Valentine's Day= Change

What is it that I want for Valentine's Day? Not change I scream!

As he packs his bags to leave for his trip it's me who stands there with a blank stare on my face as.......he kisses me good-bye and whispers, "quit if you want!"

I had placed them through-out his clothes secretly hiding them in pockets.......I wanted to write my own Valentine's!

What is it that I love? A clean house..................more organization?
What about my heart? What does God see when He looks inside? Maybe it's God who is removing the dead places in me.

It's a new hospital..........but a hospital just the same...............God changing my paths.............me wanting out.....looking for an escape route.........feeling like I can't find my place in this world...............wanting to simply RUN!

Everything changed and opened a new this week!  And I am not capable of stepping out of the boat.(me of so little faith)
I feel like a spoiled brat........Can I really cry the hard because I don't want to do this anymore?............It was the girl brought to me from surgery who has the nothing left but PAIN to endure.
She who has lost everything with the stage 4 cancer that started in her rectum.......moved to her colon.........then to her brain, liver and lungs. It is the all over............and it's me who screams that I only had a 15 min break in 14 hours! Can I really look at her covered up in pain from the bowel that no longer works?  Can I really look at her with tears in my eyes because I simply want to be at home? For what?  Who am I wonder?  I don't think I really know...........because at the end of the day the laundry still piles and there are still crumbs on the counter and beds unmade............and it's then that I remember A perfect organized house is not soul winning...............it's not where the sick and the dying are. It's not the kind of servant-hood Jesus is looking for.
He didn't leave us here on this earth to be saved and sanctified...........He left us here to be at work in service to Him. Our life of service to God is our way of saying; "Thank you for our salvation!"

He wants us to be the CHANGE we want to see in the world!

I am the sad because it's God who is moving me..........changing me...............molding me into something I don't want! I close my eyes and I try to praise Him........but the words don't seem to come..............maybe I am in bondage...............and it's me, (infested with self)  who keeps me there! Maybe I am scared to admit it............is God really good all the time? And He whispers to me..........."I am entrusting you with much." And for those whom much is entrusted much more is demanded! And it's then that the enemy whispers in my ear...........run........run and never look back at any hospital...............It's you with many degrees you can do anything you want...........Why stay at the hospital where people are dying?............. Where feces is running off the bed?   Where vomit hits you in the face?.......where some patients throw their bed-pans at you..........cuss you..... expose you to their diseases......their infections.........some that have no cure............RUN!
RUN from the long shifts with no breaks.......from the day that never ends!
But it all stops when I look into their eyes..........and it's His face that I see...........hurting...........suffering...........stripped of all dignity....I see a Creator who became His creation only to ......... feel pain..........to know suffering........to taste death............so that we would never have too.   It's then that I see a change in their eyes..........when you tell them about the blood of the Lamb who is a river of infinite grace...........I see their eyes change...........right there in a cold dark hospital room........a glimpse of hope...........as if His very presence swoops down in that room and our ever present God who's voice is louder than any enemies........who is willing to offer a drink from the living waters for anyone who thirsts for Him. And I don't understand why He would chose me..............someone who craves the easy....who doesn't know suffering...........who only wants to run...........but I slip my hand in hers.........she is only 47.................she looks at me the strange and it's me who has something to say........and I risk it....I tell her; "that in the midst of a world of pain it is a subject for praise in every place!" "That our souls were never created to LOVE the dust of this earth!" For there is power in the blood of Calvary!......(quoted from ;the valley of vision-prayer book)

Maybe getting out of the boat is to testify to the hurt and the dying that God is long suffering!

Psalm 86:15;

¹⁵But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

 God is forever moving..........refusing to stand still even for a moment.... sometimes asking us to get out of the boat even when it's uncomfortable or hard.........because we serve a God who is looking to and fro for anyone who will TRUST Him or............have FAITH in Him.................or someone willing to keep their eyes on Him! Wanting to show us through pain.............through suffering...........a piece of Him...........His goodness.............His grace.................and to know that even bad things can be used.......for our good........and His glory even when we can't see it!
I beg to breath............in grace...........His grace for all to be well within my soul!

It is simple really we only need to step out of the boat into the unknown.......uncharted waters diving deep into His promises and fulfillment's. Join me want you?

Jeremiah 29:11;

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

all of grace,
Robbie

Weekends are for AGAPE love

Agape is love which is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself.

 AGAPE love.................... means self-sacrifice!

 The Apostle John affirms this in 1 John 4:8: “God is love.” God does not merely love; He is love itself.

He loves the unlovable and the unlovely (us!)

In the same way, we are to love others sacrificially!

May this weekend be one of loving...............one not based on a feeling......but a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve to put the welfare of others above our own.

