He will do whatever it takes to get a message across to me. So that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m seeking Him. This is a “Seeking Season”. I can’t wait to see what I will find! I know that God is magnificent and almighty and holy. I wonder what facets of Himself He will show me as I seek Him. I will let you know what I find.

Seeking Verses:

Jer. 29:7

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Psalm 27:8
When You said, “Seek My face,”My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

Is. 55:6
**Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

In researching the two songs that He gave me to sing, I found out that they were both from Psalm 63. I never knew that! The one by Matthew Ward I knew was from Psalm 63. That’s what the song is called. But the other song was a worship song we sang in church a long, long time ago. And I never knew it was from Psalm 63.

So I guess I should start there in my seeking. I will meditate on Psalm 63. If anyone wants to join me, please do! I plan to start tonight. I will post any insights or experiences I have with the Lord. And you do the same. I have added a contact form to the sidebar. If you have anything you would like to share with me privately, just go to the heading “What’s on your heart?” at the top right of the page under “Pages”. I would love to hear from you.

Or you can just leave a comment! I’m excited to see what the Lord will reveal to us about Himself as we seek Him.

*An interesting sidenote: Here is yesterday’s Spirit of Prophecy bulletin from Marsha Burns:

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — 11/19/2010:

Refuse to allow frustration and impatience to rule, as there is no faith or trust in emotional reactions. Rise above the circumstances that have made you angry, and establish peace in your heart. Then, you can find wisdom and direction in solving your dilemma. I will pour out wisdom liberally, if you will set your heart and mind on trusting Me to show you the way, says the Lord.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

**Another interesting sidenote: Sally Clarkson wrote a blog post the same day, Thursday, that I was getting those words from the Lord, titled “Seeking God”. I didn’t see it until today. She mentioned some of the same verses the Lord gave me and told how she’s in a “Seeking Season”, too. Here’s her blog post.

Another Abortion Clinic Closes Down

The tide seems to have turned.  Americans know that life is precious, and it starts at conception.  They know that there is no difference between a baby  in the womb and a baby that’s been delivered.  Why should we put superhuman efforts into saving the life of one but actively work to kill the other?  Does the mother’s choice really carry that much weight?  Does anybody have the right to make that choice?  Americans are really thinking about it and are seeing the truth that they were blind to for a while.  They seem to be waking up.  Not just Americans, but America is where I live so I know the most about it.

