Just Thinking

Just thinking… You know, the more that we pray according to God’s will, the more we may see the world around us seem to come apart or come at us…
I think that it is because we are not to be of this world anyways and sometimes things do need to change in order for us to be in God’s will… Some things that we think that we need are no where near as good as what God has in store for us.
God knows us best and He knows why He created us. If we are truly seeking God’s will and things are not going the way that we thought that they would, that is OK! Either He has something better in store or He is bettering us, our character or our situation.

Keep seeking His face and keep seeking His will and keep building His kingdom. While we are waiting to see our hopes fulfilled, let’s not get tired of doing good and seeking God because He is going to reward us. He is our Father. He loves us. He sees everything that is going on behind the scenes that we do not see or know. He is working it all out for our good. Trust Him and keep on fighting the good fight of faith!

*** UPDATE: We got some discouraging news today, but I am trusting God to work it all out. He knew that the news was in motion and on the way long before we even had a clue that it was coming. We have recently realized that there are still several areas that we both can grow and mature in. We had some wrong attitudes or perceptions that we were operating under in our finances. God gave us clarity and a way to make a change for the better. I am grateful!

I had to repent of being ungrateful and walking in doubt, still! I am just grateful that the Holy Spirit revealed some things to me about myself and I was able to remove some weight from my shoulders by surrendering in a couple of new areas to the Lord. He does take us from strength to strength, but it is through humility and surrender to Him that we are able to go from these strengths to new strengths. It sounds backwards that we surrender and recognize and admit our weaknesses in order to get stronger. But that is how when we are weak, He is strong. That is how we grow. We can not get past what we will not see or recognize or admit and not turn it over to Him and ask Him for forgiveness and help. That is all that it means to confess our wrongs, to ask for forgiveness and to repent. It just means that we admit that we made a mistake or had it wrong and that we want help from our Savior to turn things around. Guess what?! He will!!!

*added thought: Warning: we may see our government or religious institutions shaken because we seem to think that they have all of the answers. We tend to think here in our country that the government is supposed to be looking out for our best interest and that the government will fix anything that needs to be fixed. We have blindly trusted that if the government says that it is OK or needed, that it is OK or that we must need whatever they say that we need. When did we stop thinking for ourselves and when did we stop taking our thoughts captive unto Jesus Christ and hold them up to God’s Word, first? When did we start trusting in political parties and political agendas instead of God’s kingdom and God’s agenda? When did we start trusting in doctors’ opinions and scientific theories instead of God’s promises and walking by faith in Him? If you believe that we have been faithful to God as a nation then I say that you are under a great deception. If you live in this country and you say that you are a believer in Christ Jesus but you allowed mockers of His name and kingdom to be put into leadership positions by seeking your own comfort and leisure ahead of paying attention to what is going on here, then you need to repent. I can say this because I was guilty of this, too! I used to think that there were good people voting and running for office and that everything was going to be OK and that politics was something that I did not have to worry with. I took my right to vote for granted for many years. Now, I look at this great nation that God has blessed and I repent for my own complacency and greed and apathy. I repent because I am a part of the reason that we have come so far from the once great and blessed nation that we were. If we can complain about how things are now, then let us also ask ourselves if we are partly to blame and repent. BUT, do not give up or fear! Because as I say in this post: God knows everything and has already been working behind the scenes. He knows what He is doing and what is going on. He is also preparing future generations for what they will be facing and He is equipping us for what is to come. He may be doing some shaking to wake us up to turn things around before He does poor wrath on those who truly seek to do evil. If we do repent then He will definitely step in and turn it all around for our good. If we continue to refuse to acknowledge Him and seek Him, then He will allow us to face the consequences that we have created by allowing greed, lust, laziness, pride and all kinds of evil to rule in our lives.

