Friday, November 6, 2009
Joy of the Lord
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:10-12
Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
Did you know that there are 188 scriptures in the bible about joy? There is a certain peace that comes from knowing that you are doing things God’s way. Having the joy of the Lord is not necessarily being silly happy all the time, it is merely having that quiet knowing that no matter what comes your way, you know you have God to turn to. It’s a happiness that can only come from God. Yes, there will be tears in your life, but His word says that sorrow only lasts for the night and His joy comes in the morning! “This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)
Scripture reading: 1 Peter 1: 1-12
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Hope
Did you ever have a time when your relationship with God just wasn't what it should be? When you had questions that no one could answer? Really hard questions? I have. This is a hard one for me because I have been a Christian for a long time and I should have my act together by now right? Wrong. I'm sharing this because I know there have got to be more people out there that struggle or have struggled with the same thing. I was on my way home from praise and worship practice last night and I was just numb to the whole thing. I turned on the radio and a song came on that described how I felt to a "t". It is by Nicol Sponberg called "Resurrection". She sings of her heart being lifeless and cold, how she's used up all her strength and has nothing left to give. She goes on to sing how God is the only one who can take her empty shell and raise it from the dead.
As I cried I could hear in my spirit the word "hope". I got up this morning and looked up all the scriptures I could on hope. There were 150 to start. Psalm 31:24 says "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD. Psalm 71:14 says "But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more." I may not ever have all my questions answered but I do know this - I know God is real and I know the devil is real. I know the devil is everything evil so God has to be everything good. My hope is that one day I will be able to accept God's love the way He meant it to be accepted. My hope is that one day I will be able to worship Him the way He deserves to be worshipped. My hope is that these words will help someone else find hope......
As I cried I could hear in my spirit the word "hope". I got up this morning and looked up all the scriptures I could on hope. There were 150 to start. Psalm 31:24 says "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD. Psalm 71:14 says "But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more." I may not ever have all my questions answered but I do know this - I know God is real and I know the devil is real. I know the devil is everything evil so God has to be everything good. My hope is that one day I will be able to accept God's love the way He meant it to be accepted. My hope is that one day I will be able to worship Him the way He deserves to be worshipped. My hope is that these words will help someone else find hope......
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Put your spiritual foot down
This is a little devotional I started a couple of years ago.........
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2-3
God said that we would have trials and tribulations, He said that that Satan would send “fiery darts”. He also said that the testing of our faith produces patience. See, faith is like a muscle, if you don’t work it it won’t get strong. God does not respond to need - if He did no one would want for anything - He responds to faith. When a hard time comes, don’t despair! God is never late - He is always right on time. Don’t just hope the devil will go away, put your spiritual foot down, have faith in the Word, and he HAS to go away!!
Scripture Study: Ephesians 6:10-20
In His love from the kitchen table,
Kelly
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2-3
God said that we would have trials and tribulations, He said that that Satan would send “fiery darts”. He also said that the testing of our faith produces patience. See, faith is like a muscle, if you don’t work it it won’t get strong. God does not respond to need - if He did no one would want for anything - He responds to faith. When a hard time comes, don’t despair! God is never late - He is always right on time. Don’t just hope the devil will go away, put your spiritual foot down, have faith in the Word, and he HAS to go away!!
Scripture Study: Ephesians 6:10-20
In His love from the kitchen table,
Kelly
Thursday, October 15, 2009
From the Flowerbed
These are some posts that I did a little while back - thought I would post them here....
So I was outside this morning watering my flowers and I was noticing that I have a lot of weeds - (I didn't get mulch this year) - they are the same weeds that I noticed last week, but today they were bigger - so God says to me - "the weeds are symbolic to the bad habits, wrong thoughts, & wrong actions in your life - when you pull them up as soon ... Read Moreas you notice them they come up easily - the longer you wait the deeper the roots and the harder it is to get rid of them. Once you get rid of all the weeds, the mulch is symbolic of my covering - an occasional weed may pop up, but it is very noticeable and easily removed!"
so, here are more profound thoughts from Kelly's flower bed - I was looking at my pink hibiscus and thinking how pretty it is when I noticed some dead leaves. I plucked them off one by one and before long a once pretty plant was now gorgeous. God does that to our lives when we let Him - He removes the dead, unproductive things from our lives that weigh us down (pruning) to reveal a more beautiful, productive you!
more from the flower bed - I have noticed that my prized hibiscus haven't been producing many flowers lately-I haven't exactly been taking very good care of them-only been watering them sporadically, not pulling weeds, etc.- yesterday we got that real good downpour and this morning I had lots of blossoms-we must "drench" ourselves in the Word of God EVERYDAY & be mindful to pull "spiritual weeds" so that we blossom!
got some more wisdom after I read my sister's comment about roots - during Hurricane Ike I had staked my all my hibiscus down on 2 sides - they did ok during the first part of the storm but when the winds shifted the Tx Stars nearly came up out of the ground - the Double Peach otoh was fine - the DP had been there ... Read Morelonger, was stronger and had roots that went way down - the TX Stars were little when I planted them so there roots weren't as deep - I know now that if I had used more & stronger stakes they would have fared better - as it was I had to cut them back to the ground-the good news is that they came back this spring better and much stronger! It is important to be deeply rooted in the Word of God-the storms of life will come, no doubt but God's "invincible stakes" which is His Word - will keep your roots from coming up in the worst of storms.
more from the flower bed - I hate to admit it but I haven't been pulling weeds like I should. They are about to take over my flower bed - the weeds are pulling the nutrients & moisture from the flowers causing my flower bed not to flourish -... the point is if you pull the weeds as they come up they don't have a chance of taking over - you have to be diligent and faithful to keep the weeds out of your flower bed! one side note - the longer you let the weeds grow, you get to a point where you don't notice them that much anymore - they become the norm - take a step back, pull the weeds and see what beauty lies beneath!
