REDEMPTION in HIS RAIN

April 22, 2013 By 10 Comments

images

Ahh….. rain….. I so love the sound of it.  We don’t get much of it here in Colorado, so I relish it when it falls to earth.  Water in general means many different things to people.

Water can quench a thirst, it is used in baptism, and JESUS used it for a miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee.  Jesus washed HIS disciples’ feet with water and HE walked on it as well.

Water is used in the Old Testament as a symbol of purification in ritual cleansing. 

GOD has provided water to us as a necessity for life.  In general, I think we take water for granted even though we could not live without it.

But there is that familiar expression that “when it rains it pours” and this wording is all about our difficulties in life, and how all of it is compounded when one trial happens on top of another!  Are you in this familiar place?

I see some friends battling with physical issues, questioning GOD and HIS plan, and asking why.

I see others living with burdens I cannot imagine, some financial and some concerning family, and through it all saying they will trust.

These difficult trials cause us to ponder: why me? why them?

And just like the rain that inevitably falls after a long hot drought, GOD’S love falls and washes over us like spring GRACE…. just when we need it…. just when we are at our limit.  And just like we need water to survive, so we need GOD’S living water to sustain us whenever life’s trials rain upon us.

I certainly don’t have all the answers as to why bad things happen to good people…. I just know we are all broken…. it is the world seeping into our souls and making us dirty in all sorts of ways.  Because of our sins, we have “…forsaken GOD, the spring of living water, and have dug our own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

JEREMIAH 2:13

images

What does this say about us?  It says that when life rains on us, we cannot go it alone even though we try.  We try hard to fix situations,  and then soon realize that our going it alone only muddies the water.  We need to draw deep from GOD’S well of salvation and let HIS living water wash over us, like rain on a fresh spring morning!  Only the grace of GOD can be poured out abundantly on us in our situations if we hold fast to our faith in HIM. 

The next time it rains or you see water in a beautiful peaceful setting…. remember HIS redemption for you.  Water is all around us every day…. may we never take it for granted, and may we always remember its life-giving purpose for us.

images

ISAIAH 12: 2 “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

 

 

Filed Under: Battles, Spiritual, Thought for Today Tagged With: , , , 10 Comments

I am really not the gardener

April 10, 2013 By 8 Comments

window condensation watermarked

Spring cleaning…that is what many of us choose to do this time of year. (That makes it sound like I am part of the group that does spring cleaning, doesn’t it?!?!)

CLEAN…I love the after-effects of cleaning, but not so much the process.

We clean out closets.

We clean out drawers.

We clean out garages.

We wash windows.

We sweep out the accumulation of winter’s grit, grime and grunge.

All in hopes of a cleaner house.

A cleaner garage.

Cleaner windows.

And oh how happy we are when we have accomplished these tasks.

Oh, and don’t forget the outside…the yard work, the gardening that we do.

We plant bulbs and seeds. We search for the lawn fertilizer, or the number for the lawn care company. We plant, we water and we wait.

I am not a master gardener. In fact, I am not even a very good beginning gardener. Years ago my husband & I agreed, “If it is green and fits under the lawnmower, then it must be grass!”

I no longer subscribe to that theory and neither does he. My husband is pretty good with the yard and manages to keep it relatively weed free and green most of the spring, summer and fall. I even have a few tulips, hyacinths and daffodils that come up in the spring and some hostas that are around all summer. But I am really not a gardener. I do work hard at knowing what is a weed and what is not!

I think Jesus is all about spring cleaning and gardening…

Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

He wants us to have a clean heart.

But I wonder, at times, just what am I growing in my heart?

Do I have weeds of selfishness? Of pride? Of contempt? Of worry? Or unbelief? All of these things will hinder my walk with Him.  He is the shepherd. He is the master gardener. He can make all things new. And he can meet ALL my needs.  (Phillipians 4:19)

This spring I am going to try and water the good things and pull the weeds that don’t belong in my life. I’m going to try and fertilize my life with continued quiet time, quality exercise and enjoy the benefits of taking care of myself.

And if I stick with these things, I believe the good grass will grow and become green, while choking  out the weeds. And…I just might be able to see out my windows!

window watermarked

I found this article on Spiritual Spring Cleaning. It was worth my time; I think it will be worth yours too.

Sharing my heart,

Mary

Filed Under: Spiritual Tagged With: , , , , , 8 Comments

Spring’s Sonnet {Fall Afresh}

April 8, 2013 By 13 Comments

Snow has begun its crystallization and when sun joins in on the effort, I see His radiance in propitious luster.