My Birthday 2016

Yesterday turned out to be one of my best, if not the best, birthdays that I’ve had. I know that the reason is all because of the LORD and His love. I do appreciate all the calls and messages on Facebook and the time spent with my family. I am so grateful for all of the little and big ways that those whom I love showed me that they love me.

None of the love shown to me on this birthday would have been possible nor would I have been able to receive it if it were not for the LORD. For one thing, I wouldn’t have believed that I deserve it or that anyone could love me. For another thing, I would have hidden from everyone because of the disbelief in their ability to love me because of how much I did not love myself. Today I understand that God is the One who authors love and puts people in our lives to encourage us and He is the Source of all of my life and all that sustains me – including my ability to love myself and my relationships with others. I thank God for where He has me today.

I realize that no matter what anyone else is doing, my eyes should be on the LORD and I should stand on His Word and His promises and His truth – about who I am and who they are. I should not be so upset with anyone if they are acting out and especially if I know they are a believer. I should pray for them and forgive and ask God to heal, convict, grant mercy towards repentance, lavish His grace into their situation and TRUST HIM to be their Father, Teacher, Healer, and Comforter – just as He is mine. (Romans 14:4) If He can do what He has done in me, then He can do it in them!! Praise God! Do I really get it now?

When I had the revelation to stop focusing on the acting out behavior (sins) and to instead focus on loving the person and leaving the rest to God – I felt like I was hearing to stop demonizing everything that is sinful. What I believe that means is that God is still in control anyway so do not allow the fact that a sin is taking place to now make you believe that the situation or the person is unreachable. No! God is bigger than our sin! As believers we rest in the fact that Jesus did pay the price for our sin and He has redeemed us. And we should know that we are not made perfect in our actions the day that we are saved. The day that we accept the FREE GIFT OF GRACE AND SALVATION is the day that we are transferred from the darkness into His kingdom of glorious light but we are not going to live a perfect life from that moment on. We are made perfect in His sight and Jesus perfects us. If we understand this for ourselves, then we need to understand it for others.

When a person is a believer and is still struggling with overcoming a bad habit or a sin and they stumble or fall, God’s Word promises that nothing can separate us from His love. Romans 8 covers the whole idea of struggling with sin and becoming more than a conqueror in Christ. The reason Romans 8 talks about there being no more condemnation in Christ and that nothing can separate us from God’s love is because God knows how our minds work and how guilt and shame work to keep us from being more than conquerors. God wants us to walk in the love He has for us and to share that same love with others. That is exactly why He sent Jesus Christ to give us the perfect example, to show us His love personified and to pay the price for ALL of our sins.

Philippians 2:12-13 tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in us to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose. This tells us to be patient with ourselves and with one another because it is going to take some time to work out our salvation. Also, it tells us that God is the One who is working in us to get us where He wants us to be. We are not let off the hook. We are told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We need to stay surrendered to the leadership of Jesus, listen to the Holy Spirit and move when we are touched and obey His voice. The fear and trembling comes in as we are learning and we are not sure and we are constantly seeking to hear Him and to know Him and to do as He leads.

I am not saying that it is OK to keep sinning or that our struggle needs to continue over the same issues over and over again. No. But God is bigger than that obstacle, that bad habit that we are trying to give up, and that character defect that we do not want to have any longer. The sooner we surrender to Him, the more that we are in His presence and the more we learn of Him, the sooner we will overcome that which is trying to hinder us.

Also, when we or our loved ones are struggling, we need to remind each other that God is bigger and so is His love! And the enemy cannot overcome God! Whatever the enemy tries to use against us will not prosper! God can and will take what seemed meant for evil and He will turn it for good! So remember that and remind each other of that! Stand in that truth even when we see another person who is doing something that we know they may regret or that can turn out badly. And tell the enemy: “Devil, you may think you are winning here, but get behind me! I am surrendering to Jesus Christ and His authority and I plead the blood of Jesus over myself and put His spotless blood between us. You have no authority here! Go! In the name of Jesus I tell you to go and do not come back! I am redeemed! There is no weapon formed against me that will prosper! Your attacks and tactics will come to no gain for you or your evil purposes. God will take what you meant for evil and turn it for good.”

