My Thoughts on Scripture ~ 3

Danna Shirley

One of the fruit of the Spirit is peace but it has to be practiced and developed by use...

1) cast down imaginations

2) bring every thought captive

3) obey Christ

4) pray the Word of God over yourself

5) Lord bless and protect me; be gracious to me, show me Your favor, and give me Your peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

6) I am bold and strong and I banish fear and doubt, for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go. (Joshua 1:9)

7) Lord, keep me in perfect peace because I trust in You and my thoughts turn to You often. (Isaiah 26:3)

8) Give me Your peace so my heart won't be troubled and I won't be afraid. (John 14:27)

9) Lord, You are my peace. (Ephesians 2:14)

10) God, let Your peace rule in my heart. (Colossians 3:15)

11) Lord, I cast all my care on You because You care for me. (1 Peter 5:7)

  

"Jesus said, If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin [missing the true end and scope of our lives, which is God, with the emphasis on guilt]; but now that you claim you can see [Jesus and yet still don't believe], your guilt remains." (John 9:41)

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  (James 1:27)

Wow, how timely was this discovery? This is not written TO orphans and widows but to any believer who wants to be accepted by God "as pure and faultless"...of course we're all accepted by God but this is His motivation for us to reach out in a "helps" ministry.

"For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed--a righteousness that is by faith from the first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" (Romans 1:17)

The righteous will live by faith. That says it all. Our whole life is lived by faith...that we will rise every day and take our next breath, that our heart will beat, that all systems are go. How precious are we to God...

"To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelation 3:21 NIV)

That's what God wants for us...to have victory over all our circumstances. Oh, we'll go through our peak and pit experiences but God is always there. He never leaves us or forsakes us. There is a learning and growing experience in everything we do and everything that comes our way. We either receive a blessing or we are the blessing to someone else.

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" (John 8:12 NIV)

I like that...I will never walk in darkness ... [spiritually]. When Jesus' light shines in us, we also give off a light in a dark world. Imagine when God takes us Christians in the rapture...what will the world look like then? That's why witnessing is so important and why God gave us His great commission. 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end off the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

THE ECLIPSE ~ AUGUST 21, 2017...​

​"​The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." (Psalm 19:1) 

"And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.'" (Isaiah 6:3; Psalm 72:19)

"Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) 

Can you imagine how much we were impressed and ga-ga over the eclipse from down here; how much more are they in heaven who look down from up there? 

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor 12:9-10)

Mostly my thoughts go from "God's grace is sufficient for me," to "for when I am weak, then He is strong." I don't much like taking pleasure in my infirmities, but then again, I'm no Apostle Paul! 

"Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice." (1 Chronicles 16:10)  

Oh, so true! I think the key word is heart. Its that thing again of getting the Word from head knowledge down into having heart knowledge. I've heard of people who can quote the Bible forwards and backwards and have been involved in seeking every religion you can think of...even a few never heard of. Quoting the Bible doesn't make you a Christian. It's all in your heart...yours and God's.

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NIV)

I'm glad and sad that He did. Glad for me and my eternity; sad that my sin put Him on the cross and that He had to die a horrible death for me. The scary part is that I would be in hell if not for accepting Jesus as my Savior. It's an awesome thought and unfathomable. Just believe and receive and so many people won't...they fight and fight against Him and want to stay right where they are...drowning and dying in sin...but while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Thank You, Lord!

"A person's wisdom yields patience; it is to one's glory to overlook an offense." (Proverbs 19:11 NIV)  

Wow, that's a mouthful. Breaking it down word by word it looks like this: Patience = overlook (forgive) = wisdom = glory! Simple? Ha, that's probably one of the hardest things to ever accomplish in this life. But nothing is impossible with God. That's the key..."with God." 

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3 NIV)

Healing is not just for the Physical (body) but 

Mental (mind, right thinking)

Spiritual (you and God drawing closer)

Emotional (grieving, sorrow, sadness)

Financial (frugal, being a good steward)

Relational (spouse, children, friends, family, co-workers); 

Any and all circumstances/situations in which we may find ourselves. 

