Listening for God's Still Small Voice~

When you have a disease like MS, you necessarily live your life in day tight compartments. Each day you wake up you really don't know what to expect. It can be a good day with little pain or it can be a bad day and literally it's hard to even get up.

Living within those parameters, it becomes hard to make definite plans for just about anything. The simplest plans can seem monumental to say the least and unfortunately, many plans get foiled at the last minute. Many of my friends and family can attest to this syndrome "Sorry, it's just not a good day today." The days of "Sure, I'm down for that adventure today" are pretty much over the longer you have this disease. In the early days, it' not as hard, but as the disease advances, the reality of living with MS begins to set in. Everyone with MS knows exactly what I'm talking about.  And regardless of capabilities to carry them out, we all like to make plans for our life.

But here's the thing: What about what God wants you to do? What about His plans? Does He have a say in your plans? Don't forget, He is the master planner and has been planning your life since the foundation of time. Jeremiah 29:11 says "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." Next time you start to make new plans about how you are going to spend your time, stop and think about what He might like. He will surely bless you if you turn away from the world, and turn to Him instead. 1 John 3:21-23 tells us "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us."

I've been very busy these past 6 months ministering to other women with MS and chronic illnesses via a private group I set up on Facebook. I post a devotional each day, pray for certain needs, post songs, inspirational messages and generally keep watch on the needs of the group. I feel the Lord has called me to do this, and am happy to be able to serve Him in this small manner each day. This is the small way that I have responded to the Lord's call. We all have gifts and we can all use them if we want to.
1 Peter 4:10 tells us "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

Do you listen to His still small voice? What small thing can you do to help grow God's Kingdom here on earth? There are a thousand different unique ways we can all help Jesus during our time here. Spend some alone time with Him and listen for His still small voice. It will be there, but you have to spend time with Him.

This morning, one of the ladies in our prayer group, posted that she is going out of her comfort zone and will be attending a big time Ministry Event nearby her this coming weekend. She knows exactly what she is facing, but she is forging forward, in Jesus name. Undoubtedly she is nervous as can be, but she has made a decision and she's moving forward. She is doing this because she feels God is telling her to help reach out to her teenage niece that is headed down the wrong path. Thankfully she has a dear friend that is willing to help her (undoubtedly her angel.)

I just want to say, Bravo to her! You can do it! You go girl ~~ I know God will order the day for all of you and clear any obstacles that you may face. When you do something like this that you feel the Lord is calling you to do, I believe heaven is smiling down and the Lord himself will pave the way for you.

Having MS and dealing with the fall out for the past 15 years, I realize what a big deal this is for her to do this. I know her niece will most likely not realize the sacrifice she is making, or it may take her years to look back and acknowledge what her sweet Aunt did for her. But she is doing it, not for herself, to help someone else who is suffering and needs the Lord.

Do you feel God's pull to reach out of your comfort zone for Him? Do you need to take the first step and trust the God will provide a way for you to accomplish that thing that He put on your heart? Every little thing works together to grow God's Kingdom. We are His hands and feet on this earth. If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

My verse for today is above in red.

My prayer for today:

Lord Jesus,

Help us not to turn our back when you call us.Help us to step out of our comfort zones, and do what we need to do to serve You and Your Kingdom. We don't know what it may be, but Lord I pray that you will reveal it to each of us. Help us to be your Hands and Feet here on earth while we are here.
Thank you for your servants that are willing to do your work on this earth.

In Jesus Name,
Amen and Amen

Jesus wants a relationship, not our religion~~

This morning as I logged onto Facebook to begin posting my daily devotional to my "Masters Servants" ladies prayer group, I noticed that one of my dear Facebook friends, Sandra, had posted a picture on the page about her relationship with God being about her relationship with Jesus, not a religion. I've posted many similar things myself over the years on Facebook, Twitter and Google. Bravo, I thought to myself and liked the comment myself with an Amen. Thanks for the reminder, dear Sandra.

As I sat thinking about that, I realized how many of my secular, non-Christian friends just don't get it. Religion is something man made, a relationship with Jesus, is of God. When you begin to add rules about how and what will get you into Heaven, you've crossed the line into religion. 

You have to go to church so many days a week, you have to attend certain classes, you have to work you way into Heaven by performing different works on earth. You can't eat certain food on certain days, or drink caffeine or dance? So many rules, pick the religion and they can most likely name their rules to you. If having to follow all the rules were the case, would God's Grace be totally sufficient for any of us? What is the point of His Mercy and Grace if we have to work our way into Heaven by following a set of rules laid out before us.

Not that all of the rules are bad. It's wonderful to attend biblical classes and to grow in the Lord's word, but neither God nor Jesus require you to do that to be accepted into Heaven. You must do one thing  Romans 10:9 tells us "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Once we are saved, we are saved, and there is nothing WE can do to improve upon that. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us " For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."

God's amazing Grace saved us, there is nothing we can ever do to improve upon that. Notice how the verse in Ephesians says that our Salvation is a gift from God, not by our works, so that that we can never boast about it. God doesn't want any of us boasting about how we made it a little bit better by what we did. It has nothing to do with us, it has everything to do with Him.

That is why religion always falls short of God's Glory. Religion is all about legalistic rules. Our Lord God has ONE Rule, and that is you must confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead. He makes it incredibly easy for all of us, doesn't He? 

When I think about all the different people all over the world who have accepted Jesus Christ from a sermon on TV, or a missionary that had a revival in their country or met them in a field in their country. Our loving God made it so easy for us to be accepted by Him into His glorious Kingdom. Stop and really think about that. Many people will never attend a church service in their lives, yet they are still children of the Living God the minute they accept Jesus as their Savior. That is all God, and that is All God's Grace.

