One Coat

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18

I was duped.

I took the bait, hook, line and sinker.

I recently purchased Primer to paint over the current color of paint on the walls in my kitchen.  The front label of this brand assured me that it would only take one coat to effectively cover the current wall color, no matter the color, saving me time and money.

They were wrong.

It still took two cans and two coats to cover the previous color.

Religion takes many coats of 'works.'  'Works' that take both, time and money, to leave a person content enough to think that they have done all they can do, to assure them of a home in Heaven.

But the blood of Christ completely covers ALL our sin!

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Hebrews 10:10

I believe that it would have only taken one drop of Christ's sinless, precious, atoning blood to cover all of our sins completely, but He chose to shed ALL His blood, and He chose to lay down His life for us.

"No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." John 10:18

"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;" Romans 3:25

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

1 John 2:2

Don't let Satan dupe you into thinking your works will save you from your sins. No matter how many works you do, it will never be enough.

Only the blood of Christ is efficient to cover all of your sins...

    And the Mercy Seat will never require another coat...

        But that's just me!

𝅘𝅥What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus! 

Hannah's Prayer

"So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head." 1 Samuel 1:9-11

I'm beginning a bible study with some ladies in our church with this month's theme being, 'Powerful Prayers,' and what a powerful prayer to begin with!

When we read in the bible the prayers prayed by others in their most difficult times, it allows us to see that others before us have gone through the very same things we deal with today, and it allows us to see the Power of God!

Let's define some words in Hannah's prayer based on Strong's Concordance:

Bitterness, 4751=Great heaviness

Handmaid, 519=Servant

Affliction, 6040=Depressed, misery, trouble.

Hannah had no child of her own; she was barren.  Even though her husband favored Hannah above his other wife, being barren in those days was a shame and an embarrassment for the woman.  It didn't help that her husband's other wife had two men children and flaunted that in Hannah's face every day.

Hannah's prayer is one of my favorite prayers in the bible because it teaches me many things:

-She prayed to The Only One Who could answer her prayer-

-She prayed from the very depths of her pain-

-She vowed a vow to God, and vows were not to be taken lightly, (She kept that vow!)-

-She committed her affliction to God by name-

-She prayed specifically-

-She asked God to remember her, (and He did!)-

-She admitted her place before a Holy God. She was His servant-

-She made her request in humility-

There is so much we can learn about prayer in just these three little verses!

What an example we have in Hannah.  I love the fact that when she prayed for her request for a man child, she already knew that he would belong to the LORD. She asked God to bless her with a son, so that she could give him back to the LORD.  What a testimony!

"Hannah took something that already belonged to the LORD and gave it again to Him in a greater way-for his whole life, and in the dedication of a Nazarite, which was a greater consecration than a Levite." Guzik

Are my prayers selfish...?

    When God answers my prayers, do I give what He has given me, back to Him...?

        Hannah's prayer gave me something to think about...

            But that's just me!

"As we pour out our bitterness in prayer, God pours in His peace.' F.B. Meyer

My Friend

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16

I'm reading a book right now by Mark Cahill titled, One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven.

(Copyright 2002 Mark Cahill)

By the Title of the book, you probably already know the one thing you can't do in heaven.

Witness.

There are two basic reasons why we don't witness the way we should, they are:

Fear of Rejection, or we are ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

Which is it for you?

What hinders your witnessing?

In his book, Mark Cahill includes this poem:

My Friend

My friend, I stand in judgment now,

And feel that you're to blame somehow.

On Earth I walked with you day by day,

And never did you point the way.

You knew the Lord in truth and glory,

But never did you tell the story.

My knowledge then was very dim;

You could have led me safe to Him.

Though we lived together here on Earth,

You never told me of the second birth.

And now I stand this day condemned,

Because you failed to mention Him.

You taught me many things, that's true;

I called you "friend" and trusted you.

But I learn now that it's too late,

And you could have kept me from this fate.

We walked by day and talked by night,

And yet you showed me not the light.

You let me live, and love, and die,

You knew I'd never live on high.

Yes, I called you "friend" in life,

And trusted you through joy and strife.

And, yet, on coming to this dreadful end,

I cannot, now, call you "my friend."

When I read that poem, it smote my heart.  I began to immediately think of my neighbors who I talk with on a daily basis and never openly witness to them.  Oh sure, they know where I attend church, they watch the way a live, how I dress and notice I'm different, but have I moved passed the surface of 'chatting' to openly share Christ with them?

Or how about the person I stand in line next to in the grocery store?

You are probably thinking, "How can you effectively witness in a line at the grocery store?"

By remembering that we are called to plant, and to water, and then let God give the increase. (1 Corinthians 3)

Satan likes to convince us that witnessing is hard.  That is a lie!  Don't believe it!

It's as easy as asking, 'When you die, what do you think will happen next?'

There is no losing in witnessing for our Lord. It's only a win-win situation even if the person you are witnessing to ends up rejecting you and rejecting Christ.

1 Peter 4:14 says, "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified."

                Just ask a simple question and let God do the rest!

                           But that's just me!

"If we understand what lies ahead for those who do not know Christ, there will be a sense of urgency in our witness." David Jeremiah

"Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter." Charles Spurgeon

Adjusted

 I had an appointment with my Chiropractor today to be adjusted and as I was driving home, a thought had entered into my mind; something that my mom used to tell me when I spoke to her disrespectfully, or if she thought I was getting a little too big for my britches.  She would look at me and say, "You need to adjust your attitude before it gets you into further trouble."

