In Purpose, on Purpose

Happy Sunday!

2 Corinthians 5:8-9 Says, “So I say that we have confidence. And we really want to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord. Our only goal is to always please the Lord, whether we are living here in this body or there with him.”(Easy-to-Read Verizon)

My Aunt, Pastor Theaha McClendon transitioned from labor to reward last Monday.  The recurring theme this evening at the wake was how she encouraged, taught, and loved everyone she met. We mourn, and yet we rejoice because we are confident she is with the Lord.  

This excerpt from Ralph Marston also encourages us to live with purpose

Love and prayers, Cynthia

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The Voice of Your Purpose
Actions are an absolute necessity for meaningful accomplishment. So are dreams. 

For if you cannot dream it, and envision it, you will not achieve it. When it tugs at your very soul, that is when you will make it happen. 

You are not an unthinking, unfeeling machine that can blindly serve just any agenda. Your effectiveness comes from your purposeful involvement with what you do. 

There is a reason why you feel everything you feel. Those feelings are the voice of your purpose. 

It is difficult and challenging to follow those dreams that flow from your purpose. Yet when the purpose is true, it will feel stronger than any challenge. 

Listen to the voice of your purpose. Dream and do, and give to life the unique value that is yours to create. 

-- Ralph Marston

Abba Father

Happy Sunday!

Romans 5:7-8 says, "Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person.  But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us."(Easy-to-Read Version).  Don't miss this!  We are so loved by the FATHER that he sent his only son to pay the price for us, even though we were not good enough to deserve it.

It's Father's Day in the USA.  We take time to celebrate the men who have stepped up to the plate, reared their own children, and even raised the children of other men.  We celebrate fathers, step-fathers, god-fathers, uncles, cousins, and neighbors who were willing to invest in the lives of children, and still invest in the lives of adults. They didn't discriminate in their love, they shared it with their families and ours.  This is a godly pursuit.  

Our lesson today in Children's church was about Famous Dads.  Do you know the fathers that made the role call in the Bible?  Adam, the first father.  Methuselah the longest living father.  Job, the father that lost 7 children in one day.  Abraham, the father of faith.  Jacob, the father that showed favoritism.  Moses, the father that led the Israelites out of captivity.   Joshua, the father that led them into the Promised Land.  Boaz, the father that found a beautiful wife in an unlikely place.  David, the father that was a man after God's on heart.  Solomon, the wisest father that encouraged his son to stay away from evil men.  I could go on and on.  But I won't.
Fathers are unique.  Fathers are special.  Fathers are imperfect.  Fathers are necessary.

Our heavenly father has laid out the blueprint for fatherhood.  He understands how hard it is to have hard-headed, stubborn, and ungrateful children.  He knows how easy it is to be misunderstood.  He only wants the best for us, but we think he's out to get us.  He wants us to prosper and be in good health, but we blame him for our calamity.  And yet he still loves us, with an everlasting love.

Romans 8:15 says, "You see, you have not received a spirit that returns you to slavery, so you have nothing to fear. The Spirit you have received adopts you and welcomes you into God’s own family. That’s why we call out to Him, “Abba! Father!” as we would address a loving daddy."(Voice).  Galatians 4:6 says, "And because we are his sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, so now we can rightly speak of God as our dear Father."(Living Bible).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Depressed

Happy Sunday!

Our God is a Great God!  He's the Master of Technology.  It's been said he's the creator of the first technology...Faith.  They say that if you need something, there's always an app for that!  In the same way, there's a scripture for every human condition.  But just like medicine will have no effect if not taken, and taken properly,  the Word of God when not read, studied, believed, and acted upon will not work to cure the ills of humanity.

In light of recent events, let's talk about depression.  A search for "depressed" or "depression" in the King James Version does not get any results.  But searching in other modern translations does.   Psalm 38:6 says, "I am bent and bowed down. I am depressed all day long."(Easy-to-Read Version).  The same scripture in the King James Version says, "I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long."(KJV).   The Psalmist was familiar with the "blues".  But in the last two verses of this psalm he makes a bold statement.  "You are the Lord God!  Stay nearby and don’t desert me. You are the one who saves me.  Please hurry and help."(Psalm 38:21-22, CEV).

