Start From Heaven

How do you solve the problems you’re dealing with; the ones you’re dwelling on; the problems that are on your mind?

The Lord’s Prayer says, “on earth as it is in heaven.” But the original text from the Bible actually says, “as it is in heaven so on earth.” Maybe it’s about letting heaven reach your life. First as it is heaven then let that touch your life.

Would if we started by forgetting the problem that’s on earth. And focus on what comes from heaven. All good things come from heaven. Forget about the problems your dwelling on and start from heaven. Get your eyes on the Lord; in His love. Start with the answer which is from heaven, then let it also be on earth.

Messiah is the answer. He didn’t start from earth, but from heaven and came down to earth. This problem of yours is going to be solved when you forget about it; get your eyes off of it. Trust the Lord and get your eyes on the Lord and heaven. Let it be so as it is in heaven, so let it be in your life.

From experience I have found when I stop trying to solve me problems and focus on God and heaven my problems usually solve themselves.

Seek to live your life not from earth to heaven, but from heaven to earth.

“But, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

Understanding True Holiness

Holiness should always be “unto the Lord.” Any time we are it “unto men,” it’s wrong and misguided because it’s just pride and pretense. Jesus condemned the Pharisees not for their acts of piety, but because they preformed themselves to impress others. Not only did they lived by a long list of religious “do’s and don’t, ‘ they also kept a scorecard on others who didn’t live up to their list and denounce them for it. Some people grew up in homes and churches that did this, and when they squirm and think of believers with somber faces and pointed fingers in accusation. That’s not Bible holiness, that’s legalism. And God hates it and the Bible condemns it.

To understand what true holiness is, think of the word “contamination,” it’s one of every hospital’s greatest concerns. It’s why doctors in an operating room insist the their surgical instruments are constantly sterilized; caps, gowns, and gloves are worn; and the environment in the room is cold, held at a temperature where germs cannot live. Are you getting it?

Now adjust the lens a little bit, and you’ll see the Spiritual application. True holiness does not isolate you from the world it insulates you from the contaminants. Apostle Paul corrected the Corinthian church for their approach to the communion table; “In eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.” – 1 Corinthians 11:21- So Paul addresses their spiritually sloppy anything goes attitude. “For this reason many are week and sick among you, and many sleep. (have died)

What’s the answer? “Holiness unto the Lord.

The Lord’s Last Word On Holiness:

He who acts unjustly, let him act unjustly still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him do righteousness still. He who is holy, let him be holy still. -Revelation 22: 11-

Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work. -Revelation 22: 12-

The point being made here is not that evil is to be encouraged. Rather, people can do as they choose, but God will not change His plans.

In the context of death and the end times, this is a dire warning. Unbelievers who reject the gospel do not receive a second chance to be saved if they die. Eternity doesn’t change anyone’s status. The person who die’s in an unsaved condition will be unsaved throughout eternity, and the saved person will be saved throughout eternity.

When Forgiveness Still Hurts

Forgiving when it hurts and is painful is far from easy. As we journey with Christ in our spiritual walk, we often try to forgive those that have wronged us without asking for Jesus’ help. Simply knowing the command to remain in Christ isn’t enough when we face tough situations. We have to apply this truth, and remain attached to the vine that is Jesus, and ask for His helping hand.

I admit that after I chose to forgive my mother. I’ve had difficult times because of the hurt she has done and the suffering she has caused me. If I let the hurt inside, it will eat me up. I become an awfully mean person. Only the Lord can help.

We cannot, on our own strength, and the triggers and emotions we experience become proof of that. We have to experience the fruit of the Lord’s restorative and enduring peace, we need to remain in the Lord as John 15: 1-5 records Jesus instructing as we remain in the lord, we are relying on His strength to forgive.

To forgive others as God first forgave us is a task beyond even our best efforts. In our humanness, we could never manage to forgive as the wholly God has commanded. And yet still He commands it. But why? Because God never intended for us to forgive alone God has had a redemption plan for us from the very beginning, and that plan is rooted in forgiveness. Through the blood of Jesus on the cross, God has forgiven our sins.

By the gift of the Holy Spirit, God has empowered us to forgive others. And when we rely on God’s power to heal our hurts, we can forgive wholly and completely. In His strength, we can forgive those who seem undeserving; we can forgive again; we can forgive that which feels unforgivable, and we can finally trade or festering hurts for the fine of His grace-filled redeeming fruit. The choice to forgive is ours today. Even when it still hurts.

Salt And Light

We are called to be the salt and light For The World. Matthew 5 says being salt and light is not optional, Jesus did not say you can be or you have …

Salt And Light

God Sees Our Pain

We all know what it is like to feel pain, but does God see what we’re going through?

A great truth that we can live by, is that no matter where we live or who we are, God sees us, and He knows every detail of our pain. He comprehends the unexplainable anguish that invades our lives like an intruder bent on stealing our joy, self-esteem, health and more.

Pain comes in various forms physical pain as we fight headaches to cancer. Emotional pain as we experience a severed relationship. Financial pain when our position is terminated, and bills stack up. Spiritual pain when we question Gods love because life is so hard. Pain saps our energy and can lead to bitterness and despair. Like a wicked taskmaster, it can enslave us. But God sees us, and He cares deeply. He doesn’t waste the pain in our lives.

Psalm 139:13-24 encourages us that God sees us in every moment of our lives, and reminds us that God knows our hearts and our thoughts.

