Philippians 1:1-11

v1. Paul called himself and Timothy 'bondservants'. meaning individuals that demonstrate the same servant like attitude of Christ. my pastor told me that you cannot lead if you cannot serve... many times we want to be leaders without being willing to be servants... we might feel we are above those we lead... but obviously Jesus did not see this as the case as He was a servant first...
v3. He thanks God every time he remembers or is brought to his mind this church... wouldn't it be wonderful if we prayed and thanked God for those we love every time we think of them? Can you imagine the changes in the world behind this much thankfulness for the people in our lives... (it might help our churches out too...)
v5. fellowship in the gospel is considered intimacy with Christ... when was the last time we were really intimate with God? really spent QUALITY alone time with Him... hopefully it was recent...
v6. he is confident that the work the Christ started in them, He will not stop working on them, until He comes back for them... what a blessing that is... that God does not give up on us every single day as we continue to sin in some manner... whether it be pride or anger or gossip or lying... whatever your particular sin might be... and we faithfully try to do better, but cannot without God's help...
v8. he longs for the with the affection of Jesus... this is true christian love... I pray I can come to the place where I show true agape love to all at all times... regardless of the circumstance... he says they are in the center of his deepest feelings... usually the only one in the center of our deepest feelings is ourselves... not fellow christians...
v9. he is saying that he prays their love may abound in knowledge and discernment so that they can have an intimate understand of someone and be able to show them love in spite of their actions maybe... able to discern spiritual truth of someone...

can we imagine the change in the world if the people of God would treat one another like this... can we see how people would then be drawn to the church... isn't this the calling on each one of our lives? Father change me... that I can be a person to show love to all people... not just love of man, but love of God... love that does not fade, is not tarnished... change me that I am able to love my fellow man in the manner that you are loving me... so I can see them through the blood that Christ shed for them.. same as He shed it for me... they are no different than I am... we are all sinners... I am just saved by grace... maybe if I can change.. others will desire to know the God that I love... in the name of Jesus Christ... my Lord and Savior I ask these things... amen.

Let there be love on earth and let it begin with me....

Jonah 4

I am thinking that Jonah was embarrassed. He would go and tell the Ninevites that God was going to kill/judge them. Then God turns around and spares them, which made him FEEL like everyone thought he was making it all up. And maybe they did. What difference does that really make? Why are we so concerned about what others think of our walk with God?

So Jonah gets angry because he felt the Ninevites were supposed to die because they were gentiles. They were not the favored of God. They were not Israelites. And they were not worthy of God's love. In Jonah's eyes. Who have you looked at lately and felt they were less than you or worthy of less than you. Yet God shows compassion and love on them and you are angry. God states there are more than 120,000 Ninevites and they cannot tell their left hand from the right, meaning they have no knowledge of God. How could He condemn them so quickly without giving them opportunity to turn from sin? Truth told, because they had no real knowledge of God and they were not true to God, in 612 b.c, the city of Ninevah really was completely destroyed, but God had saved THESE people.

Isn't it also amazing that just days before, Jonah was the one seeking God's compassion on him while he is in the belly of the fish, but does not give compassion to the multitude. And we aren't talking about someone who had personally wronged this man, we are talking about 120,000 strangers... What is it about us that does not care if people are saved. Why do we not care if people know the love of God? I hate to inform us all... but that is why we were created. To bring glory to God. To worship God. Our entire lives should be devoted to advancing the kingdom of God. Instead we are constantly looking to advance ourselves. Father change me so that You are all that really matters to me.

Jonah 3

many times we seem to think that God will change His mind if we don't want to do something... if God has made His mind up and you are the one chosen, then He will change you, not His will... God says something to us, we wait, or ignore it and keep thinking then that God will say something else... we are the ones on the time constraint... not God... He has been here since eternity and will continue for eternity... we are the ones who die... not Him... so He waits... and while we are thinking He is silent, really... He is just waiting for you to get up and do the last thing that He told you to do...

Jonah was vomited up by the fish... God again said the exact same thing to him... He didn't change it up... He didn't give any short cuts to make it more attractive... He said the same thing over again... this time Jonah listened...

the Ninevites believed God, declared a fast and all of them were mourning and lamenting... asking God for forgiveness.... even the king... and their hope was in God... hoping that God would relent, show compassion, and turn from His anger and let them live...

and He did... God is full of mercy at all times... always looking for us to turn it around and listen to Him, to act according to His statutes... our God really only wants to save us... why do we seem to have such a hard time allowing it and turning from sin and from the ways of the world??

