the Alabaster Woman!

This morning I was just reading about the Alabaster woman!

So much to learn from her! I Love this story!

This woman was considered a heathen by the religious people, but she didn’t care.  She gave what she had; she offered herself to Jesus as an act of worship.

Jesus gave honor to her, and spoke freedom into her life. I am inspired by her willingness to give herself completely to the Lord and by her willingness not to be bound by what people thought of her.. Her eyes were on Jesus and Him alone..

My prayer is that whoever reads this would be encouraged to go deeper and higher, to become more intimate with Jesus.  Jesus sets us free.. He loves us so much.. and He has called us to Himself..

“Your calling is a holy calling from the divine God and that is sufficient.”

In Col 1 v. 9, Paul prayed for three things: spiritual understanding, spiritual strength and spiritual patience.

These are things that God wants us to have..

Wouldn’t it be great to no longer carry the burden of life, and walk around frustrated with ourselves and others around us?

To be able to shine His love and grace and bring peace and His presence wherever we go.

We are God’s children, bought with a price, sealed by His Spirit and seated in Heavenly places  with Christ Jesus..

Colossians 2 v. 9: “you are complete in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus offers deliverance to each of us. He is waiting for us to call upon Him.

In Luke 11:9  Jesus says.."So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you

May the Lord bless you, keep you, and draw you closer to the love of Jesus.

Remember to take one day at a time.  Moment by moment! Surrender our will and sit at His feet like Mary!

J In His love always,

Mary J xxx

and remember, What good is being a princess if we never assume our position of royalty in life?

I'm so very ordinary, nothing special on my own.
Oh, I have never walked on water,
And I have never calmed a storm.
Sometimes I'm hiding away from the madness around me
Like a child who's afraid of the dark

Chorus:
But when I call on Jesus,
All things are possible
I can mount on wings like eagles' and soar
When I call on Jesus,
Mountains are gonna fall
'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call

La la la la la, la la la la la

Verse 2:
Weary brother, broken daughter,
Widowed, Widowed lover you're not alone
If you're tired and scared of the madness around you
If you can't find the strength to carry on

Chorus:
When you call on Jesus,
All things are possible
You can mount on wings like eagles' and soar
When you call on Jesus,
Mountains are gonna fall
'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue you when you--

Bridge:
Call Him in the morning', in the afternoon time
Late in the evening' He'll be there
When your heart is broken,
And you feel discouraged,
You can just remember that He said
He'll be there

Chorus (2x):
When I call on Jesus,
All things are possible
I can mount on wings like eagles' and soar
When I call on Jesus,
Mountains are gonna fall
'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me (back to top first time, 2nd time finish with "when I call")

La la la la la, la la la la la, la la la la la-a-a

song  by Nicole C. Mullen

from "Talk About It"

Take up HIS cross! +

These verses are on my heart lately..

"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake, shall find it." Matt. 10:38,39.

Jesus said "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it." Matt. 16:24,25.

And He (Jesus) was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Luke 9:23.

Not that long ago, whenever I heard  this message, I would feel a heaviness and I would somehow try to avoid thinking about it!  It felt like an unnecessary burden, a yoke that wasn’t what Jesus promised when He said  “My yoke is easy and My burden is light”..

Today, as I am reading these verses I am surprised to find that I actually love and welcome each word! They are like sweeter than honey and the honeycomb!!

So, I have just been pondering as what has caused me to feel so differently about the same passages?

The first thing is that I KNOW, in a much deeper way than ever did before, is His indescribable love for me!  I have a new appreciation of the cross that Jesus carried and a fresh realisation that IT WAS MINE!!  How overwhelming – that the creator of the universe and the creator of me should willingly substitute Himself for ME and bear MY CROSS!!

As I read these verses now I am beginning to see that ‘taking up my cross’ simply means to acknowledge that it was “my” cross originally.  The reality is that “I” was the one deserving to be punished for the many ways that I crucified Him - by my petty denials and rejection of Him for so many years.  I also realise that, in response, I just simply have to “receive” His grace and goodness by accepting the truth that He chose to carry the cross for me and receive in His body the righteous judgement due to me. 

