The House That God Builds

We may think God wants me happy, wealthy and sweet. He wants me to have a happy marriage, obedient children, loyal friends. When indeed God is about shipping us of all these things we build and He builds our lives with Him as the center. He wants women and men who will abandon themselves to Him. To the work of the kingdom. To be radical in their love to Him and others. To give of ourselves t

o the point of sacrifice. He is our example on the cross. He wants our worship and our whole heart. He will redeem, He will rescue, He will build. But He must be our joy. Where our value lies. We give out of a fullness not out of our selfish desires and needs. Then our needs will be fully met in Him. In finding Christ we find life and life abundant.
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him... II Chronicles 16:9

This message of Grace

In between jobs and houses we lived on the lake for a few years.  I loved to take the kids out late in the afternoon, when no one was on the lake, and ski.  This particular early evening I was skiing and loving it.  Having a really good time.  The water was as smooth as glass.

Then I decided to drop a ski and see if I could ski with one ski.  I dropped the ski.  Hit the wake.  And I went down.  Deep down.  It was dark and the water was cold.  I felt as if someone was pulling me down.  I kept going deeper and deeper.  I couldn't breathe.  Then I reached a certain point and I began to come up.  The water got warmer.  I began to see the light shine through the water.  I burst forth out of the water and breathed in and out, over and over.  Deep breathes.

Then I reached the shore.  I threw myself onto the bank.  I felt safe and secure and alive.  I could give no more.  All I could do was to rest.  I was at peace.

This is a picture of this message of Grace to me and how it has impacted my life.  I began the christian life with joy and peace.  Then without any notice legalism moved in.  Pleasing people.  Trying to gain approval of God.  Prove my value and worth.  I looked to my husband to give this to me.  He was looking to his work to give it to him.  We were in a vicious circle.

It is healthy and good to voice our needs to our husbands.  But the question is when he doesn't or can't meet our needs how do we respond?  Are we paralyzed?  Are we angry?  Can you keep loving?  Accept the love they give you as imperfect as it maybe.  Is Jesus enough for you then and there.  Do you know how much you are valued and loved?  Or are you still looking for it in the places and people of this world.

If we are honest all our relationships are dysfunctional.  But yet Jesus loves us through them.  We are His body.  His bride.  We are all learning as I learned with my husband.  To let go of ourselves and give ourselves to God and each other.  We are not going to love perfectly.  Don't let this keep you away from relationships. Let God cover you.  Let the Spirit teach you.  Let people love you.  Relax.  Don't be afraid you are going to sin or mess up.  Sure you are.  You are human.

The point is not to try to be perfect.  The point is to trust the perfect one and His unfathomable love for you.  It never stops.  It never quits giving and loving and perusing, relentlessly.  He wants your heart and He wants you to give it to others.  Without thought or fear or worry about screwing up.  God is at the heart of relationships.  That is where He flourishes and where your needs are met and gifts are given.  In your relationship with the Father and Son through the Spirit and others.

You worried you are not pleasing Him?  Trust Him, bathe yourself in His free and unquenchable love.  And pass it on.  Trust He loves you and you are who He says you are.  And move on to living...It can be sad and hard but there is joy and peace in relationships.  The most wonderful gift given to man by God through His Son Jesus.  We are in a non ending relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit.  Jesus came to bring others in.  Lets do the same.

Messengers of Grace

One of the first things we want to do after this grace grips our hearts, is to pass it on.  We want others to know this joy and freedom.  To live wide open.  To be happier and more at peace than ever before.  In passing this message along we must trust in Christ to open the eyes and hearts of those we are giving it to.  And to give Him all the glory when they or we see.

This morning in my time with the Lord I was reminded of this verse.  It really brings great freedom in your role as a leader to this river of Living Water.  Paul planted earnestly but gave all glory to God for any growth.  He knew His role and depended fully on Christ for the results.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. ⁷ So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

The Gospel of Grace Changes Us

The Gospel of Grace Changes Us...

