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Do you ever have those days when you feel as if your heart is birthing an understanding it never had before? Do you ever have a sense that you are seeing Scripture as if itwere the first time you have seen the words?

These days of summer, when so much in our life has changed, I feel I am learning like a newborn babe in Christ. I sense a hunger and thirst in my spirit, an emptiness that only the richness of Christ can fill. My ears are hearing and my spirit strains and reaches high, hoping to touch and reach the very deep of God's heart.

Christ is in me, and He is my hope…  ( Click for more )

Long a tree has stood at the very edge of our neighbour’s property. Long has it endured the season’s storms. Lightning hit its heart recently, stripping bark off it, shattering pieces of bark across our driveway and lawn.

With daylight came the revealing of God’s strength and power. I sensed His presence there beneath the tree and listened for what His heart would share with me. He had sent us a very personal message that promised His protection and provision.

In this last half year, my husband and I have walked through the pain of our son’s suicide,…  ( Click for more )

Hope for the future cancels out all dread and worry. He, the Mighty One able to save has all of our times and seasons of life in His hands. Our first priority should be, must be, to trust the God of Love whose plans for us are good and who spreads out hope before us.

And yet, are we able to still keep our confession of trust and hope and faith, showing love and kindness to one another when things do not go as well as we would like? Jesus was able to do that. It wasn't just His outward behaviour that pleased His Father, it was the attitude of His heart and obedience came as…  ( Click for more )

At the end of the Gospels and the beginning of our Christian lives, Jesus died on the Cross; He carried our sins, bore our sorrows and by his shed blood, healed ALL of our diseases. He also has promised to redeem our lives from the pit, crown us with love and compassion, satisfy our desires with good things so that our youth is restored like the eagle's.

Father, Precious Papa, Keeper of your Word, I am asking that you would remember your Word to your servant, for through it, you have given me hope. (Psalm 119:49)

Your Word, if I may remind you says, "I am the God that…  ( Click for more )

Are the relationships you have a reflection of the relationship you have with the Father? Do you ever stop and wonder if the topics chosen to speak about and the way you speak reflect the love of the Father? Do you often take the time to smile at a stranger and then watch their face light up with pleasure? A smile takes no time at all but it sure can lift the spirit of another. A smile makes us feel better too!

It seems so easy to recognize a kindred spirit in another and it is not difficult to plumb the depths in our hearts, to explore our interests and to share what matters…  ( Click for more )

Have you ever been on a journey and found that the road conditions you encountered were not what you were hoping for when you began? It is a little bit like our walk of faith as a follower of Jesus.

We know He told us He came so we might have life and life more abundantly. The Bible tells us we were healed by the stripes of Jesus and our expectation is because His Word holds that promise then so shall it be. We choose to trust that God will fulfill all of our needs for healing and give us all things pertaining to life and godliness simply because it is a promise in His Word.…  ( Click for more )

Papa, how sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter even than honey to my mouth. (Psalm 119:103)

Papa, I praise You for You are a God with ears that hear the cries and petitions of my heart. You hear the melody of praise and worship that my heart sings. I am glad and rejoice in You and I love to sing of Your great love. My praise for You causes my enemies to turn back in defeat, even disease and lack fall and perish at Your Presence. I am overcome by Your goodness, Your love for me.

You have done, and You continually do great things, O Lord. Your heart is open; Your lap…  ( Click for more )

It is seldom that I have my Psalm119Greaterthangold.net blog post the same as my Liveasif column but due to recent unexpected circumstances, save for these paragraphs, it is the same.

In any event, I trust that this will serve to inspire you, challenge and encourage you to press in even closer to Jesus.

Ever have those times in life when you feel as if the negative forces of life seem to take on life of their own and try to overwhelm you and drown you in difficulty?

When events go from one degree of tragedy to another? ...And you begin to feel a spark of fear in your…  ( Click for more )

Rejoice Proudly

We rejoice proudly at the birth of a new baby, purchase of something that is special to us, landing a new job...inhaling the scent of the salty air as we walk along the seashore...admiring the beauty of our gardens...

However, did you know...in Romans 5:3, when Paul said "but we also glory in tribulations" ...this is a verb and it means, "Rejoice proudly" and "express great joy." A verb is an action word therefore, it means we go beyond our stand of faith, our confession of God's promises and we step forward, open our mouths and…  ( Click for more )

My Liveasif.org column has had to take a back seat during the month March due to unforeseen circumstances. Circumstances that even now have me wondering, what lessons have I learned and what can I share with you the reader, that will bless your heart and encourage you through any difficult times you may have ahead of you.

One after another, with no time in between to catch our breaths, three things happened that have changed our lives and changed how we choose to live our lives.

It was in the midst of sheer happiness, that our little dog Shadow tore his second knee ligament.…  ( Click for more )

Tav - Psalm 119:169-176

Symbolic meaning of Tav is "Covenant, to seal."

Literal meaning is "to sign, cross."

Tav would be our signature or closing mark in life.

The end has come. We are at the last line, the last page of the letter, and how we have lived will determine the flourish of our signature.

Our lives have been letters from our Lord Jesus Christ and upon our hearts have been written the words of God.

Many have read the letters of our lives and been changed and challenged, but have we read our own mail and conformed freely and…  ( Click for more )

When we ask God to bless us; do we expect that life will remain the same?

Are we so caught up in the goodness of our current day-to-day life that we forget to envision something new and different because of the blessing of God?

Do we forget that God is always at work in us and that the work of God is to make us fit for His purposes? Are we willing to embrace the idea of change?

We will meet God in change – change happens to us all because the Word says, “from glory to glory He is changing us”.

