Turning it All Over to The Lord

I heard a woman say this recently, on K-LOVE in reference to her own health.  She stated that she finally turned her health over to the Lord, and He exponentially turned around her poor health.  She stated that she was healthier now than ever before, and had lost over 120 pounds!  Amazing.

But, isn't that the God we serve?! Turning it over to the Lord is what we all need to find healing.

Our steps are made firm by the LORD when He delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand.  Psalm 37:23-24

You might say, well, I turned over my health, child, or whatever to the Lord, and I am still waiting on His intervention...That just doesn't happen anymore to Christians.  But, I disagree, because I know there are many miracles around the world recorded by credible sources.

When I was just starting out in my life, I believed in the white picket fence idea. You know, my life was going to be perfect....which so did not happen.

Instead, God gave me an imperfect life!

Complete with a special needs child:-)  He did not put everything in the order I thought He should until I got my heart and mind in step with His plans for my life.  Then, I began to see His order, and I rejoiced.  Does that mean I don't doubt God's plans and think I know better?  Well, of course.  I am human.

When we read the Gospels, we see all sorts of people finding healing through Jesus and His disciples. We read the Book of Acts and think, that is what we need!  While I am not saying that we cannot find that kind of healing and power of God today, I have to say that the Spirit definitely heals miraculously where He finds the most impact.

I have also witnessed the Lord performing mighty miracles and works in special needs children and people, just to show off His presence.  It is in the middle of imperfection and desperation that God's Light shines brightly. This is part of our children's purpose in the Lord, here on earth.  Just like the birth of a Savior on a dark night!

So, when it seems like God isn't hearing your prayers, friend

Pray for the Lord to show you His plan.  Because, I promise you, when our hearts are aligned with Him, we will be used by Him in a mighty way.  I have seen it, and know it to be true.

No, I can't promise you that He will answer your prayers in the way that you ask Him, but I do know that if you turn your heart and mind over to Him more and more, you will only see an increase!

Yes, we have a choice to follow God.

Choosing to follow God's plans for our lives, outside of the choice to receive salvation, is the best choice to help us walk in His will. That does not mean that we will not have struggles, because we will, but we will overcome them with the power of God because we are in step with Him.

On the flip side, not getting in step with His plan will cause many struggles, leaving us with a feeling of being lost and abandoned by God the Father.

I don't care what your past is; all things are possible for us when we choose to follow Him first. When your life is redeemed by the One Who Redeems, you have His stamp of approval, and you will know it by His Holy Spirit living inside of you.  He will guide you in all truth because you have new life!

Turning it over to the Lord really is our best option.

We can use our intellect to make what we think is the "right" choice, but in the end, it won't really work.  Or, we can choose to follow Him and listen to the Holy Spirit, and receive a great harvest of healing.

We just cannot lose with that option.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published 10/25/2014

During the Shmita 2014-2015

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!"

The Bible says:

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!"  And let the one who hears say, "Come!"  Let the one who is thirsty come, and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.  Revelation 22:17

While our world is imperfect, with imperfect relationships, God is perfect.

There is much talk in the Christian community about marriage to one person, for life. While that is God's perfect design, it is not always possible.  Not because God cannot create miracles, but because He also gives each person a choice to follow Him or not.

There is war, death, disease, abuse, and adultery.  There are marriage partners who are unrepentant and have dark hearts.  But, while God hates divorce, He does allow for unequally yoke marriages to divide and end and calls us to peace.  

There can be no marital covenant between a believer and an unbeliever unless God says otherwise. It is only a legal arrangement at best. (1 Corinthians 7:12-16, Hebrews 13:4-5, Mark 10:6-9, 2 Corinthians 6:14-15)

Take the new legal standing in Arizona recently.

The ruling where gay marriage was made legal in Arizona was signed.  While God does outright say in the Bible that homosexual behavior is a sin, the legal system honors their commitments to each other. 

Yes, we are in a season where the government that was founded on Christian principles, is attempting to walk away from these foundations.  We can fight in the world against such immorality, but God will have the last word.  He will judge accordingly.

