Do you know all about Him?

When I was much younger, maybe around 30, I thought I knew a lot more than I know now.  I was eager to do and to work.  I was intelligent, so I thought I could do anything I wanted to.  These years of misguided youth were full of turmoil inside.  I wanted so much to please the Lord that I worked and worked for Him. 

 

Then, as I grew older, maybe more tired and ill, I finally realized that I could do NO good thing for the Lord.  All my work was busy work.  Finally, I came to the realization that if I ever did anything that pleased the Lord, He had to be in it.  When I realized this, it set me free; free from worry, free from striving, free from anxiety in trying to please Him.  This freedom was the beginning of the total peace He has brought me to.  It is the "peace that passes all understanding".

 

I was in my 50’s when I began to have a nervous condition.  I didn’t know it at the time, but it was an inherited brain chemical deficiency.  I couldn’t keep my Serotonin level up where it should be. Serotonin is necessary to prevent depression and other mental disorders.  So, after seeing a very good psychiatrist for many years, I became stable and was out of the depression for good in May of 2003.  The Lord healed me in a glorious way that was evident even to my family.

 

As I came out of the depression, and even while I was in it, I spent my time alone with the Lord.  I called this time my "Desert Experience".  I was taught by the Lord and no one else.  When I got to where I could, I read my Bible.  The first scripture I could read for a while was Psalms 23.  I had forgotten it in my trials.  It was always one of my favorites, and I was determined to learn it again.  So, as I worked in the house, I would say this Psalm over and over.  I forgot it and would have to look it up again, but I finally was able to quote it.  And quote it, I did.  Not only did I quote it, I learned it.  It dropped from my head to my heart.  And as that happened, I realized that it was so true for me at that time.  I was going through the valley of death. 

 

The death was two-fold.  I thought I was dying in all that illness, and it was also the death of self for me.  As I went through too many heart aches and trials to mention, I would envision myself lying beside the cool waters, resting.  And when I was hurting, I would remember that the Lord made me lie down in green pastures. He literally restored my soul.  When those who mocked me and made fun of me had their good time, I remembered that the Lord prepared a table for me — a banquet — in the very presence of my enemies.  And my cup did run over. 

 

These years I spent with the Lord have been and still are the best times of my life.  I have found that there is not one thing I need that He doesn’t supply.  I went through years of asking Him to take things out of me that I knew would not please the Father.  It took lots of time for some of them to go away, and more remain to get rid of yet, but He does do the work — in His time and in His way. 

 

If you ever ask the Lord to take something – maybe a habit — away from you, beware……He will.  When I was asking Him to stop me from spending money that I couldn’t really afford to spend on things that I most often wouldn’t even use, He started to work on me.  At first, when I went into a store, I would get cramps in my feet.  It hurt really bad.  I had to hurt to walk through the store, but walk I did.  Habits die hard.  Finally, after about three times, I said, "I know this is You, Lord. You are telling me I don’t need these things".  Little by little, I began to realize what I was doing. I was asking for something from the Lord and was pushing it away with both feet.  So, when you ask the Lord to clean you up inside, be prepared for Him to prompt you when you start to do it.

 

Well, all this was said because I just noticed a poem on my desk that I wrote back in June of 1991. I was during some of the worst times I was in.  I had just been in total breakdown for three years.  I just jotted this down one day, and would like to share it with you.   I pray it will mean something to you:

 

I thought I knew who He was

When I thought I knew who I was.

Then I was broken,

The bottom fell out of my life.

All the pieces of who I was

Lay exposed for all to see.

Then, I began to know who He is;

Then, I began to understand Grace…..

                 AMAZING!

 

 

 

 

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My Heart is Overflowing

Good day this Sunday, April 13, 2008~~

 

My heart is so full of joy that it is overflowing. So, I will pour out some of it

here.  I had been having a hard time getting to church on Sunday mornings.

Some medicine I have to take makes it hard for me to get up early. But, I have

prayed and worked with the dosage so I can get up.

 

This morning I joined the church where I grew up since age 11. We had just moved

to this town from a larger town to the north. We moved into a house very near the

church. It was a Sunday, and I didn’t know what to do cause I had always gone

to church.  In fact, I had just been born again during the Easter season that spring,

and now it was June.