Blessings sweet friends,

all is well

Robbie

The Grace of the Cross

Pondering these things in my heart in the wee hours of the morning.........before light breaks.
From the saints before us:

O My Savior,
I thank thee from the depths of my being
for thy wondrous grace and love
     in bearing my sin in thine own body on the tree.
May thy cross be to me
as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs,
as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty,
as the brazen serpent that calls forth the look of faith.
By thy cross CRUCIFY my every sin;
Use it to increase my intimacy with thyself;
Make it ground of all my comfort,
     the liveliness of all my duties,
     the sum of all thy gospel promises,
     the comfort of all my afflictions,
     the vigour of my love, thankfulness, graces,
     the very essence of my religion;
And by it give me that rest without rest,
the rest of ceaseless praise.

O MY LORD AND SAVIOR,
Thou hast also appointed a cross for me to take up and carry,
                                          a cross before thou givest me a crown.
Thou hast appointed it to be my portion,
but self-love hates it,
carnal reason is unreconciled to it;
without the grace of patience I cannot bear it,
                                                                   walk with it, profit by it.
O blessed cross, what mercies dost thou bring with thee!
Thou art only esteemed hateful by my rebel wills,
heavy because I shirk thy load.
Teach me, gracious Lord and Saviour,
that with my cross thou sendest promised grace
   so that I may bear it patiently,
that my cross is thy yoke which is easy,
        and thy burden which is light.

Why did you do it? Stay up there on that cross?
You our Creator...........took it all............ the sin of the world upon yourself for us your creation.
You put on skin to feel it..........to taste it..........to die......all for us!
The veil was torn from top to bottom..............but it is us your creation that continues trying to stitch that curtain back together to hang it between the Creator and us His creation!

You did it because you didn't want to be separated from us your creation............so the whole earth could be full of your Glory!
You washed away our sins with your blood that dripped that day on Calvary.
You removed the barrier and Satan has helped Religion put the curtain back up to keep us separated from you.
Religion has helped us think that you putting on flesh wasn't enough!
We "Christians," are the walking dead when in reality we are supposed to be ALIVE IN CHRIST!

When I truly think about what He did..........my breath catches in my throat and it's then that I want to fall to my knees and cry out.............."holy, holy, holy!"
I feel it in my whole body.........He loves us! He truly loves us!

Today is the day of remembering...........that He loves you............He loves me......and now is the moment that we can truly learn to LIVE! Live willing to allow ourselves to be poured out so He can pour in!





all of grace,
Robbie

Roses are red

I count the petals falling...............it's on my way to cook dinner last night that I stop..... I count.
It's quiet falling. It's grace...............His grace that gently falls our way.
But am I focused? Focused on all the grace that so gently has landed on my path? Or am I focused on me...me....me.

Some days I fight to cling to my reality..............of the daily starting over and over again with the unmade beds the dishes piled high.......... the phone that never stops ringing.......... days that seem to be running together all the while I am murmuring.......... 24 hours is never enough!

The truth is what do I see when I look in the mirror?
Do I see another day of grace? Or more lines on my face..........Can beauty be purchased?
Isn't beauty supposed to be in the eye of the beholder?

We are His vessels waiting and needing to be filled with living waters..........the beauty is in the here and now. The beauty is the gift of growing older...........the grey hair and lines on my face....it is all a gift!
It is the gift of time.........time to grow into obedience.........to become living sacrifices.
I don't want to miss it...... the moment of being transformed..........into His likeness.
He is our beauty that was broken for you and for me!  It isn't about the..........growing older but the chance to grow closer to the one who gave His all.

All the days to come I wish to be a womb for God.........for time is short...........I will pray to be a dwelling place for the most High King.  Even when the world keeps me spinning I will whisper; "come dwell come dwell!"

And when I see my reflection again in the mirror it's not me that I see.............it's His grace He has allowed for another day!

Matthew 5:5;

You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.



all is well,
Robbie



the gifts in the now:

husband sitting close at church
warmer weather
coffee in the morning
microwave that is broke
the dishwasher handle falling to the floor
the youngest teen saying God laid something on her heart
the teens learning the power of His name when they are scared; JESUS
riding with the windows down in the old truck with the dog
growing older
more lines on my face
grey hair
realizing that this world is not my home
letting go of fear
embracing joy
counting blessings

Weekends are for praising Him

May your weekend be one of praising the King,

Psalm 105

¹ Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done. ² Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
³ Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
⁴ Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.