As I embrace this glorious truth, I feel “drawn” to follow Jesus and grow as His disciple! – not out of a sense of duty in order to be blessed, nor from a pressure to keep my place in heaven.  I now pursue Him, because I love Him.. because my heart keeps responding to His ever flowing goodness and love..  I have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing.. (Eph 1:3).  I have been sealed with His Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13), and nothing can ever separate me from the love of God.. ever! (Rom 8:38), no, no created thing! (that includes me!)

That is the meaning of Jesus' statement to me today  "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it."

So when I read this again I don’t see that He means that I have to bear a heavy burden.. That  I have to walk around in this life with the burden of having to continually do what He has already done for me!!. My heart cries out that this is not what He meant by "cross"!

I think when Jesus was on the earth in the flesh He had on His mind the knowledge of the way His fleshly life would end, separated from God the Father, with His body nailed to a rugged wooden cross on which He would be tortured and die for sins not His own!

I must understand that the "cross" that He bore was not His own. IT WAS MINE! It was the horrible symbol of the future that Satan had in mind for ME, the symbol of the judgement for MY SINS! And Jesus willingly substituted Himself for ME and bore MY CROSS!

If my judgement of death on my cross is to be cancelled in the substitutionary death of Jesus on my cross, I must take up my cross; that is, I must acknowledge my cross which is the righteous judgement against me, and I must pursue Jesus as His disciple!
 That is what I believe Jesus means when He says .. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it."
In Romans Paul pleads to present our bodies as living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service..

Reasonable! Oh I believe that once we begin to realise and see with new eyes the depth of what Christ Jesus did for us we respond with our whole heart to Him and declare out loud, NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS BE DONE!!!
Oh for God to reveal this truth to us! I pray for Him to help us with unbelief in His finished work and to walk in light of His truth, in the Spirit of God who dwells in our hearts.. and to allow our minds to be transformed by renewing them with His truth!!

In His Love,
Mary :-) xxx

so.. Is God Sovereign? Are you sure!!!!

Have you ever wondered if God is Sovereign over ALL? Yes, I do mean All, like EVERYTHING all!!

Do you have doubts that He is?

I know we can respond by faith and say Yes! I believe it! I receive it by faith.. But is it true? How do you know?

Fortunately the  bible depicts God as the only and absolute King of the universe, who rules over all, and does everything He pleases (Exo 15:18; 1Ch 29:11-12; 2Ch 20:6; Psa 22:28).

It will take too many pages to write all these scriptures out so I am just giving the references! But check it out and KNOW for sure! God is SOVEREIGN OVER ALL!!

Oh Praise Him!!!!!!!!!

And not only is He sovereign in some abstract way, in that He retains the right to govern all events actively according to His will, but chooses not to do so; but He actually and actively ordains and brings to pass everything that takes place on the earth (Deu 32:39; 1Sa 2:6-8; Job 9:12; 12:6-10; Psa 33:11; 115:3; 135:6; Isa 14:24; Isa 45:7; Act 15:17-18; Eph 1:11).

 From the smallest matters of “chance,” such as the casting of a lot into the lap (Pro 16:33), to the greatest events of the earth's mighty kingdoms (e.g. Isa 45:1-4), God is bringing all things to pass according to His will. He governs and superintends “coincidental” happenings (1Ki 22:20, 34, 37), the wicked actions of men (Gen 45:5; 50:20; Exo 4:21; Jdg 14:1-4; Psa 76:10; Pro 16:4; 21:1; Isa 44:28; Amo 3:6; Act 2:22-23; 4:27-28), the good deeds of men (Joh 15:16; Eph 2:10; Phi 2:12-13), the actions of both evil spirits and good angels (1Sa 16:14-16; 1Ki 22:19-23; 1Ch 21:1/2Sa 24:1; Psa 103:20-21; 104:4), the habits of animals (Num 22:28; 1Ki 17:4; Psa 29:9; Jer 8:7; Eze 32:4; Dan 6:22), and the operations of all creation (Gen 8:22; Psa 104:5-10, 13-14, 19-20; Mar 4:39).

OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!

All Glory, All Power, All Praise to our AWESOME GOD!!