The promise of spring.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19

My 4-year-old digs a trench, anxious for the snow beneath to melt into streams, and as I crunch around the yard with him, I see God’s glory unfold.

There are clean, new stems on my lilac bush. Tiny buds on my cherry tree. And hearty bulbs forcing their way through to reach Him no matter the journey.

Nature rejoices.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Psalm 96: 12

Bright rays bounce off the window pane as I try to strip away the weathered past of winter. I find I don’t mind the task if I hum along — the very song that’s been stuck in my head all morning. Hums precede broken phrases. Phrases elongate to stanzas. Before I know it, I’m singing to the audience of One. With arms, clad with cleaner and rag, lifted high. Belting it out in complete submission.

He deserves my praise.

You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.
Revelation 4:11

Friends, I think of the frozen snow bowing low, transforming into nourishment for the next season. I consider the crocus and how it bursts through, no matter what’s in its way of revealing itself to The Creator. All to praise the One and Only…for He deserves whatever it takes.

We were made to worship.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, God’s special possession,
that you may declare the praises of Him
who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.
I Peter 2:9

And as I continue along my spring cleaning, I begin praying the song that fell from my lips. I’ve decided to claim it for my own soul-cleaning this season, and I invite you to do the same.

Fall Afresh

(feat. Jeremy Riddle)
Bethel Loft Series

Father, as I see nature transitioning, positioning itself to praise You in grandiose luster, my heart wonders if I may do the same. I want to follow, Lord. I want Your glory to invade so that nothing can stand in my way of praising You…of giving You glory. For it’s all about You.

Lord, let Your glory invade my darkness. Wake me from my sleep. Blow through the caverns of my soul. Clean out what doesn’t belong and fill me until I overflow with…You.

Fall afresh, Father. For I know that’s where the spring in my step comes from…And this next season? I know You’ve got this…for some things never change…YOU are my only constant. Thank You.

How about you, friend? What’s your prayer this spring? How may I pray for you? I’d love to hear.

Filed Under: Gratitude, Spiritual Tagged With: , , , 13 Comments

Can’t get away?

April 5, 2013 By 3 Comments

If you’re like me, sometimes you just need an escape. A time set apart especially for some time away. A chance to recharge. A retreat.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word retreat?

For me, a retreat includes time away. Either by myself or with others to recharge. When I think retreat, I think out of town. I think rest. I think relaxation. I think worship. I think quiet time. I think sleep. 

Stolen from my sister's trip to Florida

Stolen from my sister’s trip to Florida

If retreat means the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy, then this means that I do not have to go out of town. It doesn’t even mean that I would have to leave my house. To retreat, simply means to withdraw.

When physical withdrawal isn’t an option, we can still withdraw within our selves. We can mentally withdraw. We can emotionally withdraw. We can spiritually withdraw. We can build this practice into our lives. We can do this consistently. Without breaking the bank. Without spending a dime. All it takes is discipline.

We can set out a specific time, day, and place to simply get away. To retreat into the arms of our God. To retreat into His Word. To retreat into surrender.

To retreat, is to follow in the footsteps of our Savior. Many times in Scripture we’re given the example of retreating to be alone. Sometimes he did so by himself. Sometimes he did so with a close group of friends.

  • …He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place… Matthew 14:13
  • In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Mark 1:35
  • …”Come away by yourselves to a secluded place”… …went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. Mark 6:31-2
  • …Jesus left and went to a secluded place… Luke 4:42
  • …withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. John 6:15
  • And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray… Luke 22:41

So, what would it look like for you to retreat? Maybe you need a daily “retreat” to refresh and recharge. Maybe it’s weekly. Perhaps monthly. However often it is needed, I want to encourage you to just do it.

Even if it seems impossible. Try. Set apart an hour, a half hour, 15 minutes. Whatever you can. Say a quick prayer. Journal. Take a deep breath. Stare at His creation. Whatever it takes. Make the time to reconnect. Find a way to retreat.

Even if only momentarily.

Filed Under: Battles, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual Tagged With: , , 3 Comments

Yearning for Spring, Yearning for New Life

April 3, 2013 By 6 Comments

I’ve recently discovered a poetic beauty about spring in Maine. Born a North Carolina girl, who found any excuse to escape to the coast as often as possible while spending much of her life living in the mountains, it is certainly worlds away from Maine.

My first winter in this big state was terrifying.
Terrifying to drive in the snow.
Terrifying to realize how ill-equipped my winter wardrobe was for “arctic cold-fronts.”
Terrifying to see snowfall in April.

