The Courtroom

You do not bring me into Your courtroom for judgment...
No, I have already been judged.
All my sins, all my failures have been judged,
Yes, I was found guilty...
But the precious blood of your dear Son, Jesus,
Washed the guilt away,
He took the guilt, curse and accusation of my sin upon Himself,
 Paid my debt with His life...and transferred to me His righteousness!

Yes, Father,
When I enter Your courtroom,
You see Jesus,
You see the blood of Your Son,
You see Christ within me,
You see the righteousness of Your Son covering me...

My heart sings,
Because now when I enter Your courtroom,
We are family...
You are my Daddy...and I am Your daughter.

And You welcome me and ask,"And what would you like Daddy to do for you?"

And I tell you my longings...my desires...my hopes...my dreams...
And willingly You listen , bless, and gift me with Your goodness,

"Because You are a good good Father that's who You are, and I am loved by You, that's who I am."

What Will Keep Me?

It is not the message of
    I must
       or
    I have to
       or
    I am trying
       or
    I did
That will keep me, protect me,
Impart to me the blessings that the Father wants to give me.

No,
It's only
The message of grace,
Of what He did,
Of what He is doing,
How He sees me,
And who He says I am
That will keep me strong in the faith...receiving that abundant life.

Yes,
It's His Work, His Grace, His goodness,
And me just believing and receiving,
That unceasingly magnificent love, that unmerited favor, that poured-out grace.

The Question

The question...flaunted toward me... from that proud oppressor,

"What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?"

"Do you think positive thinking will win this battle?
 Do you think you can fight this enemy alone?
 Didn't you hear the news, read the report?
 Didn't you hear the accusation?
 How can you trust in God? What makes you think He will help you this time?
 You have no reason that your God should listen to you after that time of failure the other day.
 How about a compromise?
 I will only rob you of half of your faith, half of your peace, and then I will let you alone..."

 That oppressor goes on and on with his accusations, pleas for attention, and lies of promising good.

Yes, King Hezekiah heard the taunts,
He heard the reports of disaster, the threat of failure, the lies, accusations,
He heard the offer for compromise
And the promise of flourishing delight attached to the demands of this prowler...

He heard, and his first response was to enter into the Presence of God!
And as he magnified his God,
And reminded himself of the bigness, strength, power, and goodness of His God...
The Word of the Lord came with a promise,
A promise of deliverance,
A promise of rescue,
A promise of divine help...
Yes, Hezekiah's promise of a miracle came as He worshipped and remembered his God!!
And the Lord came and destroyed that enemy...
And that enemy marched away without King Hezekiah's army lifting a finger!

So the question remains...
What am I trusting in that makes me so confident?
Confident that restoration and return are coming,
Confident that light will break into that darkness,
Confident that the promise that were given will come to be,
Confident that my God hears my pleas, knows my needs, and desires to bless me,
Confident that my God is good and that He loves to pour out His riches on His children,
Confident that the miracle will manifest!

How could I put my trust in any other
Or turn my face away from His adoring glance
To engage in compromise with an enemy, with this one who taunts my Beloved?

My answer...
My trust is in my best friend, my precious Savior, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace,
My trust is in the Healer, the Maker of heaven and earth,
My trust is in my Beloved,
It is Him I am trusting in,
Because He is the only One who loves me completely!!!

Isaiah 36,37

What Happens

What happens when the people of God step forward?
The people of the living God,
The people who know they have purpose in life,
The people who know God is on their side, and no weapon formed against them may prosper,
What happens when  the people of God step forward?
The people of God who are covered with the blood of Jesus
And surrounded by His glory and favor,
The people of God who know they have the host of heaven on their side...

What happens when the people of God step forward,
The people who are confident that their God goes with them and protects and guides them...

The earth shakes...
That is what happens,
Satan trembles in fear and enemies are destroyed,
And a shift happens in the atmosphere...

When the people of God march forward
With their God as their constant Hero and companion...
The impossible suddenly becomes possible,
The light begins to reign,
And the sound of hope abounds...

