When your feeling lowly

You lift the lowly.........and humble the proud:  to feed us together at your table.


     "We are called to be contemplatives in the heart of the world- by SEEKING the FACE of GOD in everything, everyone, everywhere, all the time, and his hand in every happening;  seeing and adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing disguise of the poor."----
(Mother Teresa)



May your weekend be filled with seeking............the face of God in everything you do- because we have experienced his grace.................let us in return this weekend show grace to someone else!

all of grace,
The Yahweh Sister's

The Seed

Within the man, God had placed a divine seed. A seed of his self. The God of might had created earth's mightiest. The Creator had created, not a creature, but another creator. And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return... Max Lucado (In the Eye of the Storm)

     Every true Christian is impregnated with eternal life.. When you ask God to come into your life, and you believe with all your heart, then you are impregnated with the seed of God. People ask me all the time; How will I know that I have the Holy Spirit living in me? I heard someone explain it this way. It is like becoming pregnant. You take a pregnancy test, and it is positive. That is one of the most exciting times in your life. In the beginning, no one can tell you are pregnant except you know a baby is growing inside of you. You tell family and friends and everyone seems to be looking at your belly but the baby is only a tiny seed. No one can look at you and tell that there is a baby inside of you. It takes nine months for this miracle to happen. As the months march on your belly starts to show signs of the miracle inside of you. Then people around you start to notice that you are pregnant! It is the same with God, when you ask him into your heart he takes up residency in you. You are full of excitement and you start to see things differently. But no one can look at you and see that you have the seed of the Holy Spirit implanted in you. It takes time for that seed to grow and bear fruit. It is within us an ever-growing, ever-expanding process that develops over the rest of your life. It will eventually grow from a tiny seed to a new form of life. The old self dies.
Philippians 1:21, To die is to gain!
     Your desires will change, your interests will be different. I will warn you that sometimes it is a very lonely place. Even your friends start to change. God will prune you and burn things off until he is able to see his reflection in you. This process is painful. I once heard a pastor say if we don't appear weird to the general public then we are not living our life for God! How hard is it for us to be different? I am a people pleaser so this is very hard for me to not want to please everyone around me. To give up our fleshly lives for the King who died for us is a life long process. The good news is that God knew this was the hardest thing we would ever have to face and He knew we could not do it on our own. That is why He sent Jesus!

     The acts of sin-ful nature will start to leave a bad taste in your mouth. The music you usually listen to will no longer sound good to you anymore. TV shows that you usually watch, something inside of you tells you that you can't watch that show anymore. The friends who curse with every word you no longer want to hang with. You will want to turn from your sinful nature willingly. This will be a desire you have that you will want to do FREELY, it is called free will.

     You will start to show signs of the Fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,peace,patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 5:23, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The fruit of the spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The spirit produces these character traits change within us. We can't get them on our own. We have to have the awesome help from the Holy Spirit. If you want this seed implanted by God himself to grow and bear good fruit then you have to join your life with His. Ask Him into your heart. We must know Him and love Him; and imitate Him in all we do.
     This doesn't mean however that, that we will never see traces of evil desires again. As Christians we still have the ability to sin, but we have been set free from sin's power over us. We no longer have to give in to it. We must commit daily our sinful tendencies to God's control, daily crucify them, and moment by moment draw on the spirit's power to overcome them.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, your chains have been broken, you are set free! Don't go back into the same pit over and over again like I do. Use your freedom to live for Christ and serve him as he desires...

Galatians 6:17-18, Let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18,The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, amen...


praying my seed is growing,
Robbie

Love and Wisdom

Love and Seek True Wisdom

"I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me" (Proverbs 8:17).      Wisdom loves her lovers and seeks her seekers. He is already wise who seeks to be wise, and he has almost found wisdom who diligently seeks her. What is true of wisdom in general is specially true of wisdom embodied in our LORD Jesus. Him we are to love and to seek, and in return we shall enjoy His love and find Himself. Our business is to seek Jesus early in life. Happy are the young whose morning is spent with Jesus! It is never too soon to seek the LORD Jesus. Early seekers make certain finders. We should seek Him early by diligence. Thriving tradesmen are early risers, and thriving saints seek Jesus eagerly. Those who find Jesus to their enrichment give their hearts to seeking Him. We must seek Him first, and thus earliest. Above all things Jesus. Jesus first and nothing else even as a bad second. The blessing is that He will be found. He reveals Himself more and more clearly to our search.... Happy men who seek One who, when He is found, remains with them forever, a treasure growingly precious to their hearts and understandings. LORD Jesus, l have found Thee; be found of me to an unutterable degree of joyous satisfaction. Charles Spurgeon