Ever since that first winter, this is always the most difficult time of year for me. It’s spring, and it’s not spring.
This year, the day before the first day of spring we got another twelve inches of snow.
My heart is yearning for warmth, for green grass, for budding flowers, for toes in the sand and warm rays of sunshine on the face.

My heart is yearning for the re-birth spring brings. 

In Maine, there is a process
before spring can bring its full bounty of beauty.
Snow which has fallen and refrozen lays hard on the ground.
It’s much like our hearts, which sometimes harden
towards one another, towards strangers, towards Him.

Still, the sun remains, always rising and falling,
always warming, fulfilling its purpose.
And so does The Son, our Lord Jesus,
who never changes, who never disappoints,
who is good and just and righteous and Love.

Slowly the sun begins to warm the hardened snow.
And as the snow begins to melt away, the ground turns to mud.
And the mud is everywhere.
On our shoes, on our cars, on our pets, in our homes.
Dirt roads become opportunities for deep prayer,
prayer our cars do not get stuck and stranded.
It’s a process.
Much like our hearts.
As His Word convicts our hearts of our sin,
of our pride to focus on what we can accomplish
instead of depending on Him and His Holy Spirit
it hurts.
Sometimes we find muck we have to trudge through.
Rebellion. Resentment. Un-forgiveness.
Selfishness. Anger. Judgement.

There is hope.

 

Hope because one day we step outside,
and we see the tiniest green shoots sprouting up from the ground.
Hope because we see the tiny buds on the branches of trees,
and in time,
we see these buds open into flowers and leaves.
Hope because the mud begins to dry, the sun becomes ever warmer,
and with joy we breath in the scent of fresh grass,
Spring fully arrived in Maine.

Hope because He transforms our hearts,
forgives our sins,
embraces us with His Grace,
and in Him we remember that we too, are born again.
A new birth.
A new life.
An eternal hope.

My heart rejoices for his Redemption.
I am Redeemed.
I am Born Again.

My Heart Yearns to Embrace the New Life He Offers.

photo 480a5672-c661-47a9-8965-350143e02c2c_zpsdfa5dcaf.jpg

As we enter into Spring, my hope is we will all slow down in our busy lives and take a moment to breathe in the awe of new life and vibrant colors that arrive with spring.
More so, my hope is our hearts will Rejoice and Embrace the New Life Christ offers us, in all its brilliance and supernatural awe.

In Love & Faith,
RaZella

Filed Under: Spiritual Tagged With: , , , , , , 6 Comments

This Month on MustLoveGod

April 1, 2013 By 3 Comments

Spring is often reminiscent with new beginnings.  Spring cleaning.  Fresh starts.  New growth.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3:1

What season are you in?  This month at MustLoveGod, part of our focus is spring retreat and how that applies to our lives.

Are you due for some spring cleaning?  Do you have dust and cobwebs that need cleaned out?  Is He calling you to a place of rest?  Does He want you to rise up?  Is this a season in which you need to get stronger?

As we explore this topic and all other things related to spring this month, we invite you to join us both in the comments and on our facebook group.  We invite you to participate on twitter and instagram, using the hashtag #springretreat.

Pull up a place at the picnic table and join the link ups on Thursdays for Count Me Accountable.

We hope to share bedtime tips as many of us are trying to get out of the #insomnialounge and #get2sleep in order to find that place of sweet rest with the Lord.

We will rise up to the challenge presented by the gals over at HelloExercise to have an #awesomeApril, making faith, fitness, and good food choices part of every day.

April on MLG

I’ll get this party started. What does spring mean to you? What is your favorite part of spring?

Filed Under: Accountability, Goals, Mental, Physical, Spiritual Tagged With: , , , 3 Comments

Selah

March 22, 2013 By 1 Comment

Selah mustloveGod.net

Filed Under: Spiritual, Thought for Today Tagged With: , 1 Comment

Passionate for my REDEEMER!

March 20, 2013 By 10 Comments

images

As I woke up out of a deep sleep the other night, two words became vivid in my mind: HOLY PASSION.  I made a certain effort to write the two words down so I wouldn’t forget them.  As always, I come to the realization that Heaven is speaking to me with a whisper and I need to pay attention.

In JESUS LIVES, by Sarah Young, speaking about “Intimacy with HIM,” it says that GOD’S view of us, knowing our deepest desires and darkest secrets, is a view through the eyes of a passionate Lover.  It is GOD’S Holy Passion for us!