One of the biggest influences in changing public opinion in recent years is 40 Days for Life.  They are changing minds by praying in front of abortion clinics.  They just pray quietly.  And hold signs that tell what they’re praying about.  And their prayers are working.  Read about some more victories that have been won through the recent Fall campaign and how you can help.

~~~~~~~~~

From Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life

If you listened to the TIPPING POINT webcast and
teleconference on Tuesday evening, you heard about
the many AMAZING victories God provided in response
to your prayers during 40 Days for Life …

… Then Thursday, I asked you to pray about an
abortion center in Michigan that is on the verge of
closing — becoming the NINTH abortion facility to
shut its doors forever following a 40 Days for Life
campaign outside its doors.

Well, the prayer was answered — but not in the way I
was expecting! It turns out the ninth abortion center
closing has already been recorded — in Seattle,
Washington.

“In Seattle our first and second 40 Days campaigns
took place in front of the Planned Parenthood
facility nearest the University of Washington,” said
Aaron, who led those campaigns in Seattle.

During the second campaign, that center stopped doing
surgical abortions. Planned Parenthood then put the
facility up for rent — and now their web site
confirms this location is permanently CLOSED!

“God is good,” said Aaron, “and He honors prayer!”

The abortion facility in Sacramento, California that
was the site of a 40 Days for Life campaign this fall
is also struggling right now …

The clinic manager and two other clinic employees
were just laid off by the clinic owner due to
“dwindling finances” at the clinic.

“Their client numbers were dropping,” said Wynette,
the 40 Days for Life leader in Sacramento, “so budget
cuts had to be made.”

Wynette added, “The clinic manager did tell me that
only three employees remain and that they are open
for business, but that business is REALLY down.”

Members of the 40 Days for Life team have offered to
assist the three former workers, knowing it isn’t
easy to be without a job as Thanksgiving and
Christmas are approaching.

Wynette also said, “we continue to pray for
conversion of hearts and minds, so that this
employment layoff becomes a life-long detachment
from the abortion industry.”

Those are just two more breaking news stories that
show why it is so important for the work of 40 Days
for Life to keep growing.

To hear a short, inspiring audio recording of three
more of this fall’s local 40 Days for Life campaigns
sharing the blessings they experienced (including
another abortion facility closing) go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1436

IMPORTANT UPDATE! One of the big announcements from
Tuesday night’s “Tipping Point” webcast is that a
small group of generous supporters have put forward a
matching grant of $100,000 …

… So every gift received between now and midnight
next Tuesday, November 23 — up to the $100,000 amount
— will be DOUBLED!

We’re four days into the seven-day matching period
and thus far, we’ve received one-time gifts and
monthly pledges amounting to $47,860 — a great
start, but a bit less than half. We certainly don’t
want to miss out by not hitting the match.

Please help TODAY if at all possible — and thank you
to everyone who has given already!!

For Life,

Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

PS: Here are the links for contributing to 40 Days
for Life today — and having your gift doubled while
helping to reach that $100,000 matching challenge.

One-time gift:

http://40daysforlife.com/donate.cfm?selected=onetime

Monthly pledge:

http://40daysforlife.com/donate.cfm?selected=monthly

I Am Crowned!

By Nancy Campbell
http://aboverubies.org


I AM CROWNED!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits:
who forgives all your iniquities,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from destruction,
who crowns you with loving kindness
and tender mercies.” (Psalm 103:1-4).

What a loving, tender-hearted and compassionate God we have.
Every day He crowns me with loving kindnesses. Every day He
crowns you with loving kindnesses.

Do I hear you say, “When was the last time God crowned me?”
Stop and think about it for a moment. God crowns you with His
loving kindnesses through people around you. When your baby
or your little child smiles at you, in fact when anyone smiles at
you, you are crowned with God’s loving kindness. Every time
your husband embraces you, you receive another one of God’s
loving kindnesses. Every time he helps you with the dishes or
bathes the children, it is God’s blessing to you. When someone
says an encouraging word to you, it is God’s loving kindness to
you. He has not forgotten about you. You are graven on the palms
of His hands. He has forgiven your sins. He has healed you many
times.

When you sit down at your table and eat the bountiful food God
daily provides for you, it is His loving kindness to you. When
you reap the harvest from the garden you have planted, it is His
loving kindness. When you look up at the clouds and are
reminded of His faithfulness, you are crowned. You look at the
mountains, the ocean, the undulating hills and trees and you are
blessed that He has given you all these things to freely enjoy.
And you don’t have to pay a cent. The world is yours to enjoy, no
matter how little money you have in your pocket!

Start looking for God’s loving kindnesses. They are all around
you. They are happening to you throughout the day. Instead of
focusing on your problems and disappointments, look out for
God’s blessings. Learn to be aware of them. Do not forget one of
His benefits. Not one! Gratefully thank the Lord for every tiny
