“28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Psalm 62:1 “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”
Resting in the Lord and allowing Him to do His will, His work, His way is freedom. In it there is peace, joy, beauty, and life everlasting through every trial and tribulation. We can war and we can choose to rebel against Him but when we do we rage in hellfire instead of carrying peace to heaven. Afflictions and educating from the Lord are for our good. Choosing to praise Him and to humble ourselves before Him in the beginning, in the midst of, and assuredly at the closing of them honors and glorifies God. In Christ our battles are won in adversity when we abide in and rely on Him. Christ is the Only way. When we truly rest in Him we find, there is no better way. May Your lovingkindness be upon us Lord in proportion as we have hoped in You (Psalm 33:22). Amen.
Breaking and breakthrough happen when we choose to allow the Lord to have His way in us. He will be seen in us when we give Him full reign and full power to take over us and to take on our lives. This is what resting in Him means. This is why His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). We were never meant to carry our loads alone. The glory of the Lord and the filling of His Spirit are found when we let go. May we let go and allow God today honoring Him in glory and in praise by supplication and with thanksgiving trusting in His promise that He is with us all the way. Amen.
When we go into our prayer closet without expectation or hesitation but by prayer invite the Holy Spirit to lead us, our soul is refreshed, joy is restored, peace surely comes, we confess when we are convicted, we glory in forgiveness, and the Lords power and presence become our own to share. When once there was dryness now we have struck His promise of living water (John 7:37-39); there are streams in the desert (Isaiah 43:19). Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen.
20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— (Colossians 1:20-22)
This is a good good day!
You’re good news in Christ is the only way.
For He has suffered, and He has died
So I might have life,
Freedom from discouragement, depression, and strife.
I am reconciled on this day, to a Holy Father
I am now Your child,
Privileged, to call You “Abba”.
I am most undeserving of Your love,
But You look down on High from above
You have washed my scarlet sins,
So I am whiter than snow
Now as Your ambassador, I share the Good News,
As I come and I go.
You’re a good good Father
On a good good Friday!
Through Your blood and Your suffering
My sins have been taken away.
You’re ceaseless mercy I depend on for, Your future grace
“And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51)
Believers in Christ are reconciled to God the Father. This is the foundation of the Good News that we have, that we share, and that we hold near and dear to our hearts. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and yet His death also has bridged the gap so we can enter into the presence of our Holy Father in heaven and be made acceptable to Him. It is because of the payment of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and that the veil of the Holy of Holies was torn down that separated God and man, that we no longer need to make daily and yearly atonement for our sins by the sacrifices of animals. Jesus paid the ultimate price for all of our sins both past and present. Now based on the blood of His righteousness we have the privilege to have a relationship with the one true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. O Lord our God, how great thou art indeed! Let us remember the blessed sacrifice of our Lord and not forsake the truth that only in Christ and because of His great atonement we are now reconciled to God the Father because He has bridged the gap for us. Glory, glory Hallelujah!
18 “But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, restoration to favor with God].
20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. 21 He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].” (2 Corinthians 5:18-21 AMP)
Prayer & Praise:
O Lord our God You are very great and we thank You for looking down from heaven on all of us with Your gaze of love and kindness. We thank You for sending Your One and Only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins and not to condemn us for them. Thank You for loving us so much that You weren’t afraid to suffer on our behalf so that we could gain acceptance in Your sight while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). I am so blessed to get to be in Your presence based on the righteousness of Your Son Jesus Christ who surrendered to Your will so that I might be forgiven and washed clean by the blood of His righteous atonement. Lord I pray that I might this day remember that You gave Your life so that I can be forever in relationship with You. Help me to pour out Your love on others this day like an endless river of blessing that stems out from Your love for me. Thank You so much for the Good News of Your Salvation. Let me not be ashamed to share it, help me to not be ashamed to wear it, but by all that You have given me let my mouth, my deeds, my words, and my actions faithfully proclaim it. I love You. May my feet follow where Yours lead and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You my friend, my rock, and my redeemer. In the precious name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Mark 10:9)
Lord I praise You that You have made things clear between me and my soon to be husband. We got engaged last night Lord and I want to thank You for hearing our prayers for our relationship. Things have not been perfect and all lined out for us and yet You have shown up in our relationship and in him and I want to thank You very much. Lord it’s been a blessing of 3 1/2 years with him as You know but I realized even before we were engaged last night that there is no one that I would rather spend the rest of my life with. O Lord, my God I know that things between us will not be perfect and I know that things will not always go smoothly but I need You to be at the center of our hearts, our minds, our lives, our attitudes, and our actions. Help us to grow in You alone and together and to grow strong in prayer. Help us to let idols in our lives and our hearts fall away out of love, devotion, and honor to You dear Lord. Help us to stay laughing and silly even in the midst of trials. Help us to love one another Lord even when it hurts. Lord I don’t know where either of us will be a few years down the road but I pray that we will still be fully and completely Yours and with one another. Please watch over my fiance and keep him faithful, safe, healthy, and true to You first, and to Your will, and then to me. Please watch over and bless his family too. Watch over us and keep us daily Lord with Your eye upon us leading us on Your way and in Your will for all the rest of our days. We praise You Lord for You are good. In Jesus name. Amen.