Because of HIS perfect, passionate love for me, I have to ask myself: am I just as passionate for HIM? Christ died for me in order to create a passionate flame within me that will never die out!  Do my days reflect this flame of love?

Once again I examine my heart: am I truly passionate about seeking HIM?  HE only wants a relationship with me, and HE pursues me with HIS prevenient grace, and then justifies me, even when I have remained a sinner.

Those of us in CHRIST love our LORD, but do we seek HIM with a passion every day of our lives?  I fall short on this every day!  I will admit I could do so much better in my prayer life!  Since prayer is our direct contact with our Savior, why do we tend to leave it until the last moment or just send up a quick prayer in our busy days?  My prayers sometimes seem vague and general.  Is this you too?

I recently was asked to be part of the Prayer team on another Emmaus Walk. ( You can google Emmaus Communities and see the extent of these communities in the United States!) I am situated in the Prayer Room on site and we will pray continuously throughout the weekend. 

It is interesting how my prayer life has come to the forefront and how GOD has pointed out to me that I could do a lot better in this spiritual effort.  In prayer, HE is drawing me closer to HIS heart.  I am learning to love praying for others, for their needs, and my heart breaks for what breaks HIS.  

HIS Holy Passion for us asks us to love HIM, to seek HIM, and to know HIM with all of our hearts.  Prayer is commanded of us, gives glory to GOD, and gives answers! 

And so we, LORD, as your loving people observing LENT, pray today:

Thank YOU LORD, for the power of prayer…

We first pray for YOUR glory and YOUR kingdom…

We passionately pray that many hearts may be won by YOUR passionate love for us…

LORD help us to do YOUR will…and to passionately seek YOU…

May our daily lives prove that YOU are LORD of our hearts…

Since YOU are Sovereign, YOU touch our every written word, action and deed, and help us to know this deeply…

May our Christian body here, be passionate lovers of YOU and passionate lovers of each other.

Allow your HOLY PASSION to wash over us.

And let YOUR flame of love burn bright and deep within us, now and forever!

IN YOUR SON’S NAME, JESUS OUR REDEEMER, AMEN.

Ladies as you go through your day, pray for MUST LOVE GOD and all that happens here on each page.  If we only touch one soul with HIS love, then we are living passionately for HIM and through HIM.  Let HIS flame burn bright and deep within us for all to see!

PSALM 42:8 “By day the LORD commands HIS steadfast love, and at night HIS song is with me, a prayer to the GOD of my life.” ESV

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Gratitude, One Word, Spiritual, Thought for Today Tagged With: , , , 10 Comments

The Luckiest There Ever Was

March 15, 2013 By 13 Comments

  • Abraham wanted an heir to what little he had. God not only gave him an entire nation, but one that would bless ALL nations.
  • The Israelites needed nourishment. God fed them manna from above.
  • They begged for meat; God gave it to them until they didn’t know what to do with it.

Still we couldn’t get it right, so God sent His only Son down to take care of it.

  • Jesus fed 4,000 and 5,000 from what we would find on the dollar menu…with baskets left over. (Mark 8:19-21)
  • Not only did Jesus enable a blind man to see, He gave him perfect vision. (Mark 8:22-26)
  • A sinner showed a glimmer of belief and Jesus promised him paradise. (Luke 23:40-43)