one. I am starting to do this more and more. In fact, when I read
this Scripture about being crowned I was very convicted. I
realized that I had been taking God’s blessings for granted. Now
I seek to thank the Lord for crowning me every time I receive a
blessing-a hug, a smile, a word of encouragement, the blessing
of children around me and the joy they give with their antics and
funny things they say. The blessings of God’s creation-the
flowers, the birds, the butterflies and the beautiful colors of the
fall which I am beholding as I look out of my window now. It
makes such a difference to your life when you become grateful
for every little crowning from the Lord.

Because God is crowning me through His people (and maybe
even those who are not His people), am I letting Him use me to
be his vehicle through which he can crown others? This is a
challenge for us, isn’t it?

Recently my daughter, Serene faced a difficult trial, a little more
difficult because her husband was overseas fulfilling a contract
with the military. In the middle of being weighed down by the
problem, her car ran out of gas in the middle of a busy lane of
traffic. She had all the children in the car and the car wouldn’t
budge another inch! She put on her blinkers and decided to call
the police, but her phone suddenly went dead! She was stuck!
She cried out to the Lord. He nudged her to try the car again.
Miraculously it started and she managed, weaving through
traffic, to get to the side of the road. She was still stranded, but
then God showed her His loving kindness. People stopped
their cars to help her. She had more help than she could use.
Some were people she would normally be scared to talk to.

One big burly guy with tattoos all over him drove to a service
station and bought gas for her and filled up her car. She knew
God was sending His angels to her. Not only did she get gas
for her car, but the loving kindness of strangers and this big,
scary tattooed “angel” caused Serene to feel God’s loving
kindness pouring all over her. She forgot all her problems and
filled the van with praises the rest of her journey.

We can be used by the Lord to crown our husband, our children
and many others with the loving kindness of the Lord. Let’s be
on the offensive to give love-hugs, smiles, affirmation,
encouragement and practical help wherever needed. What a
blessing to be the instrument of God’s loving kindness.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:
“Thank you, dear Father, for constantly crowning me with your
loving kindnesses. Help me to be aware of them and full of
gratefulness to you. And please anoint me to be a messenger of
your loving kindnesses to others around me. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I will not forget a single blessing!

Many women like to save these devotions. They print them
out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again.
Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet
to read through the week. If you are printing this devotion
and need it to be smaller, highlight and change to a smaller
font.

If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions,
you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can
subscribe by sending a blank email to
subscribers-on@aboverubies.org

Happy Praise-Giving!

Happy Praise-Giving!

By Wendy Lanier,
Guest Writer

CBN.com – With Thanksgiving approaching at an alarming rate, I’ve been giving some thought to the whole idea of giving thanks. The Pilgrims weren’t the first to suggest it. The Scriptures have always made it clear we are to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1Thessalonians 5:18). Obviously, this was written long before there was a Pilgrim in sight. If it’s God’s will for us to give thanks, there must be more to it than we might first suspect.

At first glance, giving thanks is simply the opposite of being ungrateful. In general, our culture frowns on ungratefulness as being impolite. People who are not grateful, who never write thank you notes, or who fail to acknowledge the thoughtfulness of others are considered rude. Being ungrateful just isn’t done in polite society. Being referred to as “ungrateful” is definitely not a compliment, which means the opposite (being grateful) is considered a good thing in most circles.

But could it be there is more to giving thanks than just being polite? If being thankful is God’s will, as the Scriptures tell us, why is this so? Could it be our Creator and Master Designer knows something about what makes us tick that we don’t fully understand ourselves?

In the book of Galatians, we find a list of attributes known as the fruits of the Spirit. It’s worth pointing out—fruit can be cultivated. Maybe the reason it is God’s will for us to give thanks is because He knows that giving thanks stimulates the growth of fruit. Among those is the fruit of joy! Ultimately, giving thanks leads us to joy. It makes us happy. And who doesn’t want to be happy?

On a recent hiatus from work trying to stave off a cold, I spent part of my day flipping through magazines. In one of them I came across a health article about this very topic—happiness. In it the author suggested a number of tips for promoting the healthy state of being happy. The important thing, the article maintained, is to concentrate on the main ingredients of happiness, such as solid relationships, gratitude, and “that magical thing called hope.”

First, I was struck by the idea hope could be considered “magical.” I’m not sure why it’s so magical, unless of course you don’t know where your hope lies.