Even though he was going through hard times, he knew that God is our Lord, and our Savior.  GOD is ready, willing, and able to save us from any and every situation.  Psalm 42:3-8 is another example..."Day and night I WEEP for his help, and all the while my enemies taunt me. “Where is this God of yours?” they scoff. Take courage, my soul!  Do you REMEMBER those times (but how could you ever forget them!) when you led a great procession to the Temple on festival days, singing with joy, praising the Lord?  Why then be DOWNCAST? Why be discouraged and SAD?  HOPE in God! I shall yet PRAISE him again. Yes, I shall again praise him for his HELP. 
Yet I am standing here DEPRESSED and gloomy, but I will MEDITATE upon your KINDNESS to this lovely land where the Jordan River flows and where Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar stand.  All your waves and billows have gone over me, and floods of sorrow pour upon me like a thundering cataract.  Yet day by day the Lord also pours out his steadfast LOVE upon me, and through the night I SING his songs and PRAY to God who gives me life."(Living Bible).

Don't miss this!  He was crying his eyes out.  He had real life issues and concerns.  His enemies were closing in, and laughing at him.  But he remembered what God had already done.  He stopped to think and asked himself a few questions!  Yes, he was talking to himself, and he was also answering himself.  He made the choice to meditate(to engage in contemplation or reflection), sing, and pray.

If you need help, ask for help.  Don't suffer in silence, and don't allow the enemy to preach his perverted gospel to you.  You are loved, by the Most High God.  You are needed by others that are watching, even when you don't know they are watching.  You are valuable, even if there is no one to tell you how valuable you are.  You can do all things through Christ, but without him the cares of this world will be too much to bear.  God won't put more on you than you can bear, BUT the Devil will try too beat you to a pulp.  He will do everything he can to get you to quit, and give up!  Don't fall for his lies.  He is the Father of lies, so don't expect him to tell you the truth.

The Apostle Paul is a great example to follow.  He went through more than most of us ever will, but he never gave up.  2 Corinthians 4:8-11 says, "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit.  We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.  These bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Jesus did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within who keeps us safe.
Yes, we live under constant danger to our lives because we serve the Lord, but this gives us constant opportunities to show forth the power of Jesus Christ within our dying bodies."(Living Bible).

"I will move past my enemies with this one, sure hope: that with my own eyes, I will see the goodness of the Eternal in the land of the living".(Psalm 27:13, Voice)

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Walk it out...

Happy Sunday!

I hope your week has been good!  My week has been full, but good!  I'm sharing an article from Barry Bennett.  You know I love his Bible teaching.  Hope you enjoy it as well.

Are You Walking By Sight?  by Barry Bennett

For those with well trained dogs, a simple command brings forth instant obedience. Dogs can understand verbal commands, hand signals and even body language and inflections in the voice. The owner of a well-trained dog has faith that his commands will be obeyed. In many cases he doesn’t even have to see the obedience. He knows the dog will carry out the command.

However, the same owner who confronts a strange dog may give the same commands and signals but will only be able to judge the outcome by what he sees. With a strange dog the human must walk by sight. The dog may not obey at all. There is no assurance because there is no relationship. Without relationship there is no authority established.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb. 11:1)

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Only in the realm of relationship and authority can we be certain of that which we don’t see. An instruction to a teenaged son to mow the yard while the parent is away should result in a mowed yard by the time the parent returns. If the relationship is strong and the authority of the parent has been established, there is no need to be concerned for the outcome. In the mind of the parent, the yard is mowed the moment the instruction is given.

In the same way, our faith walk with God is based upon our relationship with Him and our understanding of our delegated authority. God has given us authority over sickness, our emotions, our words, our thoughts and actions and within our sphere of influence. We were created to have dominion in the earth. We should be able to walk by faith, not sight, calling things that are not as though they are.

We should know that in the world of the Spirit, our words have authority. Demons tremble, sicknesses wither, favor surrounds us and blessings overtake us! But if we are unsure of who we are in Christ, we will continue to walk by sight. We will be ruled by circumstances and our own feelings and doubts. We may try to exert influence over the things that come to steal, kill and destroy, but we will only know if we are successful by what we see. Life can be like a big dog that we don’t know.

Faith begins with relationship with God. Relationship will reveal our authority in Christ. Like the Centurion we will be able to say, “I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Mt. 8:9)

Walking by Faith...love and prayers, Cynthia