There is so much to continually praise God about. Stepping into praise of God disallows the concerns in one’s life to dominate one’s mind and emotions. It doesn’t remove the concerns, it just puts them into a category of release. I can trust God to do what He does and I’m not suppose to, and for me to see what part, if there is any.. Spending time each morning in true worship of God our Father awakens my spirit to His Holy Spirit. How I love this impact and clarity.
I have always wanted to serve God with my life. I’ve written so many times how this service would hopefully provide a love from God that would take away the images, the memories, the abuse and bitterness of my past. I thought that removing them would be the only way to obliterate the ongoing confusion in my mind, part of which was scriptures that said God loves us (me). Instead of honoring my prayers, God chose to realign them into trusting Him to use all of these memories as tools. Only God’s miraculous ways could ever turn torment into a tool of Light helping others believe their own torment can be healed and used by God.
My greatest healing is not the removal of these memories, it is the removal of the bitterness and replacing it with the desire to share them as needed for someone else caught in the devil’s trap believing God doesn’t care for you. For, God cares immensely! One just needs to allow Him entrance into the darkness of our soul where all of this bitterness is held and holding oneself captive.
I don’t know about you, the reader, but I have to admit my human weaknesses far more often than I wish were true. This morning as I was having my devotions I was reminded by Jesus that it is one thing to confess my weaknesses, but along with confession I must make a plan to address them. Then I was reminded that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). If I have faith that I can overcome my weaknesses but I don’t put effort into it, I am simply stuck with the weakness/es.
I attempt to give thoughtful advice to those who come for counsel. And, every once in a while, I am reminded that what I had just said, God wants me to put into my own practice. I then have to tell the one sitting across from me that “we can work on this together”.
As I have added worship music to my devotional time I am finding a renewed effort to confront flesh with Spirit. As my spirit awakens through worship it is accompanied with a passion beyond myself that I know is God’s Holy Spirit. He is the very One who will fight this battle, weakness, for me as I release my struggle to Him through my worship of Him. Worship is far more than singing a favorite chorus or hymn. It likely starts there, but God’s Spirit speaks to us in these times if we allow ourselves to listen. I am a newbie at this, but I want to continue growing for God’s Holy Spirit to be in full control of my everyday life.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to the year of 2025. As light is just beginning to show the out of doors, I see the ground is covered with snow. We didn’t have a white Christmas, but we are having a white New Years. The rain and snow are blessed gifts to our area. We need it all each year to fill our reservoirs for the coming year of irrigation.
I was asked during the time our kids and grandkids were here, what I’d want sung and said at my funeral? I told them I wanted that service to be put together with things they wanted. I’d be dead and I’ve always wondered why people don’t put together a service that makes them feel better. As I have pondered this since being asked I’m realizing that a last remembrance is the purpose for the funeral. I’ve never liked the focus being on me for fear the ugliness of my life would be brought out and that’s what people would remember.
Getting to use the ugliness of a past as a tool in God’s toolbox to help others makes one’s past a Light, is nothing less than a miracle. Yesterday I met with a young man who had asked for counsel. I didn’t know him, but I know his wife rather well and all of his wife’s family. As he told me why he was seeking counsel I couldn’t help but identify with it. When he was mid-stream in telling me his story, he asked what the counseling sessions would do for him? I then said I’d like to give him some background on the person he is talking to once he’d finished giving me his background. When he was done I gave him a piece of my own story and what God has done for me. I concluded that this is what God wants to do with his past during the counseling sessions. He smiled big and said that he was really glad to be here.
When my time comes I want my service to glorify the God who brings such incredible healing and purpose to one’s life no matter what story it has attached to it. This is what I want people to remember as they leave my funeral service one day. Our God is faithful to the end!
The holiday time is slowly coming to an end with our family being together. I made my 2nd early morning trip to the airport today and will make the last one early tomorrow morning. Today, those still here will all go to church together. That in and of itself is a joy to my heart.