 

I was outside and heard the chimes playing from the church. I was startled at first,

then I ran into the house and put on some clean clothes and ran to the church.

I went into the Sunday School class for me. They were singing. Oh, how I love

to sing. So, I joined in fervently.  The teacher, Frank McKinney, saw how i loved

to sing. After the singing, he came to me and said how he loved it hear a person

enjoy singing so much.

 

Well, I spent most of the rest of my life in the church. Mr. McKinney’s friend, Grace,

who was the organist, took me under her wing and taught me piano.  I had

somehow learned to play without lessons.  So, when she tested me to see where

to place me, she was surprised to learn that I was far more advanced than she

thought I would be.

 

As time went on, she had me put in the position of church pianist. Once, when I

was about 8 years old, I was sitting in a little church and just looked over at

the lady playing a big upright piano. I had not thought anything of it before.

But on that day, at that time, the Lord said to me, "Someday you will do that."

Well, as I said, I didn’t think anything of it cause we couldn’t afford a piano,

and I didn’t think I would ever have one.

 

But, here in my home church, I was made church pianist. I played for years

until I went back to college to be a teacher. I had one son and was in a serious

nervous state, so I quit playing the piano.  One thing was that people kept

asking me to add more accompaniment to the hymns. A young lady had joined

our church and was a music major from her college.  I felt inferior to her

and thought that she should have the job. I thought she could do better than

I.  But, I found out that she was about on my level.

 

Well, that was the worst decision of my life.  Friends, when God calls you to

do something — NEVER QUIT.  It is not your or my decision to quit. God gives

the talent, and He expects us to use it to bring a hundred fold results.  So,

I have mourned the rest of my life over making that decision. For many years,

I thought God had put me on a shelf where I would stay for the rest of my life.

 

Many things happened in the years ahead.  But, today I came home to my church.

God gave me this church as my home. I used to spend hours at the church

just playing the piano. I couldn’t really play a lot at home.  Oh, yes, mom finally

bought me a piano when I was in high school. Today I rejoice. Today my joy

is overflowing.

 

I don’t know what God has for me to do there. He has given me things to do

using the computer.  But I know He never wastes anything or anyone. So, I

know He has something for me to do.  But, lately I have become aware of what

are called "presumptuous sins". In Psalms 12-14, we read, "Who can understand

his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults, Keep back your servant also from

presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me; then shall I be upright,

and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. (14) Let the words of my

mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord,

my strength and my redeemer."  So, daily I pray that the Father will keep me

from making these transgressions.  In order to not be guilty of this, I must

listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. He will let me know what I am to do, and

what I am not to do.

 

I didn’t mean to write this today.  But it has come out.  I just hope as you read

this, you will get something from the Spirit to lead you in a way you need to

go.  I don’t always write what I want to write. In fact, I rarely write what I think.

If I write a poem or song, it has to come from the Holy Spirit.  Many have been

the times when I just wanted to write a poem or song, but they wouldn’t come.

My own thoughts do not bring life.  They are not the living waters that every

person needs to constantly drink from.  To have life in what I write, I must

just let the Holy Spirit lead.

 

My heart overflows with good things. I rejoice in the leading of our Father

in all that I do.  I have no need to worry about what I do as long as it is

from the Father.  My prayer is that what I write will always have life and

will bless you in the way the Lord intended.

 

May you have a blessed week ahead.

Sandra

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Where is the power?

Do you ever wonder why some people have such spiritual power in

their lives, and you don’t?  They seem happy, joyful, and always in good

cheer.   You are often depressed and can’t get to that state where you

can take the troubles you have with peace.  Well, you, too, can have this

spiritual power.

 

When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit (St.Luke 24:49; Acts 2: 1 and following),

they were fully filled.  This was needed for them to be able to do things that they

could not do in and of themselves.  They went out and spoke to the various sects

of people who were present in Jerusalem on that day of Pentecost.  Each person heard

the preaching in his/her own language. This was not an unknown tongue as some think,

but was a particular language of the people present.  The disciples could not have done

this without the Holy Spirit.  This was given as a sign to the people that the Holy Spirit

had come, and that the promised of Jesus were being fulfilled.

