In the Cool of the Day.....

Have you ever wondered what it was like for Adam as he walked & talked with the Lord in the cool of the day? Awesome, I'm sure! Do you find yourself happy about spending time with Jesus? If not, I encourage you to make time. There is nothing like it. Now usually, I will get up and read my Bible and then go outside (early morning/mid-morning) and pray, talk to Jesus, sing to Him & thank Him for all the wonderful things He is doing and has done. Nothing compares to this time. Saturday morning, after cooking everyone a big breakfast, I went outside to spend time with Him. A neighbor owns all the land behind & around us and he has told us we can go in the back of our house on his land. So, I went over the fence and just looked at how beautiful the hills, grass and such were. Talk about good fellowship time with Jesus. The morning was perfect. Like a Wyoming , spring day it was lovely. I had no need for a jacket. Just letting the wind blow over me. I loved it. How can I describe how wonderful it is to spend time with Jesus? I told the Lord, that this time with Him was so special that I just didn't want to go back to normal life. I love the life that the Lord has blessed me with, but being with Jesus and being amazed at things only He has created..............does it get any better than that. If so, I can't imagine. Have you ever just longed to run be with Jesus? This past August , on our way to Disney World, we stayed in a hotel on the beach for a night. I woke up early morning (when it was dark outside). I wanted to be outside, by the beach talking to the Lord. I was already having time with Him, but I was so longing to be out there. I knew if I went that I'd probably wake everyone up and maybe make too much commotion. So, I settled for the outside on the deck of our room. I still just remember that longing. You know, when you start to spend time with Him, you will have that longing every day. Nothing can satisfy or settle you like Jesus! Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and to be in His presence continually! ~1Chronicles16:11~~Amplified Version

O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.~Psalm 34:8~Amplified Version

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. ~Psalm 37:4-5~Amplified Version Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him;fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Psalm 37:7~Amplified Version As THE hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for You, O God. My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?~Psalm 42:1&2~Amplified Version For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He is my Rock and my Salvation , my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be greatly moved.~Psalm 62:1-2~Amplified Version My soul , wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him~Psalm 62:5~Amp. Version Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! ~Psalm 62:8~Amp. Version

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather be a doorkeeper and stand at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell [at ease] in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield ; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor,and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts in You [leaning and believing on You, committing all and confidently looking to You, and that without fear or misgiving]!~Psalm 84:10-12~Amp. Version My soul yearns yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God.~Psalm 82:2~Amp. Version

Are you thirsty for the Lord today? He desires to have time with you. Don't brush Him off, make time for Him. He loves you so much! He wants to calm you. He wants to settle you. He wants you to be totally confident in His love for you. No one can love you like Jesus! No one can take His place in your life. You may try many things to fill any voids, but only Jesus can fill those voids. Only He can be to you what others can't. Stop looking at others in your life to make you happy. Let Him make you truly happy. Whatever cry of the heart you have, know that He is listening! He hasn't left you. Even if you have walked away from Him, you can go back and pick up where you left off. He's not mad at you. He never was. He is just very wise. He knows what paths we need to take. He knows which ones will get us off track. His Words are Words of wisdom! He sees what we don't. However, if you mess up and get off track or make a wrong decision, He is perfectly able to turn it around. Have you asked Him to? He will do it for you because He loves you! The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever--forsake not the works of Your own hands.~Psalm 138:8~Amp. Version

Dear Lord Jesus, I lift up my family & friends to You today. If any have wandered from You, I pray that You will draw them back to that sweet fellowship with You. Do something wonderful in their lives today and let them never be the same again. For those that are hurting, I ask You to heal those hurts in the name of Jesus! I ask You to heal their broken hearts and bind up their wounds. Help them to forgive those that have hurt them. Help them to release those hurts and let them go in Jesus name. Let the blood of Jesus free them. Protect them from the evil plans of the enemy. Let Your will be done in their lives today. Draw them closer to You. Help them to let go of their past mistakes. Help them to forgive themselves. Show them how to close the door to the wrong things in their lives. May those doors never be opened again in their lives. Do something new in them today. Your anointing, let it be thick on them. Let Your love pour out on them so heavy that they are in awe of how much You love them. I ask You to meet their every need. To those that need jobs, send them to the right place at the right time in Jesus name. If there are any needs, I ask You to meet those needs in Jesus name. Lord, do abundantly above all that they can ask or think. Help them to know that You love and care for everything that concerns them. Let Your peace, Your Shalom (nothing missing , nothing broken in their lives) rest on them and their families today in Jesus name. Thank-You Jesus! Amen.

When You Spend Time With Him, Do You Let His Word Correct You?