And I’m just getting started. Bottom line: God blesses and blesses and gives and gives. Oh how He loves us.

~~~~~~~~~

But can I share something with you? I’ve heard how God moves. How Jesus heals. How He blesses in abundance. All my life, I’ve been taught this.

And still I sometimes wonder…I catch myself thinking — I know what He’s done for others, but what about me?

What about what I want? What I ‘need’? It seems we haven’t changed much. Personally, I have more Eve in me than I care to admit.

But when I get in these funks. When the enemy’s voice becomes so loud in my head I can’t think straight, my lifeline emerges. The word ‘Holy’ on a worn Book catches the light bouncing off the windowpane and I remember…

God never changes. (Malachi 3:6 , Hebrews 13:8) What He promised my descendants farther than any ancestry search will take me still holds true today. What blessings He’s poured down for centuries still wash over me in the morning.

I repeat it until it sinks in to my marrow: God is good. All the time. This I believe. Because I do. I do believe. It’s my unbelief that gets in the way…

Friends, the same God who cared, doted and catered to those ungrateful Israelites cares, dotes and caters for us today. Above and beyond what He did for them.

Did I lose you? Let me say it another way — because this is important:

We may think God moved more in Bible times. We may be deceived into believing He’s not as active today. But it’s not true. The Bible tells me so. This I believe:

I believe we are the luckiest there ever was.

Abraham begged for a son, an heir to save what little name he had. God ensured that son would make it possible to save the little name I have. Me. God not only took care of Abraham then, He ensured I was cared for now.

The Israelites begged for a meal that wouldn’t be so bland, boring and same ol’, same old. God gave me the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and showed me how I could be the Salt of the Earth (Matthew 5:13) through Him. With His grace, I can always spice things up and live knowing the well of everlasting life runs through me.

Friends, we are the luckiest there ever was.

I don’t have to spend 40 years in the desert with only one pair of shoes to catch a glimpse of hope — a promise of salvation. No. The Promised Land was offered to me before I was born through the sacrifice of His Son.

I don’t have to sacrifice my firstborn. I don’t even have to stand in line. I simply have to say ‘yes’ to His never-rescinding offer. (John 3:16)

It only takes looking on the horizon to see how lucky we are.

Friend–Jesus gave it all in hopes we would have more than we deserve. He’s so excited, He’s preparing places for us in our eternal home–the one we’re working our way towards. (John 14:4)

We don’t have to hope for it. We don’t have to pay for it. We don’t have to follow any old rituals to acquire it. No. Why? Because God is good. All the time.

This I believe. May my unbelief get out-of-the-way as I proudly proclaim:

I’m the luckiest there ever was.

And when I live like that, knowing He’s got me covered, I see Him today…doting, caring, loving on me. And I smile wide fully believing…I’m the luckiest there ever was…

How about you? Can you proclaim that, too? Will you? I’d love to hear.

*Photo Credit: Creative Commons User Cygnus921
Filed Under: Spiritual Tagged With: , , , , 13 Comments

A Living Being {CMA}

March 14, 2013 By 3 Comments

Sometimes I get frustrated with my lack of “success” in a given area.
For years I’ve set out with a New Year’s resolution to “improve” myself in some way.
And by this time of year, I’ve already stopped progressing or worse, forgotten it entirely.

I’ve also been the person who has looked at the “success” in other people’s lives and thought, “Man, if only I were that lucky“.

Lucky. There is an interesting word surrounded by rainbows and pots of gold. What is “luck” anyway?

Dictonary.com defines luck as the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person’s life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities

Ok. So there is a force that drives luck. So what does the word “force” really mean then? Dictonary.com defines force as; physical power or strength possessed by a living being

By a Living Being.

As a daughter of Christ, I know the Truth.

The Truth is a Living Being left heaven, came to earth to suffer and die in my place, conquered death by rising again, and all of this so I might have redemption. When I submit to His authority and make Him Lord of my life, He transforms and shapes me, and as He does I become a new person in Christ.

It’s not about me being “lucky”. It’s about me drawing closer to my Savior and loving God with all my heart, mind, body, and soul. When this happens I find His success for my life. Through His strength I can accomplish much.

But wait, there’s more.

In this amazing process, our God (who is Perfect Love) also gives us each other. He knows our hearts wage war between our Love and desire for obedience to Him and our sinful nature. Knowing the struggles we would encounter, He gave us each other so we don’t have to “go it alone”.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV)
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

 

I’ve recently started using Thursdays to complete a Sanity Challenge. I felt it tied in deeply with my one word “Redeemed” for 2013. I picked Thursdays so I could start linking up for Count Me Accountable. It has a two part purpose; First to hold myself accountable to seek the Lord and let Him change me. Secondly, so I can encourage you and be encouraged by you. Sometimes just the act of encouraging another person is in itself encouraging. Because He gave us one another so we are never alone.

He is enough. He is perfect love, and yet, He still gave us even more! Each other!

WOW

Must Love God

At Must Love God, we believe in Community.
No one needs to walk through this life alone. It is a gift and a blessing to have someone walking right next to you.

On Thursdays, we join together to help each other stay accountable for our goals. We invite you to join with us… Tell us about your exercise, healthy eating, Bible memorization,  One Word, and anything else you want to be held accountable for. Projects are much easier to follow through with when we know we are “giving a report” on Thursday!

Join us and let us know how you’re doing by either linking up a post from your blog or leaving us a comment.
Please help us encourage one another and build one another up by visiting the blog linked up before yours and leaving an encouraging word!

In Love & Faith,
RaZella

 


Filed Under: Accountability, Emotional, Friendship, Goals, Spiritual Tagged With: , , , , 3 Comments
Next Page »