“And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
The Lord led me to this verse from Matthew 4:19 when Jesus called His disciples Simon Peter and Andrew to follow Him and a conviction struck a dart to my heart. The Lord let me in on a sound concept that I want to share with you this day. When Jesus told the disciples that He would make them “fishers of men” He didn’t mean that “I will make men followers of you.” He meant that you will be the vessel I use to make myself known to men so that they can follow Me (Jesus) alone. In the wake of more followers to this blog which I now firmly hold to be not mine at all but the Lords, I lost sight of that and I offer all of you a heartfelt apology. Today I recognize the error of my ways and that every person (sheep) that the Lord gives to me is His first and last. I don’t want to cause any of my brothers and sisters to stumble on my behalf and think this is any way the correct way to go on in thought, word, or action.
These days God has me reading the new Testament and also 1 Kings. I have just finished reading about King Solomon and how he turned away from God. King Solomon was a wealthy King who prayed a prayer to God that was in line with God’s will (1 Kings 3:7-9). He prayed for wisdom and sound judgment in taking care of God’s people the Israelites and the Lord granted Solomon both of these in abundance. Because Solomon didn’t ask for riches and wealth the Lord granted these to him in surplus as well. In 1 Kings 10 we see that Solomon acquired a magnitude of wealth and riches beyond what the Lord had promised him, he had slaves engage in forced labor to build properties for him, and then in 1 Kings 11 Solomon turns away from God by marrying 700 foreign wives and taking on 300 Concubines. The word of God clearly states in Deuteronomy 17:17 concerning the reign of His kings that,
“He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.”
In 1 Kings 11:2 the word of God says that Solomon clung to his wives in love and we learn that he also made sacrifices to their pagan gods, all of which incurred the Lord’s judgment and wrath. I say all this because I don’t want to follow in the footsteps of Solomon who didn’t take heed and care to recall the Lords words to him in 1 Kings 9:4-9. I care for all of you and don’t want any of you to fall into the same sin either.
4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’
6 “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”
I was on the same track as Solomon by forgetting the Lord’s words in Micah 6:8 that we are to walk humbly with our God. I hope that you can forgive me for my momentary arrogance and pride for all we have, do, and are is all thanks to the honor and glory of God! We can feel good about what we bring but let us never set anchor too long on this and lose sight of the greatness, the lovingkindness, and the grace of our God in which,
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)
May the Lord continue to richly bless you my brothers and sisters with wisdom, strength, and sound judgment, in all acts of service. May He give you knowledge of His gifts to you and how you are best to use them. In all of these things as you already do may you grow in thanks and praise knowing everything you have and everything you are is all to the honor and glory and the goodness of our God! In Jesus name. Amen.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
O Lord my God, the source of my hope.
You are my light and my refuge; the source of my joy.
I will wash Your feet with my tears,
Then wipe them off with my hair.
I will anoint Your head with oil.
For You make me dance through my fears.
Lord all I do I do with pleasure,
Knowing You are the One whom I serve.
Your rescue has delivered me.
More than I, could ever deserve.
Lord I rest my heart, in You alone.
Lord I bow my head, to Your royal throne.
My Salvation came through, Your choosing to, suffer in my place.
My weeping matches Mary’s, in the tears on my face.