The gospel makes the strong weak...and the weak strong in faith and trust and dependence on Him not in themselves. The gospel changes you. THe gospel breaks down the walls of self protection. It makes you the very best you can be. If you are introverted you begin to seek people out to love, you know where to go with your fears. You speak into others hearts. If yo

u are extraverted you listen more, learn to be still and love selflessly.
Both learn To be bold in Jesus and the Fathers love for others and the message of grace. We learn to be honest about our needs, weaknesses and failures and love each other even more intimately.
You lose yourself because you know you are valued and loved. Suddenly you move into life with a new confidence and victory. You break out of the mold. You try new and exciting things. You learn to let God stretch you in areas you were too fearful to go. Even though you maybe saddened by the pain of others you have a new peace and joy that permeates your very soul. A trust In the Father and His care for you and the ones you love. Your conscience is clear. THere is no more shame and guilt because you know all your sin has been paid for. It no longer keeps you from God. You go to Him on the merits of grace.
No longer do you pay attention to the negative voices in your head. Your are confident in who you are and the love and promises that go with being a child of the King. You learn to listen to the Spirits voice. Jesus said His sheep know His voice. It maybe a still quiet voice or a gentle nudge go this way or that. It maybe through scripture, a song, even an unbeliever. All of His creation comes alive. You see in color and no more in black and white. Not right and wrong, but Spirit led, in truth and in love.
Prayer becomes more than a devotional. It is a way of life. Your heart breaks for the lost, the confused, the enslaved, the hurting, the broken hearted, the sick of body and Spirit. You notice Jesus really is living His life through you and loving others. The compassion grows and grows. A longing comes for community and relationships. The under achiever and the over achiever both learn what true rest is. Faith in Gods love and control. Over Christ finished work on the cross on his behalf. Gifts are recognized and used. You see the work that needs to be done. You seek His glory and love above all else. The fruit of the Spirit merges as the ocean comes to the shore.
A new power is in your life. The same power that raised Christ from the dead. Out with the old in with the new. You are being healed and made whole. Old truths have new meaning. Or He teaches you and trains you in the ways of love. These things don't happen over night. God is in control of that. All you need to do is to trust and love God. He will give you both. Then go and love others.

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Arise Again

This grace thing has griped my heart and resonated with my soul.  I am not this awful vile sinner who seeks his own way.  I am a new creation in Christ.  I have a new heart. And that is what I live out of by faith.   I am identified with Him. I believe I am who He says I am and I have what He says I have.   I no longer live but Christ lives in me.  I know I am valued and loved and delighted in and me in Him.  I love God.  I want to serve Him and please Him. I do that by trusting Him.  I don't want to go my own way.  It is painful and hard sometimes but I trust Him with my life and the life of my family.  He made covenant promises to me and I count on them and believe them.  He gives me faith to carry on and love to love abundantly and live a life that I have never known before.  It is union and fellowship with the Father and Son through the Spirit. It is receiving and giving HIs love to me.   I yield and surrender my will to His will with delight because I trust and love Him.  I hate idols.  I run to Him.  He has torn down my idols.  I love Him with my whole heart and soul.  Does He perform miracles because I observer the law or because I have believed He is who He says He is.  It is faith and trust in Him. It is not even my faith.  It is His faith for me.  He is the faithful one.  My faith my fail and it will but His will never fail for me.  He loves me and died for me.  I am secure in Him.  Nothing can separate me from His love.  He will never forsake me or leave me no matter what I do.  THe power of the gospel I know because of identifying in the sufferings of Christ and I know Him and the power of His resurrection.  It is no longer I who live but is Christ living in me.  I repent because He is forever changing and teaching me new truths. I delight in following Him.  My conscience stays clear because I am forgiven past, present and future. Christ said it is finished.  THe price was paid.   Only then can I follow the leading of the Spirit.  Can I hear that still small voice.  Turn this way and that.  I lose myself in my love for HIm.  I am no longer introverted.  I am Christ centered.  I chose not to live out of the old flesh but out of the Spirit and my new heart and mind that is Christ living and breathing through me.  TO love Him and others. I don't believe I have to repent for fresh faith and power.  I know no scripture that says that. I think God gives me faith.  I love because He first loved me. But I am healed by His stripes.  I have power because the same Spirit that raised CHrist from the dead lives in me.  By the way I am no longer weak.  His strength is made perfect in my weakness.  I am strong.  I am not  living the defeated life any longer.  I want to change the name of my blog from desperate delight to something else.  I am no longer desperate.  I am a child of the King who was sought after and bought with a price.  I am forever His.

 

I'm Sad...