Jonah 2

in the belly of the fish... at the bottom of the ocean.. we don't even have the ability to imagine the feeling of this... as he was sinking to the depths of the ocean and unable to breathe, surely he is realizing that he was oh so stupid to not agree to just go to Ninevah... thinking anything would be better than what he is going through right now... then a big fish comes and swallows him up... and can you imagine the smell inside a fish... uuuugggghhhh.... no understanding of that one!!

and as he is in this fish, thinking he is on the verge of sure death... then God pulled him up and saved him... he is in the fish, praising God for saving him... thankful to be alive, even inside a big fish.. as his life is slipping away.. he remembers God... when will we begin to remember God daily... no matter what is going on around us, good or bad... when will we really come to the realization that no matter what it looks like, our entire reason for being created is to bring glory to God... and whatever it is that is supposed to do that... then that is what we are to do... we are all too concerned about bringing glory to ourselves... the spotlight on us... the pity, the honor, the adoration... we want all eyes on us... when they are supposed to be on God...

Father never let me need to go in the belly of a fish to realize who You are.... and after Jonah gives God all the praise and honor and glory... then the fish vomits him up onto shore...
funny thing about that... first it is sickening to imagine being thrown up... but... notice he didn't even have to swim to shore... God provided the housing while needed, then the transportation to get up on shore... our God is an awesome God...

Jonah 1

and the word of the Lord came to Jonah... how many times has God spoken to you? and how many times have you ran in the opposite direction? isn't it amazing how we want God to be a 'gimme God' who we can receive from but maybe not have to ever give anything back... how many relationships work if only one person is the one that is giving? none.... relationships work if all parties are giving and receiving... what would make us think it would be any different between us and God?

God does not leave us alone, just because we didn't want to do what He called us to do. He will come after you... I would pray that it would not be a storm used to come after me... (I would so prefer the still small voice...) but it usually is some sort of storm... financial crisis, marital crisis, death of a loved one... and how many times do we try to sleep through it... and do you ever notice... it doesn't only affect you... it affects everyone else in your world too...

and Jonah tells them to throw him overboard... now that is a little different than most of us... most of us would hold on for dear life... and if we realize this... God is sending Jonah to Ninevah to warn of God's judgement.... instead... the sailors will die if they do not throw Jonah over... which they of course think will kill him... so... if we do not do the will of God, we die anyways... sheesh... that was a rough one... right?? originally, these sailors were calling out to their gods, but in the end, they call out to the Living God... so even our running from God can be used to bring people to God if He sees fit to do so... and God sends a great fish to swallow up Jonah... and he is inside the belly of the fish three days and three nights... (like the Son of man was in the depths of the earth three days and three nights...)

listening...

I have a co-worker that has been married for 22 years and recently finds her husband in a compromising position with another woman... she is divorcing him...

she is a person who talks constantly (even worse than me...) and she knows something about everything (again, even worse than me...) we joke here at the office that if we said we know someone with prostate cancer, she would say that she had that before... it is very annoying to say the least...

I keep to myself at my job... stay in my office much of the time... don't really talk personally with anyone... so this morning as I am making my hot tea, the boss comes to me and tells me this person had said yesterday that she told her husband he never talked to her...

sirens go off... lights flashing...

this man talked to her... or at least he tried to some time... and she didn't hear him... she was always thinking of what her answer would be while he was telling her his side... and I could see that I could easily have this same issue... I wonder how many divorces are caused by women who never listen... or at least this is a contributing factor...

most men really don't usually talk all that much anyway... so I am thinking that when they do, it is VERY important for a woman to know how to be a listener... not always a talker...

who are you, really?

people tend to think that they know someone that they talk to on a regular basis... sometimes we are not at all what we look like or even what we sound like...

most of us wear a mask... whether it is a mask of self confidence or a mask of beauty, maybe a mask of quietness.. we all wear some sort of mask hiding who we really are on the inside... many people who appear to be very outgoing are really very quiet when out of a crowd... many people who appear to have self confidence really are very insecure about themselves... sometimes we dress to cover our weakness.. sometimes we talk to cover it...

before we think we know what someone would do, or who someone really is... think about yourself... what is your mask? what is it you are hiding from the world? what weakness are you covering? then realize maybe they are not what they appear to be either...

why are you really alone...

Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

For the longest time, about 12 years now, I have been very content alone. I like to have companionship sometimes, but I prefer to be able to choose how often people are in my personal space. My kids are over 18 now and away from home. In my usual self, I would be very content. Very much at peace. But somehow, that is not what is happening. God is changing me. And instead of being at peace, I am lonely. Not alone, lonely. Definitely two different words. I know that I have God in the house with me. I actually have 3 cats also. They are very affectionate with me too. Jerry pulls my hair in the middle of the night and sleeps up by my head, just to let me know how much I am loved. I don't know how this thing happened. It seems as though it has creeped up on me slowly. Not all at once, but it seems like I am realizing it all at once.