Seriously! All the time you have spent in God's Word, all the years of putting His Word in your heart does it come back and correct you? What do I mean? Well, say you are going throughout your day and you say or do something and scripture hits you and you realize you weren't walking in love with someone. Maybe you said something that you shouldn't have said. It's so neat how God's Word will immediately correct you when His Word is down in your heart. It's a gentle correction. (from a loving Heavenly Father)

For whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. ~Proverbs 3:12 ~~~~Amplified Version

Did you pay attention to even as a father corrects a son in whom he delights? God delights in you. He wants the best for you. He see's the big picture that we don't. He see's where each path will lead us. Have you seen the new movie of "Pilgrim's Progress?" You can find it at christian bookstores. This guy gets led off the right path at times. See, God see's those path's that will take us through major heartache. When you hear his warning of not doing something, make sure you listen. There have been times in my own life where I didn't totally follow the Lord in an area. Well, God knew best. His way would have been the best and most blessed. It's not His fault I chose something else. It was my own. It bothers me when I hear christians getting mad at God. They never stop to think that they made the wrong decision. They never want to blame themselves. They never want to reap what they sow. Well, if you don't like what you're reaping in life then pay attention to what you're sowing. Are you finding yourself close to the Lord or away from Him? Guess what? He never moved, you did. He is so loving that He gives you a choice. He lets you make your own choices. He will not make you make the right choice. However, when His Word is down in your heart it will cause you to make the right choices. His voice, His ways are not fearful. When fear arises, remember fear doesn't come from Him. So many times in His Word He says,"Fear Not!" When all the world is getting fearful, you choose to "Fear Not." Choosing not to fear when everyone else tells you to, is having confident faith in your Heavenly Father. (the Godly kind of fear that says to "Fear God" is having a holy awe towards Him. Knowing that He is God and there is none else. No one can compare to Him. No one is like Him. No one is as awesome as He is. It's loving what He loves & hating what He hates. It's seeing Him as the all important One)

So are you trusting God with your future? Or are you listening to what the world is saying?

For I know the thoughts and plans I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.~~Jeremiah 29:11~~Amplified Version

The word "welfare" in that verses means "faring well in life." He wants the best for you, but how can He give you the best if you're not listening, you're not following, you're not spending time with Him? Are you mad at God? Why? What was the root cause? What did you open yourself up to? What wrong decision did you make? It's not His fault. His Word has so much wisdom inside of it. The thing is sometimes we may listen to the world's wisdom instead of God's. Stop listening to the world, stop going to them for your answers.....you don't want to be "the blind following the blind." You want to be "wise" in the things of God. When you get His wisdom on the inside of you , you will start to see things change. Things will change because His Word on the inside of you will help guide you in your decisions.

I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.~Psalm 32:8~~Amplified Version

The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].~~~Psalm 37:23 ~Amplified Version

seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength (His might and inflexibilityto temptation); seek and require His face and His presence [continually] evermore. Psaml 105:4

The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over. Psalm 12:6~~~Amplified Version

As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him. ~~Psalm 18:30~~~Amplified Version

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. ~Psalm 19:7~~Amplified Version

He leads the humble in what is right, and the humble He teaches His way. ~Psalm 25:9~Amp. Version

The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep,inner] meaning. Psalm 25:14~~~Amp. Version

He who deals wisely and heeds [God's] word and counsel shall find good, and whoever leans on, trusts in, and is confident in the Lord--happy, blessed, and fortunate is he. ~~Proverbs 16:20~~Amp. Version

If you have found yourself in a place you'd rather not be turn and run back to the Lord. If you've made a bad decision, turn to God to help you make the right ones. It's not one right decision that will get you going the right way, it is a series of right decisions that will lead you the right way. Choose God! No matter where you are, no matter what wrong decision you've made in your life, the Lord is still able to turn it around!! Don't ever forget that. He can do a miracle in the middle of the mess you have made. He can cause the right doors to open. He can teach you how to avoid the wrong doors. Where ever you are in life ,choose to not blame God for the bad that has happened. Adam brought a curse into the world, but Jesus died on the cross so you wouldn't have to live under that curse. Choosing the world's ideas, the world's way of doing things will bring the curse that is on the world into your life. God doesn't bring it upon you, you open the door to it. Where did you open the door? Go back and close that door. Don't give the devil a foothold into your life. Don't give him an inch! He came to steal, kill and destroy you, but Jesus came that you might have life and have life more abundantly. Are you living in that abundant life? Take a step up out of the world's way of doing things. Trust the Lord with all your heart. Have total, confident trust in Him. See yourself in the palm of His hand. Choose to not get mad at God, no matter what!

What Are The Benefits Of Staying In The Secret Place?

We will read the first two verses of Psalm 91.

1. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

2. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! ~(Amplified Version)

~Okay, so when we dwell in the secret place , then we will remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty.