Today I woke up to it pouring rain outside. I love hearing the rain coming down on a fall day; it is truly my favorite time of the year.... I was so determined to spend some quality time alone with God. It is so easy to get side tracked in this thing called LIFE.....
I couldn't wait for all the girls to be at school so I could have some alone time with God and to get some things accomplished around the house that I have neglected lately. I poured a big cup of coffee and settled down to dive deep into God's word. After praying and reading some scripture, my 15 year old came down stairs to tell me she had just thrown up and that she didn't feel good. I thought no not today!!! Please Lord!!
Sometimes when I wake up, I pray for God to give me the strength and the love that I need to love my girls the way they deserve to be loved. Having three girls and two of them being teenagers is like trying to break wild horses... I am amazed at how strong willed they are, and how much they enjoy feeding their flesh!!! This world is so intoxicating to them.
Not knowing God until around 5 years ago has hurt me more than just the old relationships in my life where I have held onto my costume closet. I feel that it has affected my children as well. Even though my children were young when we started making God our priority, I sometimes feel I wasted very important years of their life not knowing him. I always believed in him and feared him. I said prayers with the girls etc. I used God like a shopping mall, only going to look for him when I needed something. It was like buying a new outfit for a special occasion. I only called on God when I had a crisis in my life.
This is one of the saddest parts of my past, because if He had come back during that time in my life He would have said those words that still make me cry today; "DEPART FROM ME, I NEVER KNEW YOU." It is so hard for me to even hear those words today, it breaks my heart for people I know , friends that I have that are in the same place that I myself have been.
So after my daughter went back upstairs to bed, I decided to try again to spend time with God. It wasn't long when the phone rang and my daughter who is in elementary school was in the nurse's station with a temp of 102.4 and throwing up. I could have cried!!! I wanted to hang a white sock or something at the end of my driveway on the mail box that said "I GIVE UP". "I SURRENDER". Maybe this is the part of my "heart" work that God is doing in me. She has been so sick lately and of course my flesh is wondering why? why? do parents send their child to school with a fever so my child can catch their virus!!! My 10 year old is the only and the first confirmed flu this year on Aug. 30!!! Can you believe that? And I thought here we go again, it hasn't even been a month since she had the flu. Maybe this is why I am so downcast? Angry? Or maybe God is wanting me to just BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!!!
As the day went on time just flew by and then my 15 year decides to pick a fight with me and wants to go hang out at a friends house and then go to a young life meeting. I reminded her that she was sick etc. She screamed how it was for a church thing "young life, " and how can I say no to a church thing. She knows that I will cave if it is anything to do with church. Her attitude proceeded to get worse and then her friends pulled up to pick her up. Sean has such a diverse group of friends. I love her friends so much. The friend that was picking her up today is from a different country. I love when all the girls stay at my house on the weekends. On Friday nights they will come home from a football game and run into my room to lay across my bed and talk with me. It is in those moments that are such treasures from God. He opens doors that give me an opportunity to talk with Sean's friends about God. Some of them are from a different religious background. This one young lady that stays at my house a lot I had not met her mom yet. So when they drove up to pick up my child, Sean slammed my front door so hard the glass shook. Well the flesh kicked in and I ran after her screaming for her to come back. I opened the door screaming and running like a crazy woman and then I saw the mom was in the drivers seat; we have never met before. I almost slipped because I was running so fast in socks and it had been raining for 2 days. Here comes this screaming woman out with socks pulled up to my knees in the rain chasing her daughter. Lord help me........ All this time these teenagers come to my house to pick up Sean and not once has there ever been an adult with them. They are all 16 and driving. Here I am supposed to be living my life as an example for Christ and I am running like I am possessed.