Whenever we turn in repentance to the Lord, the veil…  ( Click for more )

In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, the offerings given were the best. The givers would have had to study very carefully their livestock and bring as a sacrifice to the Lord the one that was the very best. Perhaps they even bred their lines with sacrifices in mind and never keeping the best back for themselves, but in love and thanksgiving for all He had done were always prepared and willing to give to God the best they had.

The Lord God, through the shed blood of Jesus, the Perfect Lamb of God dwells in our hearts today. We are His sanctuary, His holy temple and His desire…  ( Click for more )

Abraham did what God encouraged him to do, he hoped in faith. Abraham did what we sometimes find so hard to do. He hoped in faith, believing the promises of God were in the process of coming to pass in his life.

Sometimes when we want something really badly, it is easier to pretend we will not really care too much if it does not happen. I am like that anyway, maybe not you, but I have realized that I do this.

I tell myself it does not really matter, it is OK, and half a dozen other lies and I tell them to myself so I will not be disappointed if the particular thing does…  ( Click for more )

...And a child will lead them...

Funny how the simplest of things can change one's heart; the lad in John 6 who gave up his bread and fish is just one example for me.

He is an example, even at his young age of what the ministry of helps looks like. We can imagine that he is thinking ahead and planning to take with him, that which would meet a need. Young boys are always hungry are they not, so this was huge that he was thinking about sharing his food especially in such a remote location.

He has made a decision to run with the crowd to see Jesus, but amazingly stood…  ( Click for more )

A young lad has inspired me lately. One lad in the midst of a crowd of at least five thousand men stands out from all the rest. What has he done? He had been following Jesus around, listening intently to His teachings and chose to believe Jesus when He said the Kingdom of God was at hand. He got excited and dreamed of being part of the miraculous.

He believed and therefore he acted. He ran with the crowd clutching his five loaves and two fishes that he was sure would come in handy, even if it were to assuage his own hunger pangs so as not to be distracted from the life giving…  ( Click for more )

Have our hearts been apprehended by a desire to fully obey the Word of the Lord and a willingness to cast aside the shallow and mundane thinking that we so often coast through life on?

When decisions that affect our lives need to be made, it is necessary that we are skilled and confident in responding to the directives of the Lord.

The ways of the world, the bad news, the depressing and scary circumstances that arise in the world we live in; all of these can affect our thoughts. And our thoughts determine our actions and if our thoughts are not lined up with God’s…  ( Click for more )

All too frequently, we go through life feeling unsure and that we are grasping at straws in the hopes that what we hold will be good, true, and right. Our only sure hope lies in the reality that the Word of God is true and within it are gems that will crown our lives with love and holy purity.

For the Image of the Son to be formed in our life we are required to take steps of obedience and ultimately live in a manner of complete obedience surrendering to the Sonship of the King.

To surrender implies an opposing of the wills and because of the majestic royalty of the King of…  ( Click for more )

Choosing to set aside and count as worthless the things the world seeks after is a righteous and worthy way to live because we are exhorted by the King to not pursue those things but rather to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. His promise to us for our obedience is that all these other things will be added unto us.

In order to live this way, to give up something of good value, of worthy purpose in order to be obedient to the King requires a life that is disciplined, discreet and diligent in hearing and walking in the will of the King.

This is the reality…  ( Click for more )

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Often this verse is used relating to friendships without actually understanding how deeply it can impact those friendships.

In John 15:14 When Jesus looked at those with Him round the table and spoke of the greatness of the power of love and called those present His friends; He was also looking out across time and seeing us; you and me today. As well, He saw us in relationship with one another, He saw us partnering together as friends. He warned us too, in verse 13 of the price of friendship and His own life…  ( Click for more )

Jesus set before us Himself as a perfect example to follow. He revealed Himself as a bond servant and a Son.

The heart of a bond servant is tied by loyal love to his master and service is always rendered with love. A benevolent master ensures that the needs of his bondservant are amply supplied and the servant understands that all he has is due to his master’s benevolence.

The son on the other hand knows that he is rightful heir to everything the father has and that even now the father desires to lavish him with good gifts for his enjoyment.

If we believe rightly,…  ( Click for more )

Royal blood makes a child a royal heir although the child must be taught and trained to live the ways of righteous royalty. As children of the King of kings we must govern our lives according to the righteous, holy statutes set in place by the King. The King has ordained these statutes and we must obey.

We obey and bow in recognition of God’s broken heart. We bow because we catch just a glimmer of the grief God felt over the sinful ways of mankind. We bow in utter humility. Each bowed figure comprising a holy nation, a people of kings and priests, a nation, holy unto the…  ( Click for more )

There is a cost to having a pure heart. The development of the fruit of the Spirit in our everyday lives means we are going to have to be willing to say no to the selfish ambitions of our heart and yes to the purity of Love. The joyous result will be the glory of Christ being revealed in us, to us and through us.

(Joy – in the hours preceding His crucifixion Jesus spoke of the fullness of joy. How could He speak of joy when He knew the confrontation with pain that was to come?)

The qualities of the fruit of the Holy Spirit are to enable us to walk deeper into the Kingdom…  ( Click for more )

The waves of the storms of life crash over us, swirl around us but our cries for blessing lead us to higher ground. The higher ground is always found on the Highway of Holiness and it is there, in that place of doing and being right that we find protection in the storms. We know that we have been made righteous having been given the righteousness of Christ, but it is here on the higher ground that we learn to be holy.

Jabez petioned the heart of God to have his territory enlarged after he has asked for blessing. Blessing and obedience are linked and always go hand in hand. One…  ( Click for more )