In Verse 23 of the same scripture God tells us from the time He formed us in our mother’s womb until we see Him face to face, we are never out of His sight. There is no place to flee from His presence. God sees us in the dark because it is as brings as the day to Him.

He sees us when we wander. He sees every thought, every word and every action. He knows our motives and our deepest desires. He sees all around us, in front of us, and behind us, and His hand in on us. He leads us, He holds us, He searches us, and He knows us. And most of all He hears our prayers.

The other day at the grocery store I ran into an old friend. He told me he cancer. He told me it was because God was mad at him. I asked why he thought God hated him, his reply was because he gave me cancer! I explained that God didn’t hate him and how I also had been through cancer and how much I had grown in the Lord since. In the middle of the grocery store I prayed for this man. And brought peace to him.

No matter what you pain is Gods see you! You may feel invisible, that no one really sees you or comprehends your hurt and despair. When you begin to doubt that God sees you, read Psalm 139. Our God sees us, knows everything about us and loves us perfectly in the midst of our imperfection.

Is Your Body Tired or Is Your Soul Tired?

When we’ve gone through periods of extreme emotional or mental stress, or souls can go into temporary deep stress.

As we try to lift ourselves out of it by thinking positively or attempting to shift our state by forcing ourselves to become more physically energetic, we will likely feel vibrationally low.

The reason is that our soul needs time to repair in the same way tired muscles or broken bones need to heal. Even though your soul is not visible it’s there and every bit as important as body damage.

We may not pay attention to our souls, we ignore the warning signs that our energy is rapidly depleting, it can lead to more severe, long term health issues lie chronic anxiety or depression.

When our soul is exhausted, we may notice that not only does our body feel like a heavy lead object in pushing us down every movement is hard work, bit all our sensitivities are heightened and we feel on edge, running on straight adrenaline. little things that seem normal seem like they are to handle. We become overwhelmed and close to a meltdown at the thought of having anything out of the ordinary life might throw our way.

We may go through the day and it seems like everything is playing in slow motion. During the night, our sleep will restless as we experience turbulent, realistic dreams or nightmares that remain in our mind.

When someone asks us what’s wrong with us, we fail to have any clear answers that can translate how we feel. We know there is something deep going on with us, but we can’t quite describe why we feel what we feel or exactly why we feel this way.

Mathew 1: 28-30 tells us to come to Him and He will give us rest for our weary souls.

We feel an intense aching throughout our body and we may experience headaches, stomach aches and buried vision without any medical condition.

We feel A though we are out of sync without a current timeline. Our mind is operating a few moments slower than our body causing us to feel disoriented and fragmented.

All our emotions are heightened that tears flow more easily. We feel out hearts could burst from all the emotions flowing around I side us.

We feel a profound sense of loneliness even around others and my wonder who we can trust.

We may feel weakened and anything we do is exhausting from eating to exercising.

We may have anger, bitter resentful, or jealous thoughts about other people- when we usually feel compassion and don’t hold a grudge toward anyone.

The desire to leave everything behind and start over seems tempting. It can also make you feel suicidal.

When I feel this way I tend to push my way through it. Because that’s the way I was taught to handle situations like this.

That is not necessarily the answer. You can find a way to be alone for a day or weekend to just rest and put everything else on hold. Somethings changing your scenery can help a lot.

I always make sure I have a Bible or another positive book with me to read or meditate on. And just focus on yourself get the rest you need even if it’s for a short time.

Remember feeling soul tired can be caused by toxic people that put off negative energy. If we are not living our truth, or we are constantly put other before ourselves. Or we push ourselves so hard that we reach burn-out level. Being soul-tired can also be from holding on to the past to much.

Whatever the reason, our body, and soul have been thrown out of alignment and requires some time care a d gentleness so we can recharge and realignn ourselves.

Our Hope When Life Hurts

Life is unpredictable. Who could have guessed a pandemic would upend our plans, uproot our sense of certainty, and throw us into turmoil, leaving us longing for hope? Life can change in a nanosecond, and it deals blows we cannot expect.

Thankfully, in our time of uncertainty, we can take hold of the promise found in Romans 15:13. “The God of hope will fill us with all joy and peace, and by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in hope.” Hope is mentioned not once but twice in this verse.

The first mention in this verse refers to God as the origin of hope. We anticipate a favorable outcome not based on His person. We will face disappointments or life-altering detours. We will experience the death of a dream or the loss of a loved one. But no matter how difficult our circumstances, we can have hope because of who God is: powerful, wise, sovereign and good. God is our guide, our comfort, our rock that remains steadfast when everything around us crumbles. He’s our constant companion who has promised never to leave us, not even for a moment.

The second mention of hope refers to us as the recipients. God pours Hope into us when we choose to believe He is who He says He is and that He always keeps His promises. When we do this, He gifts us not with flimsy optimism that everything will work out okay, but with a rock solid anticipation of a favorable outcome under His guidance.

And because we live among humanity desperately seeking hope, He wants our supply to spill over and fill those around us, creating in them a curiosity to know our secret. We can’t concoct this hope in our own strength; God makes Hope possible you the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.

The more we meditate on Romans 15:13, the word God heals our hurting hearts. We can hang on to hope knowing that someday, Jesus will return and set everything right. Someday, He will wipe every tear from our eyes. In the meantime, we can live in hope because the source of hope lives in us.