When we say of the Lord that He is our refuge & fortress, our God on whom we lean , rely and confidently trust......... (when we do this, read what the benefits are)

3. For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

4. [Then] He will cover you with His pinions , and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.

5. You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night , nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,

6. Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.

7. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

8. Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.

9. Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,

10. There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.

11. For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service] .

12. They shall bear you up on their hands , lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13. You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.

14. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].

15. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

16. With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

(Amplified Version)

If you are not seeing the benefits of these scriptures in your life that could be an indicator that you need to get in the secret place. Think about when you are having a rough day and things just aren't going as you had wished. Things seem to be weighing heavy on you and you are feeling quite burdened. Wherever you are in your walk with Jesus, it is never too late to get in the secret place. For me, in early morning is the best time. It's like a covering over my whole day. If I miss a day, I can tell!!!!! There is a big difference. There comes a time where the communion, that sweet time alone with the Lord is so filling that nothing will take it's place until you've been there. However, it doesn't stop there. I find myself talking to the Lord throughout my day. I know Him, He knows me, He knows everything about me and He enjoys me taking time out with Him. There is an old song called "I Miss My Time With You." The Lord misses us spending time with Him . He wants to lead us down the right paths and He wants to help us make the right decisions. But are we listening? Probably not, if you are too busy for Him. Another neat thing to do is after spending that time with Him ask Him if there is some way you can show His love to another person that day. Who needs to be loved on? Who needs a call saying you're just checking on them. When you do things for others it is like doing things for Jesus. However, you must keep it balanced. Make sure you are taking care of your spouse and children too. One who is too busy doing things for everyone else and doesn't take care of their own family......well, just keep a balance.

You know, staying close to Jesus will really lead you in the right directions. That's what you want to be doing the right things, with the right people, for the right reason's and in the right places. If you choose His ways, blessings will come. All that He has can be yours. He is your daddy God.(Abba Father) He does want the best for you. Are you seeking His best? I just want to encourage you to spend time with Him. Don't take it lightly. The Lord loves you and even if you have gotten away from Him, He still wants you back. He will welcome you and love you. What about my sins, you may ask? He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. What if I can't forgive myself? Ask Him to help you to forgive yourself. He paid for your sins on the cross! He's not up in Heaven with a frying pan ready to whack you over the head. Nope!!! He is a very loving and compassionate God. He is full of mercy and grace. His grace is enough! His love is enough! He is all you need! No man, woman, child, friend, etc. will ever love you the way you need to be loved. Only Jesus can love you like that. Only He can fill that void in your life. Feeling empty? Go spend time with Him. Feeling lonely? Go spend time with Him. Feeling unloved? Go spend time with Him. Having a hard time letting go of fleshly things? Starve those desires by cutting them off at the root. How do you do that? Pay attention to the things that open the door to those desires then cut them out of your life. You can do it. Get alone with Jesus. Maybe going outside somewhere nice to spend time with Him will help you enjoy time with Him and help you to not focus on everything else that's going on in your life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~Jesus is Lord!!!

Getting In Your Secret Place Every Morning

Psalm 91:1 ~He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].~~Amplified Version

Have you found your secret place in Jesus today? What exactly do I mean? The covering that comes from spending time with Him. One thing that has remained important for me to do is to stay intimate with the Lord. If I miss that time with Him, it messes my day up. I seem to draw vitality from closeness with Him. I'm sure everyone has a different way of doing it. My favorite is going outside in the early morning and just talking to Jesus, singing to Him and praying for my family & others. Sometimes, His anointing can be so heavy.

I was listening to a song today ,"I'd Rather Have Jesus." As I listened I thought how true that is for me. You know, only Jesus has been that constant friend, companion, and so much more. Nothing can compare to Him. Nothing can compare to His love. His love is perfect. His love will get you through your day. Are you refilling yourself with His love everyday? Not that His love is not already in you, but when you are spending time with Him that love gets thicker and can flow out so much easier. It's like a river.

Psalm 17:15~ As for me, I will continue beholding Your face in righteousness (rightness, justice, and right standing with You); I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake [to find myself] beholding Your form [and having sweet communion with You]. ~~~Amplified Version

Having sweet communion with Jesus describes perfectly what getting in your secret place means.

Psalm 5:3~ In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [ a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart]. ~~~Amplified Version

Psalm 25:14~ The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner ] meaning.

If you find yourself having moments of being touchy, cranky or inconsiderate of others try getting up early in the morning before everyone else and spending time with the Lord. If you aren't use to it, it will take some consistency, but you will find that your day will go much smoother. You'll find that things don't hit you as hard as they might have normally. You'll see a difference and when you experience the sweetness of being close to Jesus in this way......NOTHING will be able to take it's place.