So now, I ask you~~ Are you following the rules of man or the rules of God? Who are you bowing to? Are you listening to the "rules" of your religion, or abiding by God's only rule? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Take a hard look at your "religion" and see if anywhere in the Bible it says anything about having to complete anything before you can gain entrance into Eternity. I sure couldn't find it. If you can, please point it out to me, I'd love to look that up and I will stand corrected.

As I said before, it's very meaningful and often traditional to be baptized, confirmed in your faith, and attend classes, Sunday school and church sermons to better understand the Lord's word, but no where that I've found in the Bible does it say that is a necessity for a Holy and Righteous God to accept you. There is but one thing you need to do "Confess your sins, Believe that Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead." Period. End of discussion.

That is how the lowliest sinner can be accepted on the Cross next to His Savior by confessing with his mouth that Jesus is Lord. Many souls have been saved in the last minutes of their lives by confessing their sins and turning to God. That's what His Mercy and Grace are all about. It's never about works, it's always about God's Mercy and Grace. Praise His Holy Name~

My verses for today are above in red.

My Prayer for today:

Dear Heavenly Father:

Thank you Lord for making it so incredibly easy for all of us to spend Eternity with You. Thank you for accepting us into your Kingdom with no rules just our confession and our belief that Jesus died for us and is sitting at Your Right Hand. You are amazing and we are so Thankful for everything you continue to do for us each day we live on this earth. Thank you Father for Your Grace and Mercy. We are so unworthy.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I Hope You Dance ♫♫

Sometimes, something will come up in your life that triggers a sweet memory. I think we all have those moments, don't we?

Yesterday, a friend of mine posted a song on Facebook that brought memories flooding back of a dear friend that we lost about 7 years ago, Eunice Carter. 

Eunice was one of those people that I think God puts into our lives for a particular season. We became close with her shortly after I was diagnosed with MS, and after her beloved husband of 60 years (Ray) passed on and we only had her a few short years, but those years with her were wonderful. It was neat to have a doctor to be able to talk about MS things, and a strong Christian doctor to boot. We prayed together about alot of things and she was a source of strength and comfort for me in many ways. She was also very close with my husband Steve and was a big comfort to him during a very trying time in his life.

Eunice was quite a character. Raised on a farm in Ohio, she put herself through medical school (which was quite something back in those days) and had her medical practice in her home until she retired. She was one of the few doctors that wrote the actual questions on the AMA entry board exams! WOW, now that's a doctor! Compassionate, and caring with a quirky sense of humor. That was our Eunice. She loved to come over here for dinner on Sundays and taught my husband how to make a martini just the way she liked them with dirty ice! Yes, she did take a drink every now and then, mainly martini's and said proudly, she would have never lived as long as she did without it. She never abused it and I actually never saw her take more than one martini at a time, but boy did she enjoy those martini's! One of the pleasures of life she would say. 

She went with me to some MS seminars because she was always interested in keeping up with the latest medical information. She was quite a wiz on her computer, especially for her age, and there wasn't much that scared her. She got two doggies after her Ray died, Bella and Tiger and you would see her walking those dogs on long walks. I can still see her zooming around town with those two dogs in here Prius, one of the first Hybrids on the market. She always wanted the latest and greatest! They were a big part of her life in those later years. Her doggies, and her church family are what mattered most to Eunice. Her kids, two sons, both lived out of town and she didn't seem them often, so her church family was the one that she clung to.

      A gathering of the old "Vamo Church" gang at our house, Christmas 2005, Eunice is in the front in red.

Anyway, back to my story. Eunice had given me a copy of the book and CD I hope you dance by Lee Ann Womack. I remember receiving it shortly after I had a flareup and was feeling down. Eunice always had a way of cheering me up. That book and song were so light and wonderful and uplifting I did feel like dancing again, and in those days I even could. The gift was a welcome relief from the drama of another round of steroids~

Hearing those words of that song this morning were even more meaningful because at this stage in my life, my legs really aren't working much at all, and dancing definitely isn't on my plates these days. I got a little teary eyes thinking about Eunice giving me that. BUT, and this is a big BUT, the Promise of Dancing Again is always there for me because I know that when I get to heaven, I WILL be dancing again. I am so looking forward to that day!!!

Hope is what we all hang on to. Hope to see loved ones again in heaven, hope to be able to dance again, hope for a pain free day, hope for a restored relationship with a loved one we've grown apart from, hope to be healed from a sickness. That book and CD "I hope you dance" lifted me up when I was down. and gave me hope. Hope is something we all desperately need. The Bible has many verses about hope, because the Bible is literally a book of hope. One of my very favorite verses is from Romans 15:13" May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

What is your biggest hope? What brightens your day? What makes you dance? My biggest source of hope is my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Knowing Him on a personal level has given me hope for the here and now and hope for the future: my future on this earth, and my future in eternity with the Lord. And what a glorious hope to look forward to! Thank you Lord!

My verse today is above in red.

My prayer for today:

Dear Heavenly Father:

Thank you for giving us the feeling of hope. It is such a wonderful gift that we hang onto many days. Thank you for something to look forward to: the anticipation of a new event, a restored relationship, a pain free day. 
Thank you for my friend Eunice and what she meant to our family. I am looking forward to seeing Eunice again in Heaven one day. That is another hope I have and I am thankful. Please Lord, give your hope to those who need it most.

In Your Mighty name I pray,
Amen