I didn't write yesterday. I just had no words to say. I was just sad.
You hear me talk about joy here lately a lot. You hear don't be negative. Be positive. If you know Jesus you have joy and peace.
Jesus was deeply troubled and sad in the garden, thinking of the cross that was before Him. The plan the Father had given Him before time. So much so He sweat blood. Can you imagine. Tears fill my eyes when I even contemplate this. He ask the disciples to keep watch. They couldn't even stay awake and their master was in the deepest pain He would ever be in His life until the reality of the cross was upon Him. On that cross He felt what sin had done in our lives even though He never sin. He felt the pain of humanity but yet He is God. He felt the loss of dreams, of families, the grief of death, the pain of physical suffering, the humiliation of abuse, the mental madness, the broken heart over love, addiction, the disappointment of failure, poverty. There is nothing that we can go through that He did not experience for every single one of His children.
We know Christ because we identify with His suffering. We know the power of His resurrection. This was my sadness. I was feeling the pain in my friends lives, my family, of those I don't even know but hear of their sufferings. I was grieving to the point of tears. Like the disciples I couldn't face it so I drifted off to sleep.
This morning I am feeling the same sadness but taking it to my Father. I am just sitting in His presence letting Him heal and love me. By His stripes we are healed. If we don't take our pain to our Father and our Lord it can run through our very soul. At the farm, we have had brush fires. My husband will start to burn a field and the wind will come out of no where. The flames will sweep through the bush faster than he can contain it. He calls in help. They beat it with wet towels until it is smothered out.
There have been many books written on the reasons for suffering. All I know is what scripture says. The same God who hung the moon and the stars. Who rises the sun. Who names the thousands of Galaxies. Is the same God who is so personal He calls you by name. He knows the number of hairs on your head. Who cares for the sparrow who falls from a tree. This same God has His purposes. No matter what your circumstances maybe telling you He is forever for you. His love is so beyond our comprehension. It is measured to the unmeasurable greatness of His power. He lives in you. His compassion is the same He had for His very own Son who is a part of Him. His Son is a part of you.  Let His love cover you as the wings of a mother bird cover her young. He forgets you not.

Conversation with Jesus

The Spirit has just shown me sometimes in my compassion for others I say I will do something for them and then I don't.
Maybe something happens. I can't do it right then. I forget. Or maybe it is hard for me to do. It will take a sacrifice on my part to get it done. I am sure there are times I don't think it is that important to them. I just let it go. Am I woman of my word? Do I keep my 

promises?
I am here with my grandson and my daughter. My grandson ask me to come. He said he missed me and my cooking. I planned to come one day. Then as the time was approaching I thought I saw it might not be the best time to come. I was looking for convenience for me. I kept asking him when he wanted me to come, over a course of a couple of days. He said when ever you want to mem. He had a baseball game last night. I though I won't get to see him much. He won't get to eat til late. I was going to have a busy day...would I have that much energy?
I told him I was coming and what did he want to eat. He said he didn't know so I said I will handle it. He was relieved and appreciative. I believed I was determined not to put it off again. I started my day off early. Praying the whole time.  I still wondered what was the right thing to do. Would the Lord give me the energy I needed to go to my daughters. They just moved could I find the way? I went to the store to shop. Found the house with no problem. Prepped the meal and had it ready to cook so it would be hot when he got home from his game.
He came in starved. I made a dish he had never had before and he thought it was great. He ate and ate. He sat with me throughout the night. Talking, laughing and just being together. What a joy it was. I thought why did it take me a couple of days to get here. Why did I wrestle to make the decision to come? Why is it hard for me to do what I say, make a decision and stick with it? I am afraid I will make the wrong decision. I know. Walking by faith is not comfortable.
God is not like this. He says what He will do and He does it. This morning I was sitting out in the starry,  moonlit morning thinking with God about this. Lord I don't doubt that in a few hours the sun will rise. The daylight will come. You will live your life through me today. You will keep your covenant promises to me and those I love. You are always faithful no matter what I do.
Lord, help me to be more like you. Help me keep my promises. Keep my word. I pray I love others the way they tell me they want to be loved. Not what is convenient or seemingly important to me. Take away my fear of doing the wrong thing. Making a mistake. Lord I want to love with your love. Be faithful with your faith. May I live a life of victory and not defeat. It is not a matter of making the right decision. It is a matter of letting Jesus love and live His life through me. I am going to mess up. But I just need to keep my eyes on Jesus. Keep stepping out in faith and don't look back with regret.