What are we "Christians known for?"; "What am I known for?"; Am I living my life so when people look at me they see Jesus? Are you?
1 John 2:6; Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did...
Jesus walked the straight and narrow path. We know how Jesus walked, by his word. What are your actions showing about you? We know what my actions just showed about me! lol
It is so easy to be real at home. This is where we feel safe to lay the masks down.
But our children are watching, our spouse is watching. How do we treat them behind closed doors? How do we respond when we are angry? Hurt?
Psalm 119:1; Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.....God's word is our guide to living a blameless life. It is our GPS. It is our everything. We can't forget to start this walk in our homes. Just because it is where we are most real, most comfortable. God himself has placed his righteousness in us.
King David was a man after God's own heart. But he was so busy building God's kingdom he neglected to tell his own children the greatness of God. Whoever claims to know Jesus must also live it out at home. I don't want to be that person who has a heart for God and fails to show my family the true greatness of God. It is our responsibility to teach them God's ways by living what we learn in God's word. By the way we react to our own circumstances. Our situations are nothing compared to the awesome promises of God!!!!
God Bless,
Robbie


(asking for grace today a quiet re post......new teen just moved in; it has been a little crazy)

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Weekends are for transparency

NO double-dealing must the Christian man have... No playing fast and loose with God or man. No hypocritical professions or false principles. HE MUST BE AS TRANSPARENT AS GLASS.

                                                                                         Charles Spurgeon


May your weekend be one of learning to be transparent........... as glass.
Genuine spiritual transparency begins with communion with God.


all of grace,
Robbie

Commitment

" O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you, leaning and believing on you, committing all and confidently looking to you, and that without fear or misgiving. " Psalm 84:12

" Roll your works upon the Lord, commit and trust them wholly to him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to his will, and so shall your plans be established and succeed." Proverbs 16:3

"..... you are not your own..... For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6: 18-20

Quality relationships are founded on the rock of commitment, not the shifting sand of feelings or emotions. God calls us to be people of commitment, first to him and then to others.

" The Lord's eyes range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 2 Chronicles 19:9

Why am I so afraid of "taking that next step"? Am I afraid of what God truly has in store for me? Am I afraid of what it will "cost" me to give my all to him?

I think it is all of them.

What would the sacrifice be? What would I have to give up? I feel that it is time, time to take that next step. I am sitting in the "puddle" when I could be in the pond. Am I satisfied with the pleasure of the puddle, when I could be stretched out in the pond. What is holding me back?

Would I be letting go of " control"? Stepping out in faith.

The only way to be truly committed, is to step out.... to take it one minute at a time. To pray through every situation. I feel like I am in a " tug of war" between walking in the flesh and walking in the spirit. The flesh is fun, the flesh doesn't demand me to change. I can continue to be "self- centered", thinking of others, only if it is convenient for me...... Wow that hurts when you really sit down and think of all that I am not.... I consider others after I consider "ME"......

I

I'm ready to be committed to God- to take that next step..... It will cost me something! Look what Jesus did for us! He does not want us to be separated from him. He wants a relationship with him.  First.... I will get in his word.... not one scripture here and there, but REALLY get in his word. At work this week, one of my co-workers said that she was "spiritual", but did not want a relationship with God- she believed, but did not anything more.  I felt a "stab" inside. How sad... I not only want a closer relationship with God, but I want to be a light... A light that leads others to Jesus.

Draw me closer- Father- closer to you!

Amy

A God who still performs miracles

I grabbed my bible and notes to sit with God before the teen bible study started. I was sitting at the dining room table praying and felt this over-whelming urge to cook dinner for them right away. I quickly dismissed it thinking why would I cook at 2pm the girls don't arrive until 430 or 5pm. As I started praying again the nudging came even stronger than before. I remember standing up turning my  oven on thinking, "this is crazy....why am I cooking this early?"  But once the food was in the oven I felt peace.

 I could hear workers cutting down trees and it sounded like it was happening in my front yard.

 I finished up my lesson and realized that it was around 4pm and the teens would be arriving soon. As I stood up I heard a loud boom and my power was gone....It was 4:15pm.