Proclaim that for your loved ones. Stop giving the enemy any room! Stop giving the enemy victories because we say, “Well the devil just keeps attacking him and he’s too weak or doesn’t want to choose the Lord.” Stand in the gap for your loved ones and even for the strangers and lost souls that you see on the street and pray for one another! The enemy of our souls only wins when we give up or give up on one another! Jesus never gives up on us. God never gives up on anyone! He moved heaven and earth for every human being on this planet! He wants no lost souls. We are all His children if we just believe!

At one time we were all enemies of God IN OUR OWN MINDS as shown by our evil actions. Colossians 1:21-22 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”

That is definitely where I used to be! An enemy of God in my own mind, even though I had accepted Christ as my Savior as a child. When I got old enough to really understand what sin was and what a wretched sinner that I was, I had a hard time really believing that God could love me. I am so grateful that He has helped me to at least begin to grasp the depth of His love for me. 

God does not want us to be His enemies! He loves us and sent His Son to reconcile us to Himself. But because we did not understand or know about how great His love is for us, we thought we were His enemies and we acted like we were His enemies. We acted like we had to fend for ourselves and like it did not matter how we got the things that we wanted and needed for ourselves. Like orphan children with no one to trust, we acted out and lashed out. But now, now that we have such a great love shown to us, let us show that love to others and let us trust our Father in heaven.

~ Angela

 

Update from Angela of 2Fools4Christ

Good afternoon to everyone who happens by our blog! And I know that it is God who has directed you here. This is just our meager attempt to give back to our Father who loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins and shortcomings and mistakes – knowing what they would be in advance, He came and gave His life for us so that we can know the Father. We are forever grateful.

Even having acknowledged our faith in Jesus, we admit that we are still imperfect in ourselves and of ourselves. But we also say that is the Good News of the gospel. We are nothing. We do not try to make ourselves out to be something that we are not or take any credit for any good that we do. It is only by the grace and mercy of God that we stand, stumble, fall, get back up and continue every day to seek those new mercies offered by our Father in the name of Jesus. The Good News is that we all have fallen short of God’s perfection and He knew that we would, but loves us in spite of ourselves and sent Jesus to rescue and save us from ourselves, the world and the devil. We do have victory in Jesus! Victory is not us being perfect, it is that we are perfect in Christ even though we cannot be perfect – He gives us His perfection and perfects us.

We have to not be so hard on ourselves, but we must rest in the finished work of the cross of Christ. He cried, “It is finished!” for a reason. We need to stand on the promises of God even in the face of failure and dire looking circumstances and situations. Though we fall we must keep turning to the Lord for He is the One who picks us up and gives us more grace. I am like Paul who said: “Who can save me from the wretch that I am? But thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25). I am so thankful to know that my sins are not counted against me and that they are covered by the blood of the spotless Lamb. And so, I pray that they are not counted against you or anyone else. I pray that you are drawn by the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ and the Word of God and that you come to know Him so that He may reveal to you the Father, who’s love is unfailing and does not depend on who you are, where you are, what you did, what you did not do, how rich or how poor you are or any other thing. The Father so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to reconcile those who believe on Jesus into a relationship with Him. That relationship is LOVE.

******* UPDATE******

I did not mean to say much more than that I am going to be posting some poems and writings from my teenage years and forward. These poems were written prior to being diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. Some of them are very strange and some of them are miraculous. I hope that they speak to you about the journey that I have been on ever since I can remember. As I do post them, feel free to ask questions or comment and thank you for stopping by our blog!