**And, for the record, I do not think that homosexual behavior or homosexual marriage is of God. But, yes, I do know that redemption of homosexual behavior is completely of a loving and forgiving God whose Son died on the cross for all of our sins.

The problem is: that "One person for life" has become unusual.

While, I think that marriage between a man and a woman, for life, is a beautiful gift to witness, it certainly has not become the norm.  Yes, many of those marriages are within the church walls, but many more people, who live outside of that ideal have been shut out of the Church, and need to be brought into the church walls too.  

It does not mean that God cannot make second, and even third marriages pure.  It means that we need to encourage people to repent before a loving and grace-filled God.

Just as the typical world needs to learn to coexist with the special needs world, so the ideally-lived church needs to learn to accept and coexist with the people who have lived broken but redeemed lives. It does not matter if they have tattoos and piercings.  

They cannot just shake the trees of their old lives and make them ideal, but God gave them to grace with their salvation.

This issue of less-than-ideal hasn't occurred because they are all lost!

Many are saved, even though the ideal church cannot always understand that.  But, because of the world we live in, the imperfections of this world, and the lives lived outside the ideal church, people have imperfect lives with imperfect results.

Unfortunately, some of them view the church walls as God Himself and blame themselves for imperfections, never receiving God's grace.  Others, feel resentment, refusing to trust or step through the doors of a church.  

All they see is a lack of grace and mercy, and they miss the opportunity to fellowship with other believers, even though they are genuinely saved.

What brings purity is our cleanness before God---our hearts and our confession before the Creator, who gave us the gift of eternal life.

The New Covenant Church is Ekklesia, the people whose hearts are bound together through the heart of Jesus Christ.  We are called to be part of the Body of Christ, imperfections and all.  Because even if we are living the ideal life, we are not perfect.

Jesus called us to LOVE!

Remember?  Jesus said this is the greatest commandment!

So I encourage you, love, friend, and love deeply because your friends are the whole Body of Christ, both inside and outside the church walls, made perfect in the Spirit of God, even if they aren't living the ideal Christian life.  

They really do need you and frankly, you need them too.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 10/22/2014

During the 2014-2015 Shmita

Are You Pure? #justfindgrace

Church scandal rocked the Christian community recently, but, God called us to follow Him. No. Matter. What.  Adulteries or immoralities do not keep us from the throne of grace, because we can all find grace when we truly repent.

The Bible says:

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Galatians 5:18

We can stand and be the Accuser against those committing huge sins, but our own purity is more important to God.  Purity does not occur because we have a perfect life, job, income, status, paycheck, etc.  Purity comes with our cleanliness before God.  It is all about our honesty and confession before our Creator and our salvation in Jesus Christ.  #justfindgrace

Jonah thought he could run away from God's call on his life.  

You know the story in the Book of Jonah.  God brought a fish to come and swallow him until Jonah repented...after 3 days in the belly of the whale.  You would think it would only take him a few seconds, wouldn't you? I mean, if I was in the belly of a whale after having been thrown overboard into the sea to save the ship I ran from God on, I know God would have my attention already.  Or would He?  

We think that we would have done a better job, yet the story teaches us all a lesson about listening to what God calls us to, and not running away from it.  There Jonah was, in a fish, and after 3 days, he repents for not listening to God and promised to carry out what God called him to do.  

Yet, I don't think that God was trying to punish him, but He wanted Jonah to get in step with His plan, and the Master Creator knew how to do it.

God knew Jonah was His man to carry out this task.  He had a plan to use Jonah to see the people of Ninevah, the way God saw them--worthy of saving.  In other words, it wasn't all about Jonah, but it was about God's plan for His people and for Jonah.

Churchy perfection does not equal purity.

Because we are human, we stumble, yes, even as Christians.  Even Paul, who was a superhuman Christian, in my opinion, remarked on the fact that he was at war with what he knew what he should do, and what he actually carried out.  Few in the Body of Christ match Paul's abilities to walk the walk.