Yes, when the people of God march forward with confidence in their God,
Things happen,
Things change,
Goodness abounds,
And love wins!

Heavy Hearted

Precious one,
Is your heart heavy with desire
Desire to see a loved one free?
Free from the enemy's grip,
Free from the wandering,
Free from the experimenting with all the world promises to be delightful.
Is your heart heavy as you carry your loved one's pain, wounds,
And as you watch those waves of despair flow in and out?

Oh, how your heart longs to see this dear one bloom, with new growth,
Oh, how your heart yearns for their springtime of awakening to the Father's love to arrive...

My friend,
The Father does not want to see you burdened with this care, worried or anxious.
He wants to transport you into the heavenly places with Him
Where together, with Him, you can see as He sees.
He knows, sees, and has been interceeding for this dear lamb of His long before you have...
He is confident... because He knows the good work that He began in this dear one
Will be perfected!!
He sees and knows the "how' and the "when."

Friend,
Continue your prayers with much hope and joy in the Lord.
Look into His face and hold unto those precious promises...
For your hope is in Him!!!

Yes, that is how it is possible
To lay that burden down...
To pray and declare with confidence, eventhough the picture looks otherwise...

Allow Him to transport you
Right next to Him,
The Prince of Peace.
And He will give you supernatural eyes
To hope, believe, and rejoice in His goodness.

Trust

When my trust is in myself,
In the natural, the obvious, in my ability, in money, education, my job, or a person...
I become fearful, anxious, frustrated,
I question the circumstance,
Strive for protection and provision,
I waver and become shaky.
Suddenly, I am not sure if I am doing the right thing,
Or believing the right thing...
I begin to doubt the faithfulness and goodness of my God,
And peace seems far away...

But when I trust in my God
The negatives flee.
And I allow Him to do what He loves to do...
Open the storehouses of His riches in Heaven,
And abundantly, He pours out His grace and meets all my needs!!!

"When our trust is in You, God, we are unshakeable, unmoveable. When our trust is in You, You  wrap Your presence around us and protect."  Psalms 125

Gentle Care

Today, I looked at my tomato plant and thought,
This is a true miracle,
I remember the day I planted this tiny seed into the dark soil,
It seemed impossible at the time that anything could result from this seemingly worthless action.
But instead I erased that thought and hoped,
Pictured a bountiful crop of tomatoes,
Pictured those canned jars of tomato soup, salsa and remembered the taste of tomato sandwiches.

Yes, my hope was in the life that was within the seed...

So although my natural eye was telling me one thing, I chose to believe in the life within the seed.
And hope blossomed,
And I became a gentle gardener over those tomato seeds.
Carefully, I watered, and exposed those seeds to heat and light,
My hope was rewarded when I saw the green begin to pop through the dark soil,
With faith building...
I gently transplanted each little skinny sprout, watering and exposing it to sunlight.
As the temperature got warmer outside, I began giving them an hour, then 2, then an afternoon
Gradually weathering them for the outside temperatures.
As that plant continued to grow, I transplanted it again, giving it more room to spread its roots...
But then I looked at the calendar...
And began to fear...
Are these plants going to be ready by mid-May when I want to plant??
But I continued to believe in this miracle and gently garden those plants,
And today I am looking at them...amazed and delighted!!!

This little miracle made me think of my Gardner, the Father, my Maker,
He has such faith in me as He plants me here on this earth.
Gently, He tends to my every need, without me even being aware of His touch.
At first, I rest in His care, child-like, carefree,
But then the disappointments of life begin to show up,
And I begin to doubt His gentle care over me as I fear, worry, and complain.
But gently He reminds me that He planted me...
He knows what is in the seed,
He knows what is needed to bring me
To that place of fullness, that place of maturity, that place of fruitfulness.

Yes, so many times these natural eyes and finite mind cause me to reject His care,
To fret, doubt, or fear...
But gently He restores, strengthens my branches again
Allowing me to receive His kind, compassionate care...

Yes, it is all a miracle
The process of a seed growing and maturing into fruit,
And the process of growth in my life...
All resulting from the gentle care and abundant grace of our Father!