Living by faith and not by sight is not an easy thing to live out day in and day out. It is just fine when life has a pattern of success around it. But, when something changes that causes you to question or wonder why God would allow something “like this”, all of the faith one thought they had, comes into question. This happened to one of my grandkids in this past week. They were talking to me about it and it brought me right back to where I have been many times in my lifetime. I could assure hem that God is faithful and true to every single promise He had written in His Word. We just sometimes get it in our head how a promise should be played out. It is then we find a lesson we are needing to learn both about our own self and a lesson on Who God Is and how He operates differently from us.
The lessons of life are painful when they occur. Yet, the joy of living out the lesson only to find a more loving God than we ever thought possible awaits at the end of the lesson. God is faithful and good and this never changes.
The beauty of Christmas is upon us. The Love of God has been poured out to us through God’s Son Jesus. In my mind I can see why the Jews of old thought Jesus had come to be their earthly ruler and not a spiritual one. However, being a gentile as I am, I am so grateful God included us in His remarkable plan to redeem mankind for we sure aren’t able to redeem ourselves with our selfish nature being so strong.
The reminder that Satan is here to steal, kill and destroy all of God’s perfect plan, is so very evident. Christmas is such an exciting time. However, I hardly ever experience one where relationships don’t turn sour in someway. Take a step away from the turmoil and one can see Satan smiling at this. However, no matter what Satan attempts, it only takes an apology, a humble sorry, a hug, forgiveness to change that strained relationship back to Godly love. God did a miraculous work sending Jesus to model how this Love of God works.
How grateful I am for this blessed time of God’s Great Love!
As I write today’s date I realize just how close Christmas is in it’s arrival. My kids and grandkids are arriving this weekend and the joy of family all being together will begin once again. What is equally on my heart is the reality of “Christmas arriving”. This babe we call Jesus came to us in the same way we came into this world of ours. The only difference was who had planted the seed of life for Him. I have a difficult time with this reality knowing what God and Jesus knew ahead of time and followed through with their plan for you and me. That was only a beginning of the plan too.
Jesus conquered sin for us so we can have our eternal life with God as was the original intent. In conquering sin He conquered the grip Satan wanted to have over mankind. As I write this I can hardly explain in words my gratitude for what Christ has done for you and me. The grip sin had on me for so, so long is broken. Not only is it broken, it is replaced with the gift of helping others find this truth for them.
Part of what Jesus did while on earth was heal the sick. What a privilege it is to get to participate with Him in continuing this healing work in a healing process we call counseling. We get to plant the seeds of new life which Christ gave to us and Satan wants to kill. I have always loved being a gardener. This is like spiritual gardening and the beauty of blossoms is like none other!
Before I write anything else today, I must back up to complete yesterday’s story. I wrote that I was to step into the day in FAITH only. The counseling sessions were to be experienced and not led by me. The quartet singing event was to be experienced and not prepped ahead of time (the order for it had already been done and I needed not prep any further). The experiences of the day as each one completed itself were amazing. The young men, the wife and mother, the attendees of the concert–all had the same message. God, Jesus, Holy Spirit were so present and I am walking away having had an experience which gave each of them and me new Light.
For me personally, I walked away from yesterday shaking my head in sheer abundant joy. I have lived a lifetime fighting temptation in the flesh not understanding how I was to surrender the battle so it could be actually fought and won by our VICTOR–Jesus Christ. We spend a lot of time getting to know our Savior and Lord. We also work on knowing Christ’s Gift to us–The Holy Spirit. This has helped me immensely. The lesson with the young men yesterday added an ingredient I needed. It focused on knowing our enemy–Satan: his many names and his many tactics.
God is Spirit, Jesus Christ came in flesh, but left in Spirit and remains this way for eternity. The Holy Spirit is His Name–SPIRIT. Satan is also spirit. Has flesh ever won over spirit? Never! Satan uses this tactic with us (me) endlessly that I am a loser who is lucky enough to have a Savior. Jesus has helped me experience the truth that I am worthy and not a loser. His Worthiness is mine and seen by God for God sees Jesus in me. It is one thing to know this, it is another to now walk in the confidence of it letting Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit fight the enemy who wants to “sift me like sand” just as Christ told this to Peter. Instead of fighting, I Worship the Victor! He has already WON the battle!
