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Lead Me On Lord!

Below are the notes from my “not another manic Monday” Facebook Live video feed. If you’d rather watch the video, scroll down to the bottom of the page and follow the Youtube Link.

I’m not sure what has got me in the Christmas spirit so early this year, I’m usually a November 25th kind of gal, but I’m blaming it on the heart attack. I blame a lot of things on the heart attack, but this one may be closest the truth. I think I come to realize how precious holidays and holy days are.

So somehow or another, I tend to relate all scripture to Christmas, which is true as well, because scripture all relates to Christ, and Christ is Christmas. But this Christmas verse is found in the book of Psalm Chapter 16 and although it doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas, it will help you out on your Monday manic if you happen to be in that mode. And I happen to be.

Psalm 16:11

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

I am

Always Looking for Direction

When it comes to life it doesn’t matter how old I am, I’m still directionally challenged. And as a directionally challenged person who takes a picture of her car before I go into a store, I need more help than most. So I appreciate how God took care of the wise men by giving them a sign that could not be missed.

The star…

That star lead the Wise men to the place where the Christ child lay and then it stopped.

Matthew 2:2 has the Kings asking:
“Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.”

Matthew 2:9 reads … the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

That is my kind of signage!

And the bible is filled with historical information, but it’s also filled with today’s information.

I still rely on the word of God in some form or another, preacher, teacher and reading myself to finish this journey. I’ve found the Christ child and the Savior, now I’m trying to stay on the path until we meet face to face.

Part of that journey is that I’m

Always Looking for Joy

Psalm 16 tells us exactly where it’s at and to what extent we can achieve it. In His presence is the fullness of joy! But being in His presence doesn’t guarantee that result. After all, we have Him in our heart, and yet we’re not always happy if we’re honest. Sometimes, on the bad days we have to prepare for it. If we show up to a party with an attitude of dismay and discouragement, pretty soon the rest of the party is brought down with us. But if we show up anticipating the joy of the event, it’s a great day! Well, it’s a great day if we go into this week with an attitude of anticipation for what the Lord can do. One thing I’ve been learning myself lately is that the words we speak have more power than we understand.

If we say something like “I’m dreading this week, I have so much to do and it’s never going to get finished.”

Satan and his merry men will jump that band wagon and ride it all the way into Saturday. But if we speak the word of God over it, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13

For thou Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour thou wilt compass him as with a shield.  – Psalm 5:12

Speaking those words causes my attitude to change and Satan to flee. The wise men knew the word of God was the way to Christ because within the word of God it was prophesied 700 years before the event. That proves the power in the word of God.

Micah 5:2

But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting.

That prophesy foretold of the birth of Christ in that little city, long before the wise men were given directions.

God knows our destinations as well. Isn’t that great news! But it wouldn’t have been great news if the Kings had had the attitudes most of us have when God gives us directions. 

We doubt and fear because we don’t prove God’s words by stepping out in zones of discomfort. And we miss the joy of the adventure.

That’s what I want in November and December. I want to experience an adventure with Christ! And I can only do that by finding out what God’s word said and how it pertains to my manic Monday or terrible Tuesday, or wicked Wednesday that Satan would like me to experience.

I want victory over every day.

Always Looking for Pleasure

Who doesn’t want to please God? Pleasing God is following, worshipping and acknowledging Who His Son is and Where He is. The third part of our scripture said at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

1 Peter 3:22 tells us that Christ is on the right hand of God. But to understand that is to understand the symbolic gestures of Old Testament.

In Genesis 48, Joseph brought his sons to Jacob to be blessed,  but he got upset when he seen his father lay his right hand on the head of Ephraim because that was a blessing reserved for the oldest child and Ephraim was younger than Manasseh. So Joseph called it to his father’s attention, and his father replied, I know what I’m doing, leave me alone. Shari quoted bible.

So Jacob was basically saying that the younger son was going to be greater than the older. And as harsh as that seemed for Joseph to hear, it was prophetic. And He needed to hear it.

If we want the blessing of God, we have to trust that the Son on the right hand of God has our best interest at heart. But we’ll never understand that unless we get into a deeper relation with Him.

There was some serious relationship issues within the families of the bible. But if we want to experience the pleasures that God has for us in life, we cannot have relationship issues with Jesus Christ.

God didn’t send His Son to this world, to be taken for granted.

Before the heart attack I took a lot of things for granted. One of them was Christmas. That’s why, this year I’m starting early. I want to “experience” this season by having greater clarity and joy about my purpose in life. And I want a greater relationship with the Lord Jesus.

When I read the words in Psalm, it just leapt off the page at me like a Jack in the Box on Christmas morning. God’s verse to prepare my heart for this season.

It doesn’t matter if I’m talking about the Christmas season, or a season in your life that you’re going through. You and I both need the same thing. A deeper relationship with the Lord.

We can only have that if we’re prepared to invest some time.

We have to turn the television off, or the radio, or the computer. Whatever it is that is distracting us from this journey that God is taking us on in November and December!I’m excited about it! And I’m excited that you joined me today and I hope that you’ll let me follow you on your journey by messaging me and clueing me in on some of the things the Lord has been doing in your life. 