I smile when I think about it.  (I'm sure I wasn't smiling back then when hearing my mom's warning.)

Webster defines adjust this way:

rectify, (adjust an error) to conform, regulate.

Synonyms for the word adjust are:

-Adapt

-Conform

-Fit

-Shape

Just to name a few.

Just like when I was a child and needed to adjust my attitude because I was out of sorts for one reason or another, or I found myself rebellious or disobedient to my mom, as a child of God I've noticed that at times I still need to adjust my attitude about certain things, certain situations and even about certain people.

So how do I adjust my attitude to conform to my Lord?  

I read His Word.

Psalm 119:59 says, "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies."

I love that!  The Psalmist thought on his own ways and decided to turn his feet unto God's Word!

When I feel a little out-of-sorts...

    and find myself needing a little attitude adjustment...

        I read God's Word, and He aligns me right back to where I need to be!

            But that's just me!

"The right attitude is this: that I have my own will, yet I will the will of God."

Watchman Nee

NO RETURN ACCESS

"And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."

Words of Jesus, Luke 16:26

My husband and I recently returned from a road trip after visiting my son and his family who live 1,205.6 miles, and 17 Hours and 32 minutes away. (Yes, I counted each mile and each minute!)  Along the way, I read many Road Signs.  There were the State, City and County Line Markers; River, Creek and Stream Markers; Exits for Hotels, Gas and Food, and Rest Area's; 'Must-See-Tourist' Stops and Shops, and then, of course, The Scenic Views.

But along the way I noticed a few other Road Signs:

-Ranch Access-

-Services-

-No Services-

-Freeway Entrance-

-Road Contruction and Speed Limit Signs.

But there was one Road Sign that stayed in my mind:  NO RETURN ACCESS.

This sign warned Drivers that once they had made the decision to take this Exit, there was no turning back.

I thought of the Rich Man and Lazarus.  The Rich Man had made his choice to reject the God that Moses and the Prophets had preached about, and he was now facing the consequences of his choice, and even though he now knew the Truth, he could not leave his permanent, Eternal home.

He had NO RETURN ACCESS.

I think of Felix in Acts 24:25. "And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."

There never was a convenient season for Felix to turn to Christ.  He had made his decision, and he too, had NO RETURN ACCESS.

And then there is King Agrippa.  "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Acts 26:28

There was NO RETURN ACCESS for King Agrippa.  He made his choice; there was no turning back.

Tragic.

When we travel, I have an Exit Book.  I can look up the State we are driving through, and it lists the Cities we will drive through along the route.  Next to each exit number there is a list of Services we will find there. 

God has given us His Word, The Bible, so that we can know the direction we must go!

Friend, my prayer is that you will turn from the wrong direction of sin and turn in the right direction to Christ.

        Because once you Exit this life...

            There is NO RETURN ACCESS...

                But that's just me!

    

Specifics

"Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live."

Psalm 116:2

Yesterday I prayed specifically, and God answered my prayer specifically.  My heart is over-flowing with Thanksgiving towards my Lord.  I am humbled to think how the God of the Universe, Creator God, will listen to my prayers and answer them.

Why does He do that?

Because He loves us, and He reaffirms His love toward us by answering our prayers.

Do I always know how to pray specifically?  No.  Sometimes I can't even find the words to pray what I need; I only know that I need my Lord.  But God takes care of that as well.

"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26-27

I was recently talking with a friend of mine, and she had asked me to pray for her son.  Before she got into the specifics of how to pray for her son, we were interrupted, and we did not get the opportunity to finish that conversation.  Did not knowing what to specifically pray for, cause me not to pray for her son?  No.

The beauty of prayer is not always needing to know the details.  The power of prayer is not the prayer itself.  Prayer is speaking to The One Who alone can answer that prayer.

The power behind prayer is the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we can pray specifically, then pray specifically...

    When we have no words, let the Holy Spirit of God make intercession for us...

        And when we don't know all the details, remember, God does, and He can take care of it...

            But that's just me!

"Prayer is the admission that without Christ we can do nothing. Prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we need." John Piper

We

"And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?" Numbers 20:10

I learned something new during our church Service on Sunday.  

I love that!

It never ceases to amaze me how God will show me something new in His Word in a portion of Scripture that I must have read a hundred times before.  As Pastor Fryman preached being led by the Holy Spirit of God, he brought attention to one specific word in this verse:

"WE."

It was the first time that word had been brought to my attention.  Usually in this portion of Scripture, it's more about how Moses smote the rock in disobedience to God's command that he 'speak' to the rock.

Our Pastor went on to say, that "There is no 'we,' ONLY GOD."

When Moses included himself in the work that only God could do, Moses attempted to rob God of His Glory.

The result:  Verse 11-"And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."

In Malachi we read, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings."  Malachi 3:8.

Isn't it sad how the children of God can rob God?  We can rob God through our tithes and offerings, which consist of monies, time or talent, and then according to Numbers, we can also rob God of His glory.

How can that be?

Exactly in the same way Moses did when He said, 'We,' instead of 'God.'

When I do something for the Lord, am I quick to bring it to someone else's attention so that I can get a pat on the back?  Am I seeking recognition?  

When God calls me to do something for Him, do I accept man's praise?

Does pride in the abilities God has given me, remove the Glory God deserves?

It gave me a lot to think about.

There is no 'we...'

    Only God!

        But that's just me.

"Dear Lord,

Let there be less of me, and More of You, Amen."