The High Calling of God

So, here we are, once again in the final days of the old year, anticipating the new one just around the corner.  I am not one to make new year's resolutions, because by the end of the first week, I have forgotten all about them.  Although I do have quite a large sign on my fridge that states: "What we don't change, we chose".  It reminds me that when I open the refrigerator door, I don't have to just grab something to eat. I have the power to NOT open that door. Recently as  I was thinking about some of the changes I want to see in myself in the coming year, the thought came to me:  "Just BE" .  Just be what, Lord?  Happier? Thinner? Healthier?  Just be what, Lord? More spiritual? Less of a complainer? The answer came: "Just be-- stop trying so hard." Stop being so hard on myself.  Stop worrying about the future and fretting over the past. Let go of  the things I have no control over. Just let all the hurt and pain go and just be. Just

  The world was in great darkness. God spoke the Word into the world And there was LIGHT.  (Genesis 1:2,3) The world sat in great darkness. God spoke the Word into Mary. And there was LIGHT. (Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16; Luke 1:311-38) The world sat in great darkness. God spoke the Word into the apostles- the Church was born. And there was LIGHT. (Acts 2:1-21) The world sits in great darkness once again. God is speaking the Word into the Church- Let there be LIGHT! And there will be LIGHT! (Isaiah 60:2; 2 Timothy 3:1-9;  Revelation 21:11,23,24; 22:5)     ~ Donna

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." Galatians 2:20   My husband and I enjoy watching a particular baking show. I am by no means a great baker. But I learn a few things by watching others. The contestants have three opportunities each day to show off their baking talents.  Although the judges are looking for a spectacular appearance, they judge mostly by how the product tastes.  On one particular show the contestants were to bake an exquisite looking and tasting cake.  One contestant, after he had worked so hard on his beautiful several tiered cake, the cake toppled over just before he had to present it to the judges.  It didn't look too appetizing after that.  But when the judges tasted it, he still got good reviews on his cake- because of what was inside . I thought about this along with the verse- "Christ lives in me" .  It is the Christ within that matters most.  It is the fruit of our fa

“One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord (in His Presence) all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty (the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur) of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” Psalm 27: 4 (Amp.)  There are a lot of distracted Christians today- and I admit- I am one of them.   As I get older, I seem to get distracted more easily. It takes me much longer to “get myself together” in the morning these days- and I’m not talking cosmetically.   I am talking about getting all my joints and limbs to “get it together” and start moving in the same direction- hopefully forward! After a restless night- my back aches, my joints hurt and just getting out of bed and down the steps to let our dog outside- becomes a grand event.Once I get my body moving in the right direction then I can be distracted or overwhelmed at the things that I need to do that day.  It isn’t that I forget about the Lord, but I all

1 Peter 1:7 “Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of His victory.” (The Message) What do you think it is that God wants to see in His people? In His Church? In you and me? He wants to see His reflection. So many times, we are so quick to have God remove the fiery trial, take us out of our problems- but we must realize that it is in our “problems” that God will reveal Himself to us and to those around us. John, the Beloved was banished to the isle of Patmos. Patmos was a volcanic island.   He was banished here because of His testimony of Christ.   He lived in a cave and was a slave- lived for 18 months there and in the midst of his fiery trial he received the greatest revelation of Jesus Christ which was written down and given to the Church.  The list could go on and on of those who have