He heals our broken heart and binds up our wounds.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)

A sermon I heard years ago said we should all pray about choosing a "life verse." This one has always been on my heart because when we have Christ’s Spirit in us, we also have His love, grace, mercy, and Spirit of giving. Therefore, when we see a need, we have Christ’s desire to fulfill it. He opens our blind eyes to see that need and shows us the “GOOD” we can do to fulfill it. Align with God and release Him into every situation. God puts His stamp on our purpose and our purpose is diminished into His purpose.

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You." (Psalm 139:13-18)

All these words describing how much God put into the making of us. How could anyone abort such a beautiful creation of God.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" (John 14:6)

There is really no verbal witnessing that will probably reach unbelievers except to just live our lives out in front of them and pray/send the Holy Spirit to break through their unbelief and deceptive ideas. 

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper." (Psalm 1:1-3)

Wow, what an awesome promise...but every promise in the scriptures has a condition... DELIGHT yourself in the law [scriptures] and MEDITATE on them day and night...THEN you will be FRUITFUL and PROSPER. Meditate means to think deeply or focus one's mind; to open yourself up to hear from the Holy Spirit...that's your part! Hunger to hear God’s Words. Tears are the language of the heart. 

"But Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'" (John 6:68-69)

I love this scripture because it confirms that we are to remain right in the middle of Christ, surrounded by His love and grace and mercy. Why? Because we are always in three positions of life...1) Either we've just been through something; 2) or we are in the middle of something; 3) or we are going into something! No matter where we are or what we are experiencing... where else can we go but to the Lord? Jesus has the words of eternal life and we believe and know that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God! Hallelujah! 

Jesus tells me: 

Reach out

Step out

Minister to others

Be bold

Satan Tells me:

Retreat

Stand still

Be silent

Hold back

Ask God for a hunger to press in to Him—hear Him quickly—obey Him quickly. Seek God’s face (His presence) as well as His hand (His blessings). Some find God seeking His face first, then His hand; some find God seeking His hand first, then His face. Salvation encompasses His face and His hand. Greek word for salvation/saved is all inclusive and means:

(5442) Phullaso: to keep by way of protection

(4991) Soteria: rescue or safety, health, salvation, deliverance, saving, preservation

(1295) Dia-sozo: to save thoroughly, heal, make perfectly whole, preserve, cure 

(4982) Sozo: to save, deliver, protect, make whole, heal, be whole, preserve, be well

Press in to signs and wonders that glorify God…salvation, healing, deliverance, restoration

“God, how do You see miracles of healing and deliverance? How important are miracles to You?”  

I had a vision of a wave of the sea moving across humanity; rocks sticking up here and there as dry ground, not allowing the water to flow over them. Those in the water are refreshed, swimming, receiving. They are swimming in one direction, not out to sea or toward shore but across the shoreline—passing the rocks and dry ground. Those in dry places are trying to pull people out of the water but they refuse; they want to keep swimming to their destination. Those in dry places don’t want to get wet; they don’t want to be immersed in this sea. There is no destination in this water—just a continual moving toward a never-ending goal, always being in God's will. 

Stir myself up…or I’ll sink to the bottom.

Shift from religious routine to knowing Him intimately.

Make my heart fertile ground; plant seeds; renew my mind.

God longs to encounter me and each encounter is different.

Be relentlessly pursuing God; heaven will come to earth.

Read Psalm 91 every day.

Step into the secret place of His glory; there’ll be no perception of time. 

Rest in Him, allow Him to commune with me. 

Let Him overtake me so I can move into a deeper level.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)

Boy, I like those words...HOPE, JOY, PEACE, TRUST, POWER! God sure knows how to encourage us in just one sentence and it all stems, initiates, exists from and through Him... 

Hope for the future...

Joy bursting within...

Peace in the midst...

Trust in the present...

Power to survive!

Thank You, God, for Your hand upon our lives.