We all stumble, but the purity comes in our confession and change of our direction.

As Christians, we cannot remain in sin.

We have the Holy Spirit living in us.  Let us follow Him and pray for those who have lost their way.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 10/18/2014

During the 201-2015 Shmita

Hillsong Reminds Us That the Holy Spirit Guides Us #spiritleadme

There are so many times I have fallen short in walking in the Holy Spirit, but when I do, the LORD reminds me: #spiritleadme

And of course, Hillsong sings Oceans it so right!

In His grip~Kim

Originally published 10/15/2014

During 2014-2015 Shmita

The Pouring Out of the Holy Spirit

I had a dream one night, where I saw the pouring of a glass of liquid, which, when poured out into another, shorter container, then coagulated into a mixture of synthetic chips.

The Holy Spirit watered the second container, the contents of which, were also unknown, but became something new when the Spirit poured out.

It is the picture of what happens when we are saved.

We find real redemption when Jesus really gets ahold of our hearts.  

There is no faking it.  You can put on the hat of religion and pretend you are saved.  You can say the right words and dress the part, but if Jesus is not in your heart, you will not breathe the air of the Holy Spirit.

Fake religion will be the shell you create and God will not redeem your life in its truest form.  

There was a time in my life when I walked religion.

I knew that God was out there, but Jesus did not manifest in my heart until my ears were opened. The seed had been planted, but huge, exponential growth in the Spirit did not occur until I experienced deep dark trials.  

It wasn't until my very life and the life of my children were threatened by my Ex-husband that the Holy Spirit came to life in me.  There was no longer trust in religion or good works. Darkness does not care about your works.

No, I found myself scrambling to protect us by the very power of God---the Holy Spirit. He led us through a path of winding roads that seemed inescapable, yet in the end, were our very safety.

Religion cannot save us

It is a myth that when we buy the perfect Christian music album, the perfect Christian outfit, the perfect Bible, with a monogram on it, and let's not forget the perfect Christian family, that it means we are Christians. 

We must really have an all-out experience and revelation before God that we really need him. There is no faking it.

No, I am not discounting all the funky, Hip Hop, and contemporary Christian music and worship experiences. I love that kind of music! Most of us do.  

But, let's face it, that is not what saves us. Our hearts must change and our minds will pour into new glasses, as new people. 

You were bought for a price...

How does the Spirit want to gift you?

The Spirit gifts as He chooses, those to become prophets, apostles....

I am praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon you.  

In His grip~Kim

Originally published 10/12/2014

During Shemita 2014-2015

Unglued? Or Is It Sensory Meltdown?

The Bible says:

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

1 John 4:8

I felt like the Clampetts somedays. You know on the Beverly Hillbillies?

Right before the plumber arrived, my special needs son, who was already worried and upset that he hadn't arrived sooner, fell and skinned his knee.  He remained in the driveway crying and yelling at me, in a sensory pile of shut down from the stimulation and confusion.  The boy in him wanted to be in charge, yet wanted his mommy.  It was all just too much.

But, just as if on cue, the plumber arrives.  My son still refuses to get up out of the driveway.  But, I walk down to the gate to let in the plumber, and explain my plight to him, that I would direct him around my son if need be.  Of course, he just kind of looks at me, like "Are you kidding me?"  I gave him my confident smile and started walking back to my son.

By this time, he gets up, excited now that the plumber arrived, knee forgotten, but still teary.  He runs to the house, and opens up the door, and (here comes the Clampetts part) one of the dogs runs out. He won't listen to anyone and runs from me when I try to catch him, chasing him around the car.  When I do grab a hold of him, he resists me, but I manage to drag all 80 pounds of him into the house.

But, by this time, my son is screaming again inside, because the littlest Chihuahua mix is trying to run out the door and won't listen to his screaming...  Yet, I am still dragging the big dog, while he skids his feet on the tile floor, mind you.  I decide to put him in a small bathroom, and every time I try to shove him in, you guessed it, he tries to escape.