When I revel in Your glory and, the sacrifice that You made.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Last night a prayer came to my mind and welled up within me and wouldn’t leave. I felt my heart rise up to the heavens as everything deep within my soul rose to ask the Lord “Lord change me and make me the woman You always destined me to be.” My body was flushed with a tingling sensation then a rush of heat and I knew with every fiber of my being that something wonderful had happened to me. This morning as I was spending time with the Lord I began to bless His Holy name and my day awakened me to blessed praise in the Lord. I usually rise up in confession of my sins and read Psalm 103 or another psalm of praise at the beginning, but this time something was different, or rather someone and that someone was me. I began to praise the Lord for giving me breath, for His lovingkindness, for His mercy and for all of the love, grace, and mercy that He shows me everyday and that He has shown me through all of my years. I began to pray with new strength for my brothers and sisters in Christ and as a result I feel a peace today even though nothing around me has changed.
Last week I felt spiritually dry and then as I reconnected to the vine of Christ my spiritual strength was renewed for some time but today it is overflowing. I want you to know that the Lord answers prayers and He does so in a mighty and a powerful way. The Lord invites us to pray and He teaches us how and what to pray. All thanks be to God Most High for His power, for His attentive and listening ear, and for His heart, His eyes, and His mind which are always reaching down to His people from heaven and working in us and for us, for His good all to His honor and glory! Amen.
I call on You to praise the Lord in the battle. Praise the Lord in the storm. Praise the Lord in the good times. Praise the Lord though the troubles look bad. Praise the Lord in the nighttime. Praise the Lord for this is the right time. Praise the Lord in the minutes. Praise the Lord in the hours. Praise and turn over Your seconds for in the moments You will find that He is working to work, every one of them out for Your good.
“May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— 32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.” (Psalm 104:31-34)
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,” (Romans 5:3)
Early this morning I had a lot on my mind and I think that this post will tell it like it is and speak for itself so here goes…
Our testimony is our proclamation of our Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and we should NEVER, EVER let anyone shame us into denying what we have been through. As Paul said in Romans 1:16,
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
and as the Word of God says for us to do today I will fear no man. There are people in our lives who may have used our testimonies as a way to shame us or keep us quiet but I want you to know that your testimony no matter what it is, is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done in your life and will help you to proclaim the gospel. So if God has helped you out of something and you are saved shout it from the rooftops!
I myself have experienced childhood abuse, I have been on hard drugs and soft, I have drunk alcohol until I blacked out, I have a mental illness and thanks be to God for creating man to make medication that targets my neurons and helps me to heal and to cope, I am a domestic violence survivor, I have been in the psych ward, and I am barren like Rachel was. Now I want everyone to know that I do not glorify in my grief but rather I glorify today in the GRACE OF GOD! He has saved me through all of this and more. If he has saved me He can save you and if He has saved you all grace be to the one that saves! I am a certified Chaplain now by God’s grace alone. Hallelujah! but I am first and foremost Crystal a broken, healed, transformed, and flawed Child of God who stands firm in Christ and not behind any credential.
In 2 Corinthians 11:30 the apostle Paul says, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”
and why? because that is where God’s grace and strength shines more clearly and abundantly. Let us not forget where we have come from so that the name of God may be glorified in the pits He has raised us out of.
“Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” (Luke 5:31)
These are Jesus’s words from the gospels and I was sick and now I am saved. Let us be careful to remember the Good News; Jesus came to save sinners.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).
We know the song Amazing Grace but when we hear it do we identify with the words? I am thankful of where I have come from because I can connect, encourage, and provide hope to the sad, the suicidal, the anguished, and the addicted. So today let me encourage all of us not to stand behind our credentials or put on a facade of perfection or hide behind the social media walls. Let us not stand behind what is man made and powerless. Let us not glorify in our grief but GLORIFY ALWAYS IN THE GRACE of Jesus Christ!
Be well today and may your testimony save and be saved. God bless you!
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. ” (Isaiah 43:1-2)
Honoring You is better than the cup of coffee in my morning
Every day of Worship is something new, supernatural, and inviting
When the moon goes down You are right there with me
Throughout my day You show me, that it’s You who takes the reigns.
I apologize for where I fail, and You are there to catch me
No matter where I fall You are there to uplift me and transform me
No matter how far I seem to be You are always right there with me, where I am
Where I say I can’t, I know because You’re faithful, that You can.
There is nothing better than to be near You when it’s raining
When the storm is knocking at the door, it’s a thrill to find You waiting
Come mountain, come tornado, come tsunami, pestilence, or a flood
It takes away my breath knowing that You already swept in, to save me by Your blood.
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
Facing Life In Christ 