So I was outside this morning watering my flowers and I was noticing that I have a lot of weeds - (I didn't get mulch this year) - they are the same weeds that I noticed last week, but today they were bigger - so God says to me - "the weeds are symbolic to the bad habits, wrong thoughts, & wrong actions in your life - when you pull them up as soon ... Read Moreas you notice them they come up easily - the longer you wait the deeper the roots and the harder it is to get rid of them. Once you get rid of all the weeds, the mulch is symbolic of my covering - an occasional weed may pop up, but it is very noticeable and easily removed!"
so, here are more profound thoughts from Kelly's flower bed - I was looking at my pink hibiscus and thinking how pretty it is when I noticed some dead leaves. I plucked them off one by one and before long a once pretty plant was now gorgeous. God does that to our lives when we let Him - He removes the dead, unproductive things from our lives that weigh us down (pruning) to reveal a more beautiful, productive you!
more from the flower bed - I have noticed that my prized hibiscus haven't been producing many flowers lately-I haven't exactly been taking very good care of them-only been watering them sporadically, not pulling weeds, etc.- yesterday we got that real good downpour and this morning I had lots of blossoms-we must "drench" ourselves in the Word of God EVERYDAY & be mindful to pull "spiritual weeds" so that we blossom!
got some more wisdom after I read my sister's comment about roots - during Hurricane Ike I had staked my all my hibiscus down on 2 sides - they did ok during the first part of the storm but when the winds shifted the Tx Stars nearly came up out of the ground - the Double Peach otoh was fine - the DP had been there ... Read Morelonger, was stronger and had roots that went way down - the TX Stars were little when I planted them so there roots weren't as deep - I know now that if I had used more & stronger stakes they would have fared better - as it was I had to cut them back to the ground-the good news is that they came back this spring better and much stronger! It is important to be deeply rooted in the Word of God-the storms of life will come, no doubt but God's "invincible stakes" which is His Word - will keep your roots from coming up in the worst of storms.
more from the flower bed - I hate to admit it but I haven't been pulling weeds like I should. They are about to take over my flower bed - the weeds are pulling the nutrients & moisture from the flowers causing my flower bed not to flourish -... the point is if you pull the weeds as they come up they don't have a chance of taking over - you have to be diligent and faithful to keep the weeds out of your flower bed! one side note - the longer you let the weeds grow, you get to a point where you don't notice them that much anymore - they become the norm - take a step back, pull the weeds and see what beauty lies beneath!
Always ask "why"
Hello to all from Kelly's Kitchen Table - being a stay at home mom, God gives me wisdom in little, everyday things - I have decided to start writing all of these things down in the hopes that someone can benefit from God's awesome Word....... (bear with me, I'm new at this and my brain is often faster than my fingers can type!)
There is a cat in my neighborhood named Charger. A few months ago I literally could have killed this cat (which is very out of the ordinary for me because of my great love for cats). He was tormenting my two outside cats daily. He acted like the devil himself - attacking me, Jeff, and my cats. I was angry, frustrated and ready to call the pound to come get him. Well, after this had gone on for some time, God quickened in my spirit Romans 12:20 which says "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head". My first thought was, "hmm, odd"! So, I did just that, I fed the cat (down the street mind you). The most amazing thing happened. Charger started going away. He would be gone for days at a time. When he would come back, I would feed him down the street and then he would go away again. There were no more late night fights, no anger and no frustration.
Now, he comes to the back yard everyday and I feed him. We have become fast friends. He isn't aggressive, he is loving and sweet. The point I am making is this: He was hungry. His hunger didn't necessarily justify his actions, but it certainly helped me understand the "why". It helped me understand how to get to the root of the problem. Now understand this, Charger wasn't the enemy, Satan was. When I fed Charger I was actually heaping coals of fire on Satan's head. People are not the enemy, Satan is. When a person acts a certain way, there is always a reason why. I'm not justifying bad behavior, rather trying to see beyond the "symptom" and get to the "root". Jesus didn't say to "love your neighbor as yourself if they are a nice person and have it all together"! He said to "love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself". We are to love people, period. Love them when they are up, love them when they are down, love them when they are stinkers and love them when they are on top of the world!
In His love,
Kelly
There is a cat in my neighborhood named Charger. A few months ago I literally could have killed this cat (which is very out of the ordinary for me because of my great love for cats). He was tormenting my two outside cats daily. He acted like the devil himself - attacking me, Jeff, and my cats. I was angry, frustrated and ready to call the pound to come get him. Well, after this had gone on for some time, God quickened in my spirit Romans 12:20 which says "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head". My first thought was, "hmm, odd"! So, I did just that, I fed the cat (down the street mind you). The most amazing thing happened. Charger started going away. He would be gone for days at a time. When he would come back, I would feed him down the street and then he would go away again. There were no more late night fights, no anger and no frustration.
Now, he comes to the back yard everyday and I feed him. We have become fast friends. He isn't aggressive, he is loving and sweet. The point I am making is this: He was hungry. His hunger didn't necessarily justify his actions, but it certainly helped me understand the "why". It helped me understand how to get to the root of the problem. Now understand this, Charger wasn't the enemy, Satan was. When I fed Charger I was actually heaping coals of fire on Satan's head. People are not the enemy, Satan is. When a person acts a certain way, there is always a reason why. I'm not justifying bad behavior, rather trying to see beyond the "symptom" and get to the "root". Jesus didn't say to "love your neighbor as yourself if they are a nice person and have it all together"! He said to "love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself". We are to love people, period. Love them when they are up, love them when they are down, love them when they are stinkers and love them when they are on top of the world!
In His love,
Kelly
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