By this time, I am laughing hysterically, because the dog is incredibly stubborn. But, with some tenacity, I manage to shut both dogs into the bathroom.  I am totally out of breath and still laughing by the time I finish.

Of course, also by this time, the plumber is now laughing.

It turns out he has a few kids of his own, so he "got" the chaos thing...I didn't ask him if he had any dogs. But, I probably should have asked him if he wanted one of mine:-)  JK!

It appeared that the fabric of my whole house came UNGLUED!

Over the plumber...Or did it?

When the general order of our house goes out the window, for some reason as a society, people tend to say things like, "That lady needs to control her kids."  "If that was my kid, I ____." Or something to that effect.  Most of us have said things like this BEFORE we had kids...then, we realized.  :-)

Or my favorite is, the people who glare at you for grouching at your kid in the store, after telling them to behave for the 15th million time that day...

Parenting is no easy job, and it teaches us to pray, even when our kids and our own emotions come "unglued."  The chaos is part of the package, and, wanting order?  Well, just buckle your seat belt, because you aren't always going to get that. ;-)

Love is the real glue in life.

And we cannot have love without GOD.  It just isn't possible, because GOD is love.  He is the one that binds our hearts together, and He is the one who works among us.  Chaos will need to be settled and problems need to be solved.  He is the One who creates order out of chaos.

We can have man-made systems and organizations, even under the guise of what some term "church."  But, what we really need is LOVE---LOVE that is born of God, who sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins.  

In His grip~Kim

Originally published 10/11/2014

During Shmita 2014-2015

Faith, Hope & Love Against the Storm of Violence

The Bible says:

And now these three remain faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

None of us can bury our heads in the sand, right now, at the evil distortions of ISIS.  

There is fear at every corner.  Despair is contending for the world's view right now.  But, honestly, we cannot let the devil win.  We must cling to FAITH, HOPE & LOVE.

Yet, if you are like me, you are hiding these demonic, violent images of human atrocities from your children. 

Personally speaking, I always insisted that my children not have violent video games, not just because I am a Christian, but because I learned early on that children's brains are negatively affected by violent images, particularly frequent images. 

If you have boys like I do, you may be rolling your eyes at that...thinking that this is impossible, perhaps. And, yes, those of us who have boys, know how they rough house, and use sticks (or other objects) as weapons to slay dragons and save princesses every day.  Mine did that too.

But, their mind's eye does not reflect the same images that occur either in a grown man's realistic mind or worse, in a psychotic male brain. This is even more reason to protect them from modern technological violence, on screen, and in video games.  

However, right now, the news is a real danger.  

War and militant uprisings.  Women, children and the elderly are being needlessly killed, not to mention the men who are soldiers, or even humanitarian workers losing their lives.  There is no Godly rationality to their actions.  There is further no question that this is outright evil.  

Violence does not justify and support the cause of religion.   

We have to cling to have FAITH, HOPE & LOVE in Christ.  

We have to cling to Jesus.  We must cover our children in prayer for the times when the devil finds an open door and sneaks in.  

Further, we must pray against this evil uprising, for the safety of all of us.  We must call on the power of Jesus Christ---OUR POWER---to stand up against the devil's work.  

Our prayers are a fragrant offering to the Lord and He does hear them. 

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 10/5/2014

During the 2014-2015 Shmita

A Day to Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 2014

It is no secret that we need to pray for the peace, safety, and welfare of Jerusalem, as well as for the rest of Israel, right now.  But, the day is at hand to join collectively on Sunday, October 5, to PRAY.

It is a day of international prayer and intercession, for the birthplace of our faith as Christians.  The Bible tells us:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. For there, thrones were set for judgment; the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.  For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, "May peace be within you."  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. Psalm 122:6-9

If you care about Jerusalem and Israel.  Pray, as the LORD calls you to.  But, we invite you to join the collective prayer of the Church to pray, particularly this Sunday.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 10/3/2014

During the 2014-2015 Shmita