I also found it interesting the author was able to identify gratitude as an ingredient for happiness. It seems that secular psychiatrists are figuring out what God has known all along. Grateful people are healthier people. Their blood pressure is lower, their cholesterol is better, they suffer fewer heart attacks, and they just generally feel better than people who spend all their time griping and complaining instead of counting their blessings.

For us as believers who count our blessings and “name(s) them one by one” as the old song says, it follows that our thanksgiving will turn to praise. As we recognize what God has done for us and give Him thanks, we are filled with awe for who He is and His exceeding greatness. When we exalt and honor Him, our praises rise to Him as a sweet smelling offering.

Praise—true praise—has a way of getting God’s attention. There’s power in that. Our God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise Him, it’s as though He bends down a little closer and says, “Ah, I like that. Bless your heart. Now what can I do for you, child? How can I bless YOU?”

Getting God’s attention is a good thing—for us. Not so good for the enemy. For this reason he has a vested interest in keeping us from focusing on our blessings. His ploy is to keep us mired in the muck of our circumstances. Life is truly like a bed of roses. The roses are there, but so are the thorns and the fertilizer. The trick is to stay focused on the roses.

Sometimes when the conditions I’m in are crummy, I find myself gritting my teeth and announcing Psalm 34:1: I WILL bless the Lord at all times. His praise WILL continually be in my mouth. When I’m tempted to fall into despair or allow the weight of my circumstances to crush me, I say it. I WILL. I CHOOSE to praise the God of all creation in spite of my circumstances.

No matter what happens, God is good. I give thanks because He is good. I choose to acknowledge Him for His excellent greatness. I praise Him for everything—answered prayers, a beautiful day, a good parking place, a way out of the circumstances (even if I don’t see one), people I love, and so on.

And then a funny thing happens. I find I am no longer gritting my teeth. My smile is no longer forced. From deep down in my spirit something begins to bubble up—something that goes beyond just happiness. JOY! Happiness is dependent on circumstances, but joy comes to those who know there is nothing magical about hope. Joy is the reward of those whose faith and hope is in Jesus Christ. His joy becomes my strength (Nehemiah 8:10) and I can face whatever comes my way with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

Wendy Lanier, author, teacher, and speaker, is a former science teacher who loves sharing the timeless truth of God’s Word through the spoken and written word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This goes right along with the theme that God has been trying to impress upon me – I MUST give thanks! In the midst of the most trying circumstances, He wants me to not be anxious but to give thanks. I am to make my requests known to Him and then give thanks. There’s no room for anxiety or depression. It is real faith when we do this in the midst of a looming threat to our safety or our security. I know He will answer my prayers. I am to start thanking Him for them even before I see the answers. I must choose to praise Him and thank Him.

Philippians 4:6 strikes again! “Be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7) And the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

I thought it was interesting that she brought out the fact that secular psychologists consider hope “magical” because they don’t know where their hope lies. Hope needs to be tied with faith in the only One who can change our circumstances. Hope helps us to hang on until our faith becomes sight.

What Jesus Thinks About You

I just had to share this today. I know that God really feels this way about us because He told me personally. He answered me when I called and told me that He delights in me.

I’m still trying to walk in that knowledge daily. Changing your mindset can be a long process. But He keeps telling me over and over again through many different avenues – such as this word from David Wilkerson – that He delights in me and I am precious to Him.

David Wilkerson Today

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010

THE KEY TO ALL DELIVERANCE

The Holy Spirit gave David a revelation that is the key to all deliverance. David could say, “The reason God delivered me from all my enemies—from all my sorrows and the powers of hell—is because I am precious to him. My God delights in me!”

“He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me (Psalm 18:19). Do you need deliverance? From lust, temptation or trial? From a problem that’s mental, spiritual, emotional or physical? The key to your victory is in this verse above. God delights in you! You are precious to him!

In Song of Solomon, the Lord says of his bride, “How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!” (Song of Solomon 7:6). Three of the Hebrew words in this verse are synonymous: fair means precious; pleasant indicates pleasure; and delights. These words describe Jesus’s thoughts toward his bride as he beholds her. He looks at her and says, “How beautiful, sweet and delightful you are. You are precious to me, O love.”

In turn, the bride boasts, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward
me” (7:10). The meaning here is: He runs after me with delight. He chases me because I am so precious to him.

These same thoughts are found throughout the Psalms. “The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:11). “The Lord takes pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation” (149:4).

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/devotions/2010/the-key-to-all-deliverance