God Bless and I hope to see you next Monday at 10 am. on Facebook live. 

Posted in Christmas, Life Inspiration

And God said, “No you won’t”

Numbers 24:17

I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

I love Bible prophecy, especially that which shows Satan getting his just dues. It doubly sweetens it when God uses Satan’s very own words to further the gospel of Christ! In Isaiah 14:13 God sites Satan’s plan for overthrowing the Kingdom of Heaven. “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:”

And God said, “No you won’t.” That of course was a Shari Quote of verse 15 that reads Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

And so on the night that Christ was born, what do we find making its way into the Christmas story? A star!

Matthew 2:1-2 ~ Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

And for generation after generation, every time the story of the coming of the Messiah is told there is also the story of the star that lead the Shepherd’s and Wise men to Christ. The very thing that Satan said he would exalt himself above, God uses to proclaim His Son’s birth and the salvation of earth. The star that Satan would use to lure men into idol worship, God used to light the path to the greatest story ever told.

In Deuteronomy 4:19 God warned ~ And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

As if to say to Satan, what you believe yourself to have dominion over, I’ll show you Who is in control; and as the Magi were possibly doing something they shouldn’t be doing (looking for signs in the stars) God reveals Himself and they begin their journey for the Creator of the Star. Oh my goodness, how awesome is that! We too forget sometimes Who it is that is in control and that God will use even our mistakes to light the path to His purpose. The wise men followed that star to the Messiah and from their story we find four things that should be in the heart of every believer

Matthew 2:10-13  ~ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Joy – It should be evident. (Theirs was great, so should ours be)

Worship – it should be experienced. (They fell down! In awe of His presence)

Giving – it should be earnest. (They were the takers, now they were the givers)

Changed direction – it should be everlasting. (They went another way. There should be some notable changes of direction in our lives when we meet Christ)

I pray this Christmas each time you see a star you’ll be reminded of Christ and experience the great joy that comes in knowing Him!

Posted in Christmas, Life Inspiration

The Wise, the Worried & the Wayward ~ What do you seek?

I can clearly remember as a child the fear that I had regarding Armageddon. Having very little knowledge about it, only that it was the war to end all wars, and when it happened, horrific things would be about us and the world would be out of control. That fear followed me into adulthood because I still had not learned the scripture as one would have thought I would have being raised in church. Jesus’ return and the end of the earth as we know brought nothing but dread in my heart. I guess I wasn’t alone, nor the first to have experienced it.

Matthew 2:1-3

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Wise men fear and Seek Christ

The wise men were said to be men of great spiritual and philosophical understanding. They knew of the coming Messiah and did not fear it but rather embraced it knowing that God’s plan is the right plan. Their obedience to travel such a great distance speaks volumes of their character. They were invested in this trip with time, money and risk; committed to finding God. That’s what wise men (and women) do. They seek God at all costs knowing that the end result is blessing. But then there was Herod…

Worried men fear and Seek Control

Herod sought Jesus too, but not for worship or wisdom, he sought Him for control. He wanted to destroy anyone he thought would threaten his power as King of Judea, and he didn’t care to kill them young or innocent, calling for the mass murder of all infant boys under the age of two. I somehow block out that part of the Christmas story. The political wickedness that ripped the heart out of mothers. The killing spree that filled Bethlehem’s residents with immeasurable pain was so horrific that Matthew quotes Jeremiah’s mournful words regarding Israel’s pain during the Babylonian Exile in verse 18 ~ In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

Perhaps I block it out because it rings too true in society today. Our government will, it seems at any cost, cater to the wicked to keep control, including forsaking God, murdering babies and joining with allies totally against any Christian principal for the sake of power. They should worry, for try as they might, God’s plan will not fail.

Wayward men fear and Seek Comfort

Those who do not know the comfort of Christ will seek comfort in the world at all costs, even freedom. The scripture in Matthew 2 said “all Jersalem” was worried too. They were troubled because they did not know that Christ was coming to bring peace, they only knew Herod was upset and that wasn’t good. They desired no King other than Herod; him they understood. Therefore Jesus was not a King they cared to know. And so it is with many today, content to stay in the ignorance and controlled by what they’re comfortable with than to relinquish full control to God Who will provide them a peace immeasurable.

It’s not hard to see why the world fights against Christianity, because true, undefiled Christianity shatters the lies and deceit that have been created to control a lost generation. Once you truly understand Who Jesus is, the world’s control is gone and you have the freedom to live without fear. You no longer fear the coming of the Lord, but just like the wise men in Matthew you embrace it. You are willing to go and do at all cost and risk, because you know that His coming again will bring wickedness to an end. Why should we fear? Yes Christ came as a baby, but He’s coming again and this time He’s all grown up! This time there will be no risk or danger for those who know Him as their Savior, but to those who don’t there is much to fear.

Do you know Jesus today? If not, give yourself the gift of Peace this Christmas.