 

Today, we receive the Holy Spirit in His fulness, but we don’t do what the disciples did.

Whether or not you receive the Holy Spirit depends on how you were saved. Some people

just accept Jesus with their minds, wanting to be a church member and in good standing

with people. They don’t change on the inside. Some people accept Jesus because they

have been in church all their lives and think they need to accept Him. They don’t change on

the inside either.  But, when a person is convicted by the Holy Spirit that Jesus has sacrificed

Himself on that cross for our sin, and when He draws us to Jesus, we are humbled by what

we see.  We see ourselves in our "filthy rags" and weep for what we are without Him.

 

Now, not all true salvation experiences are emotional on the outside, but they will be very

revealing to us on the inside. I can’t see anyone ever seeing Jesus in His pain, suffering

for us, and not be moved.  So, first of all, in John 6:44, we see that "No man can come

to me (Jesus) except the Father which has sent me draw him;".  We can’t just decide in

our minds to claim Jesus as our Saviour.  But, when the Spirit acts on us to make us see

Jesus for who He is and what He has done to bring us out of Adam’s sinful race and into

the kingdom of God, we are convicted. We will probably be very uncomfortable until

we truly accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. At that time, the conviction will leave,

and the joy of the Lord will be ours.

 

When we do accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, we must follow His example in

water baptism.  I do believe that emersion in the water is the true baptism. This is

because of what it symbolizes.  Going under the water symbolized the burial of Jesus,

and coming up out of the water symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus.  So, we are

buried to our old selves, and raised to a new life in Jesus.  Then, the Holy Spirit comes

into us to live for eternity.

 

We don’t have to ask the Holy Spirit to come into our lives. He was promised to us by

Jesus, who prayed to the Father to send Him to us. The Holy Spirit comes into us.

He is a person who does many things in us. But, we have the choice to either let Him

work in our lives or go on about our old lives.

 

Thos who have the power to be examples of what Jesus taught, those who have joy

and peace, are those who are and have been letting the Holy Spirit work in their lives.

The Holy Spirit speaks to us. It is usually in our spirits — which sound like thoughts. It

takes practice in listening with our spiritual ears to distinguish His voice from our own

thoughts.  But our own thoughts do not usually make us better, cleaner in our souls.

The words of the Spirit will make us better.  We will be led in our walk with the Lord.

We will be shown some things that are in us that need to come out or stopped. If

we start to do something that is not pleasing to the Father, the Holy Spirit will put a

check in us.  That is a word to stop what we are about to do, and turn to the Father

and listen for His Word.

 

We learn more about how to walk this spiritual path as we read and meditate on the

Bible. With the Holy Spirit in us, what we read will fall into our spirits. If it does not,

the read James 1:5  "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that gives to all

men(/women) liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

If we lack wisdom, we are not learning. We should take the area in which we lack

understanding to the Father, and ask  Him to show us what we are not seeing.

When  we do this, the Holy Spirit will begin to lead us in that insight.

 

But, alas, many people are too busy to grow spiritually. These may even be pastors,

teachers, and leaders in the church. No one is automatically growing spiritually

unless he/she studies the Word and seeks the wisdom from above. We are assured

that when we ask, the Father will teach us through the Holy Spirit.

There is no excuse for not growing spiritually.  And as we grow, we understand more

and more of what we didn’t know before.

 

So, my friends, I ask you to examine how you were saved. What prompted  you to

accept Jesus.  If it was anything except the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I ask you to

ask the Father to draw you to Jesus.  Confess that you made the decision from

your mind or for other reasons. And if that is true, then seek the One who gave His

life for us. The One who would have done what  He did even if you were the only

one He was doing it for.  Salvation is personal, between you and Jesus. It matters

not what others think. It matters only that you are born again by the sacrifice of Jesus

and His shed blood which has run down through time to rest upon you and wash you

whiter than snow.

 

This is the life you want. You may not know it now. But once you have it, you wouldn’t

trade it for all the gold and jewels on this earth.  Seek Him today. You will find Him.

 

Sandy©

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