Praise is like a flower blooming..............it's in the moments of now.  Breathing in grace and exhaling praises.


all of grace,
The Sisters

Humility

God's grace is all around us............Am I quiet enough to hear it?  See it?  Feel it? 
     When I first heard the word "haughtiness," I had no idea what this word meant? I had been praying the long............seeking the face of God and I asked the Holy Spirit to reveal to me anything in my heart that I needed to ask for forgiveness for.............it was then I heard the word for the first time...."haughtiness."     I had to google it to look up the meaning............and it said:

disdainfully proud; snobbish; scornfully arrogant; but at the end.........there it was in bold letters........."PRINCESS PRIDE."

Wow I thought me with my wretched self now I can add "princess pride."

Humility is what I seek...................maybe this is the start to seeing myself as I truly am............but with the door of humility beginning to swing wide open!

Is this the moment I have been praying for?................The one where I can release my grip and surrender my all?

But it is me with my fists clinched tight.  Scared to release to the prayers murmured in the quiet.
Scared of the breaking.............the dying of self.

It's the dawn and it's me who fumbles through prayer. Feeling stiff neck and lost. Die to self I say it over and over again. But "the flesh is the strong," I scream............there is a war that is waging for my very own soul.

If I put on the Armor of God and wear humility then would I not be afraid to die?
Jesus was the meaning to humility when He allowed himself to be nailed to a cross.


Philippians 2:8

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Isaiah 66:2
² Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the LORD.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.

He made Himself the very least of these.........coming into a mess for the stentch of my sin and yours.
Could I humble myself just a little more............to die to self is to break yourself from pride.....or should I say........"princess pride."
He who washed the feet of His disciples...........showing the true meaning of humility..........and servant- hood. And in a striking demonstration of LOVE for His enemies when He washed the feet of Judas.

Because of the Cross we humans can understand HUMILITY......which must serve as a model for us all.

We must continue to bend............into the places that are messy where people are not the pretty and serve..........because we serve a Savior who came to be a servant!

Join me this week in learning to bend the lower...........because lower is where we just might see His face!

all is well,
Robbie

Jerusalem

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south....(Zechariah 14:4)

When God chose Abraham.............He made a covenant with him....God WILL NEVER break His covenant with Israel!

The tide is turning......................toward Israel!
We must PRAY daily for the peace of Jerusalem. This is the only city that we are to pray for that is MANDATED in the bible!
  
Psalm 122:6;
Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.

Romans 10:1;

¹ Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.


By God's GRACE and MERCY........we have been grafted in.

Matthew 24:9;

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

No matter what Israel does she is condemned.........it is a double standard.  They are constantly told:

"RESTRAIN!" While numerous bombs are being dropped daily on their schools, homes with innocent people being killed.

Genesis 12:3;
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Haggai 2:4-9;

⁴ But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ⁵ ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

⁶ “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. ⁸ ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ⁹ ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”


Pray to see through biblical eyes...........stop listening to the news and man look to the Word of God...........it is because of the Jews that God has blessed us with so much! Peace will come one-day to Israel and all of Israel will be saved! That is a fact!
There are some churches and pastors that preach the Church has taken the place of Israel.....THIS IS NOT TRUE......-that is called REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY!!! If you hear this in your church RUN!!!! The Church and Israel are SEPARATE...... The Church is us the Gentiles who were grafted in and we are the "Bride of Christ."  Israel is from the seed of Abraham.........Israel is the WIFE OF GOD!!!!

We the church have to be in the world but not of it.

Join me will you in daily praying for this incredible place that God himself chose!

all is well,
Robbie


Please take the time to read this article; excellent explanation of what Replacement Theology truly is:


Replacement Theology
by Anonymous, 1989

---

There is a lot of confusion going around these days about God's
promises, even among our own ranks here at (unnamed organization).
I'd like to take this opportunity to dispel a little of the confusion.
There is a powerful movement afoot called Replacement Theology
which states that the church is Israel and the promises given to
Israel were primarily for the church. This movement is
incurring the wrath of God, as it increasingly condemns the
nation of Israel as illegitimate, which is natural for folks who
believe the church has replaced Israel. Even among those who
still hold to Israel to one degree or another, there seems to be
a propensity for yanking Old Testament promises out of the Bible
-- and, I might add, out of context -- and indiscriminately
applying them to modern church situations. The tendency is to
select those promises which fit church theology (like healing,
prosperity, victory) and ignore those which do not (like
punishment for rebellion, keeping of feasts, sacrifices). To
set the record straight: the church did not yet exist when
those promises were given, and they were not given to Israel as
a "type" of the church until the church should inherit them.
The Old Testament promises were given to Israel, and they apply
to Israel. Many of them ALSO apply to the church in a general
way, and many of them apply to all nations in a general way, and
many of them apply only to Israel. We have got to quit assuming
that just because some teacher of the Word says the Bible says
something is ours, that it is. We must understand the situation
and context in which the promises were given -- promises of
blessing and/or cursing, of redemption, et-cetera -- before we
can understand the promises themselves.
Let's take as an example 2 Chronicles 7:14. Most people today
are familiar with that verse, but unfortunately the vast
majority of the church in America seems to have gotten the idea
somewhere -- not from God -- that the promise is to America. It
most assuredly is not. Let us read the passage in its context
(2 Chronicles 7:11-20):
Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the
king's palace, and successfully completed all that
he had planned on doing in the house of the Lord and
in his palace. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at
night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer,
and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of
sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens so that there
is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the
land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and
My people who are called by My Name [over whom My
Name is called] humble themselves and pray, and seek
My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land. Now My eyes shall be open and
My ears attentive the prayer of this place. For now
I have chosen and consecrated this house that My
Name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart
will be there perpetually."
The context here is the completion and dedication of the temple
in Israel. Note God's promise concerning "this house".
Speaking to Israel, the Lord promised to forgive the nation and
heal the land if the nation would repent. The entire nation is
called "My people". Israel is called by God's Name. This
promise was NOT given to Japan, Albania, or the United States,
none of which is a nation "called by My Name". Unfortunately,
we in western society have twisted the meaning for our own
supposed benefit to allegedly say, "If My people which are
called by My Name (the Christians within the country) ..." But
it does not say that. Now the promise CAN apply to a nation
other than Israel in a general way: certainly if any nation
(America included) will repent, God will restore the nation and
forgive the sin and heal the land. The key is the distinction
between who is Israel and who is not. If the church is Israel,
then one can truly say, "If the believers will repent and pray,
I'll restore their land." But believers have already repented,
or else they wouldn't be believers! The confusion comes from
erroneously assuming the church is modern "spiritual Israel",
having replaced national Israel. It does not say "If the
Christians will pray and intercede and repent". Repent of what?
The believers are already the righteousness of God in Jesus, and
it's not for the righteousness of the believing 1% that America
will be judged, but for the sin of the wicked 99% who refuse to
repent. The promise concerns a NATION repenting, not God's
people WITHIN A NATION repenting and praying. We are the temple
of the Holy Spirit, it is true, but our repentance does not
nullify the justice and righteousness of God. He cannot leave
America unjudged and remain a righteous judge!
Elsewhere in the Bible we find the answer to how God deals with
a wicked nation where a few people are righteous. This is one
of those passages the modern Word of Faith and Kingdom Now
people like to avoid, because it pretty well debunks their
misinterpretation of 2 Chronicles 7:14. This is found in
Ezekiel 14:13-20, and it is one of those places which speaks of
all nations in general (starting with verse 21 -- not quoted
here -- the Lord starts to apply it directly to Israel):
"Son of man, if a country sins against Me by
committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand
against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine
against it, and cut off from it both man and beast,
even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job
were in its midst, by their own righteousness they
could only deliver themselves," declares the Lord
God. "If I were to cause wild beasts to pass
through the land, and they bereave of children, and
it became desolate so that no one would pass through
it because of the beasts, though these three men
were in its midst, as I live," declares the Lord
God, "they could not deliver either their sons or
their daughters. They alone would be delivered, but
the country would be desolate. Or if I should bring
a sword on that country and say, 'Let the sword pass
through the country and cut off man and beast from
it,' even though these three men were in its midst,
as I live," declares the Lord God, "they could not
deliver either their sons or their daughters, but
they alone would be delivered. Or if I should send
a plague against that country and pour out My wrath
in blood on it, to cut off man and beast from it,
even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst,
as I live," declares the Lord God, "they could not
deliver either their son or their daughter. They
would deliver only themselves by their
righteousness."
Can our righteousness deliver America? What does God say about
it? The only people who will be delivered are the righteous,
and we've got to quit praying out of God's will and asking Him
to deliver the wicked, because He is a righteous and just God
and He will judge sin. The smart thing is to get your sin
judged on the cross so you're free of it and you don't get
judged yourself. We need to pray for people to get saved, and
for wisdom for our leaders, and whatever else the Word tells us
to do. But know this: God is about to judge this nation. It
is His will to do so, indeed, He MUST do so. It is NOT His will
that any perish, but that all be saved. Nevertheless, Scripture
is clear that God hates sin, and He will destroy the nation that
continues to sin. He will also leave a righteous remnant.
The next time you hear someone quoting 2 Chronicles 7:14 over
America and admonishing you to pray for restoration of America,
just remember God isn't going to restore America. God is
restoring Israel now, and human government is coming to an end,
because the Messiah is about to return as King of kings and Lord
of lords; and soon the Word will be fulfilled which says, "The
kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and
He shall reign forever and ever." Why should God put off
Messiah's return so Americans could enjoy a few more years of
materialism and debauchery? We need to get in on what God is
doing, not try to make Him conform to American Christianity and
an American Jesus.