Jesus is my firm foundation. This statement use to be something I’d know and even believe. This was particularly true when I work with others for my belief was firm that Jesus always would stand in the gap for them. They could put every ounce of their trust in Him. Then, something would take place for me, temptations would hit and I’d feel helpless with them. I’d dig my way out of them, but would wonder why Jesus wouldn’t do for me what He does for others?
What I wrote about yesterday was a huge piece for me to awaken to as I described in the post. Little did I realize that I had this self-protection mode still going on in me. It was such a natural response of mine I never put any thought into the fact that it was selfish/self-protection. God pointed out to me that this “self-protection place” I’d go to in my mind was a stumbling block (in Celebrate Recovery it’s called a hang-up, character defect or thinking error). If I felt threatened in someone’s presence, temptations would hit reminding me of past triggers, etc., I’d go to this place and rationalize myself out of it–or attempt to do this. It was an area of lacking trust in God that I needed to relinquish to Him. Now that this is done I have a sense of new cleansing–deeper, more pure trust.
There may be other things which God will point out in my future days/years, but for now I don’t sense “phobias” about stepping into situations which in the past I’d deal with, but would do so with gritted teeth. It is truly a new depth of trust I needed to find. Thank you Jesus!
There is something I’m becoming very awake to as I am beginning each of my devotional times with a couple of worship songs. They awaken my spirit to God’s Holy Spirit and I desire fully for Him to be my spirit this day as I surrender to Him. With my spirit fully committed I find new meaning to the first piece of armor God provides for us as told in Ephesians 6:14–the belt of truth. In my flesh I want to rationalize all that I do. If a selfish act is being desired, I want to put brackets around it and say that it wasn’t hurting anyone and no one even needs to know about it. It is just for me. Well, when I am surrendered fully to God’s Holy Spirit in me, all I can do is admit the truth. It just doesn’t matter what the action is, if it is selfishly committed and I have to look away from God’s nudge within me, it is sin.
Romans 14:23b says, “…and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” The preface to this statement from Paul is stating so much about how we treat others. His closing statement in this chapter is the quote. God wants us to live by faith in His Son and His Son’s Gift of The Holy Spirit to us when we accept Him into our lives. We cannot continue to live by flesh’s desires rather than living by the faith that whatever temptation comes our way, God’s promise to “provide a way of escape” (I Corinthians 10:13) is ours. The belt of truth helps us to know this for the verse in Ephesians 6:14 starts by saying, “Stand your ground….”. When we put faith to work in our lives we can stand our ground for we are doing so in the strength of The Holy Spirit rather than the futile strength of our flesh.
For so long I’ve known all of this. Putting it together each day as I “worship” God is taking what I have known and allowing it to become my daily experience.
As our small group of men met yesterday morning we began a lesson which needs to be done in two sessions. It was just too deep and too much to complete in one session. The topic is bringing the importance of worship into one’s worship and warfare praying. This very topic is what I have truly never understood until I started experiencing it. Starting my devotional time with worship (songs of praise and thanksgiving that quiet my flesh and allows my spirit to be overtaken by God’s Holy Spirit) has awakened me to a reverence I’ve only known once in a while through my lifetime. I’m now beginning to see my need for this worship each and every day. Being in spirit while I read God’s Word allows HIs Holy Spirit to bring meaning to the Word I’ve missed so many, many times. What is even more humbling to me is the tender, intense solidity of God’s Spirit’s grounding. As I pray I don’t need to pray in fleshly hope, but in the hope of assurance God IS in control of every aspect of life–not just for me, but for everyone for which I pray.
I hate to confess this, but I need too. As much as I love music, I even more so love quiet. Starting my devotional time with a worship song/chorus seemed invasive and I wouldn’t do this at first. Lately I’ve taken the step to do what the assignment said rather than avoid it. This simple step of obedience has been overwhelmingly insightful. In so doing I now know what entering into genuine worship during my devotional time does. It transforms this time into much richer meaning and confidence for what God wants me to know from Him. This carries into my day even when my flesh wants to control a portion of the day.
Earnie Lewis 