In His Presence

My dear friends,

This morning I came upon an article written by David Wilkerson. Its' title drew me--"The Only Hope in the Coming Storm." Of course, we might quickly question, what do you mean by "coming storm" and who said there's a storm coming? But, beyond that, if there ever is a storm what is this "only hope" he is referring to? I think what he said is profound and I completely agree with him; listen carefully to Wilkerson's words:

Beloved, if we’re going to face the coming storm, then we need to be prepared so nothing disturbs our spirit. The only way to do that is to spend time in the Father’s presence, beholding his face. We have to be shut in with him— on our knees, practicing his presence, seeking him—until we are thoroughly persuaded he’s at our right hand.

God is clearly telling us, “Don’t be moved or agitated by anything you see. Keep your eyes focused on me and you will retain your joy.” According to David, Jesus testified, “Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance” (Acts 2:28).

It is as if Christ is telling us, “I faced everything you’re going to face in the closing days of time. I had the same foreboding feelings because I saw the coming storm. But I ran into the presence of my Father and he lifted all my concerns. He showed me the outcome of it all. And in his presence I found all the joy, hope and rest I would ever need, to the very end. I have peace and joy because I’ve been with him.” “My flesh shall rest in hope” (2:26).

My friends, my hope for us this new year is that we can take this word to heart and spend more time in His presence. There is our hope; there is our protection; there is our answer.

May God our Father draw you as never before.

Much love,
Sheila
p.s. for the entire article click on this link: http://www.worldchallenge.org/node/15356

Christmas Wishes

To the wonderful people who read this blog,

I wish you from my heart...

Sheila

Without Blemish

"...according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace."  2 Pet 3: 13-14 Confession of our sins is one of the surest remedies for removing the spots and blemishes from our souls. It is what helps us "prepare the way of the Lord" and "make his paths straight." Mk 1: 3 It also produces the fruit of peace. Sometimes though we can't see our own shortcomings; we can't figure out the root of the problem--the sin in our life. Here's a secret: During the presentation of Jesus in the temple, Simeon prophesied a word to Mary, Jesus' mother. He said to her, "And you yourself shall be pierced with a sword--so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bear."  Lk 2 : 35 This indicated we go to Mary as Sorrowful Mother to receive knowledge of what is hidden for our spiritual life. 1 She can help bring our "spot or blemish" to light. As you wait on the Lord's promise to be fulfilled, draw close to his mother--our Virgin Mother. Blessed Advent season, Sheila 1  Fr. Ripperger

Perfect Peace

Isaiah 26: 3 says:

"Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,

whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee.

Trust in the LORD for ever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock."

Perfect peace. Ah, sweet!
That's just what we want, right?
Not just peace, but perfect peace.

Most of the scripture references
I looked at in a concordance
speak of perfect as being complete.

Complete in Webster's dictionary
says entire, brought to an end,
concluded, fully carried out.

It reminds me of the scripture from Philippians 1: 6,
"...he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion..."

So He has begun a good work of peace within us
and desires for it to come to completion.

What is our part in accomplishing this?

This is what he asks of us--
to simply keep our mind on him,
not on our problems, ourselves, our concerns...
and in return we grow
in the fullness of peace;
a peace that's entire, overflowing, complete.

That means every time we start to dwell on,
worry or grumble about our concerns...
we surrender to him again.
We force our will to his again.
And we do our best to remain there.
So that he who is faithful
can entirely bless us
with his peace.


Grace & peace to all of you!

Move On

" Stop worrying.
Whatever it is that you must do
to follow the path that God has shown you
do to the best of your ability.
And when you have done it
move on to the next thing.
Don’t keep rerunning it in your mind
trying to decide
whether your efforts were too little
or too much,
whether it was a great deed or a small one,
whether you might have done better.
If it wasn’t sinful and
you were trying to do the will of God,
it is enough.
Don’t worry. Move on.
Simply.
Calmly.
Peacefully.
Follow the path the Lord shows you
free of anxiety.
Otherwise
your anxiety will undermine
your efforts to grow.
If you do fail,
don’t let anxiety
overcome you,
but admit your failure,
quietly, humbly,
and in God’s presence.
Then get on with following the path
that God will continue to show you."   by St. Francis de Sales

The Will of God

" Have no love for the world,
nor for the things that the world affords.
If anyone loves the world,
the Father's love has no place in him,
for nothing that the world affords
comes from the Father.
Carnal allurements,
enticements of the eye,
the life of empty show--
all these are from the world.
And the world with its seductions
is passing away
but the man who does God's will
endures forever."
1 John 2: 15-17

Dance!

May you dance as on a day of joy,

rejoice and be renewed in His love!

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Rejoice, exalt with all your heart...
The Lord, your God, is in your midst.
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in His love.
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals. Zep 3

Chorus:

And the Father will dance
as on a day of joy.
He will exalt over you
and renew you by His love.

Shout for joy,
all you, His people.
Sing aloud and exalt with all your heart,
for Yahweh, your God is in your midst.

-chorus-

You have no more evil to fear.
You have no more evil to fear.
Do not let your hands fall limp,
for Yahweh, your God is in your midst.

-chorus-

And when the time comes
I will rescue the lame,
and when the time comes
I will gather the strays,
and when the time comes
I will be your guide.
I will gather you in
and give you renown
among all peoples.

He will renew you by His love!

Lyrics to the song "And The Father Will Dance" by Carey Landry based on the scripture from Zephaniah 3: 14-17, 19-20.