The Long Lost Blogger

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  I John 3:1

I just wanted to stop by (as if I was visiting this blog.  It's been so long since I've posted, that I actually feel like I'm just visiting. LOL)  Anyway, I just wanted to "post a note" to everyone to let you all know that I've not forgotten you.   :)   Thanks to those of you who've sent emails to make sure I was still "out here."   Seems like I've not been afforded much time to blog. . ..but I sure have missed y'all.

Here's a verse that has meant so much to me over the years, and especially now:  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.  Isaiah 41:10 

Fear.  The most crippling "thing" any of us could ever deal with.  It keeps us from moving forward--in our walk with the Lord; in serving Him; in doing His will.  Fear.  I heard it once said that fear is actually a twisted form of "faith in the enemy."  He causes us to doubt God's faithfulness.  If we believe the enemy's lie, we will be crippled by fear.  In essence, we've believed (or have faith in) the enemy's lie.  

Consider Who we are serving.   If we've accepted the Lord as our own personal Savior, we are now adopted into God's family...We're children of The King!  The One and Only King.   This very King of Kings is the same One Who created the universe.  He created every thing!!   And we have His power within us.  The key to overcoming fear is to tap into God's power.  And the Lord reminds me just now: "Perfect love casts out fear."   May we all grasp just how deep our Heavenly Father's love for us actually is!   Oh....He is tying this all together.   "Fear thou not."   (Isaiah 41:10)     "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us..."  (I John 3:1)

Is there anyone struggling with fear?   The key to overcoming fear is found within the very heart of God:  His love for us. 

Oh Father, please forgive us when we lend our ears to the lies of the enemy who wants us to fear.  Your love is perfect and You've promised to cast out our fears!   We look to the cross, where Your Son, Jesus, died---and realize that those nails did not hold Him there.  No!  It was the love You have for us~~Your love, dear Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus!  The power of the Holy Spirit conquered death when Jesus arose on the third day!   And fear has been conquered as well!  We look to You for the divine enabling power to overcome anything that causes us to doubt and fear.    You have promised to help, strengthen, and keep us, by Your righteous right hand!  We claim this promise in Jesus' name....Amen.

 

Just Look at My Hands

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.   I Peter 2:24

Well, as I sit here waiting for yet another load of clothes to wash, I am extremely thankful for the fact that our washer/pipe problem has been fixed! Yee-HAW! (can you believe I'm actually EXCITED to be able to do laundry again? Me neither! But, as they say, "this (happy-to-do-laundry-feeling) TOO shall pass!") LOL

If you haven't read yesterday's blog, ("Pressure Washin'") you may want to read it, or at least the "Breaking News" Part at the very end. Today's blog picks up from that.   What did you think when you read the part that said: Local 'Plumber and Son, Co.' left with a final statement: "It's just a shock that anything could GO DOWN!" Son added, "Yeah, when my dad said it was clogged with junk, he was NOT KIDDING! Just look at my hands!" As soon as I read that the Holy Spirit opened my eyes! "LOOK, Tammi!  The SON added.....'LOOK AT MY HANDS!' Did you catch that?" I thought of Jesus, God's only uniquely born Son. I could imagine, our home's clogged main pipeline as a spiritual lesson.

When we're born, our hearts are totally clogged. Not with cholesterol. (or at least I HOPE they aren't.) But our SPIRITUAL hearts are clogged by sin. Of course water could not flow through our clogged pipes. Same with us---if we are clogged up by sin---the Living Water can not flow through us. So, what did our Father have to do? Before the foundation of time, He decided, along with the Son, to "fix" our problem.

God chose him as your ransom long before the world began,
but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.

I Peter 1:20 (NLT)

"Yes, Son, they have a problem. We are the only One Who can fix this." Now, in my home's plumbing situation, my husband directed our son in what needed to be done, what tools to get, etc.  The planner was the dad.  The son followed through.  But isn't it amazing that my little boy would say "Mom! Dad was NOT KIDDING when he said the pipe was clogged up with junk! JUST LOOK AT MY HANDS!" ?  Oh my word. 

P R I C E L E S S!



Clogged Pipes~~a few $ Measly Dollars $
Spiritual Lesson to appreciate the redemptive work of the Son of God~~
P R I C E L E S S!



Our Lord and Savior, the Holy Son of God, came to earth and did the work for us.  He made a way for His Living Water to flow through us. Now~~today, did I turn on the water in my house and let it flow????????????? You better believe it! In fact, laundry's going, even as we "speak." But what good would all that work have been IF I had not chosen to take FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT!?!?!? I mean, after all, the Son has said, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.."And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet." (Luke 24: 39, 40)

Are the pipes in your heart completely clogged by sin?    Do you need to call a "Spiritual Plumber" to remove the gunk and filth of sin from the pipes in your heart so that His Living Water can freely flow within?  Behold the Hands and Feet of our Savior. He's reaching out to Y O U.  What can He do for you? He's already done the major work ... all you have to do is "pick up the phone" and call Him (pray) and accept what He has done, by believing in HIM, receiving Him as your Savior, and repenting of your sin.

Note: That word is Repenting, not Repeating of your sin. In order to keep from REPEATING your sin: Let His Living Water flow FREELY through you, so that you can in turn, be a blessing to someone else by recommending the Best Spiritual Father/Son "Heart-Plumber" around! And THE BEST PART IS-- (drum roll). . .

He's already paid for it! IN FULL, with a 100% satisfaction guarantee!

Need Proof??  All you have to do is

"Just look at His hands."

Thank You Father for seeing a desperate need in our lives. . . for reaching out and coming down to us to get all dirty and grimy, completely covered by our nasty, yucky sin! Thank You, dear sweet Son of God, Jesus, for being my Savior.  I pray if there is anyone out there suffering from clogged arteries in their spiritual heart, please cause a big back up somewhere, so they'll know they need to seek help. I can personally guarantee that You are the best! Why should they settle for less? Dear Holy Spirit, flow freely through me....and if ever there's a small build-up, help me remember to call on my Heavenly Father to do a follow-up exam! Thank You for letting a sweet little boy speak those five simple words, 'Just look at my hands' today. And Thank You for reminding me of the nasty but necessary work you did for me and for all the world around me!

I know You depend on the word of mouth recommendations---so give me courage to spread the Word of Your Wonderful Cleansing, Heart Opening, Eye Opening, Life Changing,

Eternal-Life-Giving Work!    In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

And the Father replied....."This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17