I ran out side on my front porch and saw tree cutters and I felt anger and frustration start to rise inside of me........... thinking; "they must have cut my power by mystake!" Teens started pulling into my driveway left and right without me noticing because I am screaming and waving my arms like a crazy woman to the tree crew saying, "HEY, you cut my power!!!!!!" They ignored me and it was then that I started thinking, "Are they just dumb?"

I wasn't even wearing any shoes as I stormed off my porch and across the street I went screaming STOP you cut my power!!!!
     It was then one of them looked at me and shut his machine off and started walking towards me.
He said, " Can I help you?" I was very agitated by this point with all the noise... the power off the no air in the 100 degree heat......"Can you help me?" YES....YOU cut off my power and I have a teen bible study starting!!!! As soon as I said those words "BIBLE STUDY," I wished I hadn't. My behavior was not radiating Jesus. He said ma'am if you will walk over this way and look down the street you can clearly see that a tree (NOT RELATED TO ANYTHING WE ARE DOING FELL ON THE POWER BOX.) "The whole neighborhood is out!" I have never felt so small as at that moment. I held my head down and murmured, "I am so sorry." As I was walking back to my house feeling like I had yet again let my father down-thinking maybe this person needed to know Jesus and I just blew it! It is then that I hear, "ma'am...I think there is something I am supposed to tell you. I turn around and when I did-something drew me to his eyes- I felt like I was being pulled in-to his eyes. Like I was looking deep into the core of his soul and it was there that I saw him................"JESUS."
     This young man had holes up and down the sides of his ear lobes. He looked like he hadn't had a bath in weeks. His clothes were the torn kind with holes from the hard work. His face had not been shaved in days. It looked like maybe he had chosen a life that was not so "holy."
But when I looked into his eyes, deep into his eyes I saw something that took me to my knees.
I gasped- the tears that stung my face even before he could tell me what he had to tell me.
He said: I keep trying to ignore this feeling that I must share with you a story that recently happened to me........... You know all the storms that have been sweeping through the south and destroying peoples lives? I said yes......."Well a few of my friends and I figured since we are tree cutters that maybe we could help those who are less fortunate than us-(I said less fortunate than you?) So we gathered our tools and just started driving.
     I have never seen anythings so bad in my life! A few buddies of mine where helping with cleaning up this large area of trees etc and one of my buddies saw this blue cooler (now there were household items scattered everywhere; household items were blown for miles) but for some strange reason we opened it! It nearly scarred us to death because when we opened the cooler we had the surprise of our life---- there was a 3 year old little boy curled up inside the cooler-sleeping.....we thought he was dead. I fell back I was so scared he was dead and then out of no-where he popped up his little head with his dirty little face and started crying.......my buddies were so relieved and couldn't believe what they had just seen.....A MIRACLE......we all started crying and screaming full of joy...........and my friend starting asking the little boy questions- "How did you get into this cooler?" The little boy started crying real hard and screamed......."THE MAN WITH THE WINGS PUT ME HERE........THE MAN WITH THE WINGS!!!!!!!"
By this time I was crying so hard that my husband was driving home from work and saw me standing with this strange guy crying he thought the guy had hurt me in some way and ran over to me. I couldn't even get the words out to tell him the story......  The young man had to tell my husband what he had just told me and we both stood there like we were standing in front of an empty tomb---Was I just listening to an ANGEL speak? I ran home terrified full of joy....wanting to share with the teens what had just happened!
     I don't know who this guy was but I can tell you there was something very HOLY about him. He who looked like he didn't have much........he who looked like life had not been the kind.......I had just stood there feeling like I had been at the feet of Jesus......something so tangible, so real.....something that I could hold on-to. I tried to choke back my joyful sobs as I told the teens.
     The beauty that spilled forth that day from the most unlikely source. That day I bent down low- cried out to the King.....whispering over and over again my thank you's for speaking to broken down me. Just like the woman at the tomb I stood there trembling....full of joy. Because who wouldn't tremble standing at the feet of Jesus? With just a glimpse- a glimpse of a God who still performs miracles even today!

Isn't it interesting that my food was done on time and I could feed my teens?

all of grace,

Robbie

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