:-) xxx

THE HEAVY ARTILLERY OF OUR SPIRITUAL WARFARE

THE HEAVY ARTILLERY OF OUR SPIRITUAL WARFARE - "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" - Ephesians 6:18 The Priority of Prayer Referred to over 500 times in the Scriptures, everyone can exercise this fantastic resource. It's a ministry all of us are called to. In fact, it is the most important activity a Christian can engage in. It is absolutely incredible that we each have a priority connection directly into the Throne Room of the Universe! It is amazing to realize that this astonishing resource is so available and so rarely used. It is unquestionably the most powerful weapon we could possibly have. And it is the deciding factor in spiritual warfare. The Elements of Prayer One of the key elements of prayer is worship. This part is the most fun. How glorious it is to simply celebrate the greatness, the beauty, the majesty, of God. And His love. And the precision of His caring. This leads us to the petition(s). It may surprise us to realize that it is very appropriate to discuss with Him our own needs, and in detail. The "Lord's Prayer" includes, "Give us this day our daily bread." Indeed. Your needs come first, or you can't help others. "The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits,"( 2 Tim 2:6).  When you take a flight on an airline, the flight attendant will point out to you that if the oxygen masks should be released, and you are flying with a child, you first put on your own mask, and then assist the child. You can't give to others what you haven't got yourself. But the real labor of prayer is intercession for others; "...supplication for all saints." Artillery in Warfare You are, in effect, in the position of the "forward controller" in the battlefield, with a direct line to Command Headquarters, and you are commissioned to call in the fire you need. There are many types of fire. Enfilade: direct, offensive fire. Supporting outreaches. Pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor 10:4). Freeing captives. Removing trammels and shackles. Also, defilade fire: indirect, attacking the enemy's hidden assets; anticipating where the enemy may be lurking and hiding. And there is flanking fire. Are you about to be outflanked? An indirect assault from your most vulnerable side? What is your most vulnerable side? Self-_____? (Fill in the blank yourself.) Our "strongest suit" is usually our weakest suit. Remember Peter. Be very specific. "Win the war" isn't a very operative petition. "Hit the enemy" isn't very useful to a squadron commander. Be very specific. Direct the resources with precision. Pick your targets carefully. Use a rifle rather than a shotgun. Satan will yield only what he has to. Always go for the leverage. Recruit the radical. Interdict the most critical logistics. Go after the foundations. Know your mission and focus. Be strategic. Even pray for what is prophesied (thus, ostensibly inevitable). Prayer is God's way of enlisting us in what He is doing. Lord's Prayer: "Thy Kingdom Come." Knowing that the 70 years of captivity were almost over, Daniel prayed for his people (Dan 9:2ff). And Gabriel interrupted this prayer by giving Daniel the most fantastic prophecy in the Bible. Don't impute any limitations on your HQ. Don't assume any restrictions on the assets available (Mk 11:22-24; Jn 14:13-14; 15:7; 16:23-24). Don't ask for small arms fire when a blockbuster may be called for. Only prayer can really change things. The prayer closet is far more effective than the ballot box. The value of concentration is basic in military strategy. Coordinated fire is always more effective. "Where two or three agree..." But don't assume a solution with inadequate G-2.  Maybe an accurate assessment is our first priority. Remember, in accordance with His Will. Discover it through His Word. It is to be a dialogue, not a monologue. Always to the Father, through the Son (Matt 18:19, 20).  "With all perseverence." Hit and run tactics rarely yield any lasting results. Persistence is always a key to victory in any calling. Don't ever give up. A Few Hints You can't get a clear connection with headquarters with excessive static on the line. This can be the result of unconfessed sin, (Isa 59:1-2; Ps 66:18) an unforgiving spirit, selfishness, (James 4:3) etc. Be serious and organized. Use a notepad or notebook. Keep a battlefield record and also keep your Headquarters abreast of your awareness of victories! Don't be discouraged; that is a victory for the enemy. Realize that God finds many ways - each day - to ask you, "Do you trust me?" Recognize that God often will veto our requests for our own good. (Moses' denial of entry into the Promised land, Paul's "thorn in the flesh," et al. Even Christ in Gethsemane subjected His petitions to the Father's will.) Conclusion It's obvious that much more can be said on this crucial topic. However, we don't need more articles, books, videos, or conferences, on prayer. We need more prayer.    Related Links: ·         The Armor Of God: Our Heavy Artillery » - Koinonia House ·         Articles on Spiritual Warfare  » - Koinonia House