I Dreamed a Weird Dream

I had a strange dream, it was very much like a vision….
In the dream, Jerry and I were going to help fix a friend’s car and we were following them, but I got ahead of them and pulled over at a gas station in unfamiliar territory, to wait on this friend. In the meantime, Jerry got out and the friend wanted him to drive so that he could see exactly how their car acting. I had the kids with me and we got delayed. Jerry and the friend didn’t realize that we weren’t ready to leave and they went ahead and left. So me and the kids were left there….
this is where it got really strange
I took out my phone to call Jerry and tell him that we were not behind them but my phone wasn’t quite cooperating.
It was broad daylight, between noon and 3 p.m. and I realized this because…
The sky became like it was midnight…
It was very dark and the people coming and going from the gas station all got very quiet for a minute, all of looking around, like, it isn’t nighttime??!! We all looked at our phones for the time, but they weren’t working, and we knew it was just the middle of the day, anyways, and we were all a bit scared for a second…
but there were two ladies who came near to me and we looked in each other’s eyes and we had tears in our eyes for a moment…
I asked the one lady, that had grabbed my hand, “Do you know Jesus?”
She said, “Yes, thank Him, I know Him” and we smiled at one another. We hugged and then the second lady joined us and we all said, “Everything is OK, good, actually” and we smiled and they went on their separate ways…
I was looking up at the sky and the clouds were doing strange things, it looked like they were attacking and covering the moon, swirling around it, etc – but I also felt like the Lord was working in it all and was doing something. Some of the people stopped at the gas station were looking up expectantly, but others were running around scared and screaming and afraid. But there were a few of us that were kind of calmly looking up in the sky and seeming to be wondering just what God was doing, because we knew that He is in control and that we didn’t have to be afraid..
Then, this beautiful light covered the moon (and I am not suggesting anything, but just telling you what I was seeing and it was like a message in the sky, not exactly what is going to happen) Then, it was like a cartoon looking scene there in the sky, like the Lord was using a cartoon drawing in the darkened sky to show us something wonderful. He showed us the moon was really a picture of the earth and that He is doing something, something that He has already foretold us in His Word. The cartoon drawing of the earth, where the moon was previously in my dream, began as a normal looking earth but then it was bare and then it began changing, the shapes of the continents and waters and everything was changed and then the land began to show green, with grass and trees and forests and all types of new life and it grew bigger and bigger. And  I got so excited in the dream, I was like, “O my goodness that is what the Lord promised, a new heaven and a new earth!”

I looked down at my phone I wanted to call Jerry and see if he was seeing what I was seeing, but there was a cartoon type drawing on my phone that I had never seen before and it was angelic looking, like cartoon angels drawn with message bubbles beside them like they were telling something, but I couldn’t see to read the words there, and I could not dial out on my phone, either…. and the sky became bright again like nothing ever happened and the people there at the gas station, some of them went on their way like nothing ever happened, but others of us were quietly looking at one another like we had a common knowledge among us, and also, like, we knew we had to share with others….

what does this mean? of course, I really don’t know for sure, but I do know that I love the Lord. I do know that He shows us things for a reason. I felt like He wanted me to share this. And one more thing, I felt the urgency as I did in the dream when I asked the lady if she knew Jesus, that we need to not wait any longer to tell others that we love them and that Jesus loves them and for us to love them as Jesus does, RIGHT NOW. TODAY, while you hear HIS voice, please answer, TODAY, while there is still light, hear His voice and surrender to the love of Jesus, that is what it is, His LOVE, not His law, but His LOVE – right where you are and He will do the rest. And if you are His, share His LOVE, walk in His love, allow His love and compassion to motivate you to share yourself and the gifts that He has given to you with others, we are all here for a reason and have been blessed to be a blessing.
If you took the time to read this whole thing, God bless your heart for realz!

Here is the verse of the day, today, June 1, 2015 on biblegateway.com :

Verse of the Day

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21: 2-4 NIV

HALLELUJAH! TO GOD BE ALL GLORY AND HONOR AND PRAISE!