Previously, I was alone because I chose to be. It is easy to find a man. Trust me. It is easy to find a man. It is even easy to keep one. They really don't want that much. A man usually has three basic needs. Food, Caregiving, and Sex. That is all they really want. They appreciate it when you are quiet, but they usually will deal with your mouth as long as the three needs are met. So I could have a man if that was the issue.

That is not the issue. The issue is when you want to do the will of God, but sometimes we have our own time line. Now I am not sure that I am the one that is off on the time line of God. It could be that the man He picks is. (I do recognize that it could be me.) For one thing, I am not used to having any emotions, then I get some, and have literally NO IDEA what you are supposed to do with them. In the past, I would ignore you most of the time. I didn't tell you what I wanted. I didn't tell you where I went. I didn't listen to much of what you had to say. Words were unnecessary because I was going to do what I wanted to anyways. So, now that I have all these emotions, are they to stay between me and Jesus? Am I supposed to tell everyone how all of a sudden screwed up I am?

Here is another thing. Just a short while ago, you couldn't tell me that I wasn't the most gorgeous thing you ever met. I was the best you ever would think about having and I knew it. But now, with this emotional person that I have become, somehow I have also become insecure. What in the world is that about??? How do you go from being the queen of the universe to being unsure someone could think you are attractive or a good person? Someone said to me recently that maybe I am becoming less prideful and more loving of someone else. (?????)

See, this is exactly why I need the man brain back. This here brain I am working with has got NO SENSE... it is crazy and delusional...

hosea 4:11-14

11-14 "Wine and whiskey leave my people in a stupor. They ask questions of a dead tree, expect answers from a sturdy walking stick. Drunk on sex, they can't find their way home. They've replaced their God with their genitals. They worship on the tops of mountains, make a picnic out of religion. Under the oaks and elms on the hills they stretch out and take it easy. Before you know it, your daughters are whores and the wives of your sons are sleeping around. But I'm not going after your whoring daughters
or the adulterous wives of your sons. It's the men who pick up the whores that I'm after, the men who worship at the holy whorehouses— a stupid people, ruined by whores!

well... my first reaction to this is to be mad at God...
if we were taught understanding while young... of the sanctity of giving your body to another person... we would be much different than we are... fathers do not act like fathers... husbands don't act like husbands... could be wives don't act like wives... we are all basically looking for love and many people use sex to try to find it... if we understood that sex does not bring emotion for a man-brain, it turns it off... because the physical release the man-brain is looking for was reached...we might not jump to sleeping with them... now when I say man-brain, this is not necessarily a man... other's shut all emotion out to stop any pain from being able to seep in and get near them... this is the mind of my man-brain... shutting someone out... I would say these people usually sleep with very few people because it is a violation of their body to let someone in... but you feel like your body needs this release... the ones looking for love seem to sleep with lots of people because they are just looking for some type of intimacy...
we allow man to be our god... and think he can replace the God of the heavens... that will never work... the only pure love there is comes from the love God gives to you... He is the only one who's love is secure... and from this passage here... God is really mad about the way that people take sex for granted... the way that we use it and allow it to be a controlling force in our lives... I have been celibate for 3 years now... I promise you that my entire look at sex and intimacy is different now then ever before... now I want it to be about love... while I am terrified to let someone in... that is just what I intend to do... to stand naked and not ashamed before the man God has chosen... naked emotionally and intimately... (whew... that was scary to say out loud...) all the while keeping God as the focus... not the man... I asked God recently how you are supposed to love a man but not let him have your 1st place... He told me to let him in my heart... but keep my MIND on God... I think that is one of our greatest mistakes... when we love a man (or woman..) they get our head... God is to keep your focus...

15-19 "You've ruined your own life, Israel—but don't drag Judah down with you! Don't go to the sex shrine at Gilgal, don't go to that sin city Bethel, Don't go around saying 'God bless you' and not mean it, taking God's name in vain. Israel is stubborn as a mule.
How can God lead him like a lamb to open pasture? Ephraim is addicted to idols. Let him go. When the beer runs out, it's sex, sex, and more sex. Bold and sordid debauchery— how they love it! The whirlwind has them in its clutches. Their sex-worship leaves them finally impotent."

what is it that has your focus? is it a person? is it a job? is it money?
we talk about being saved and being a good christian... but are we really? or do we instead turn our heads when we see a need? do we keep our thoughts focused on our own desires and not maybe on the needs of someone else... I am thinking if we think alot less about ourselves and a little more about others... then we would probably be able to keep our focus on God...

I read somewhere that God uses marriage to make us a better christian... that marriage is the one place that God can grind our selfishness down and change us faster than any other... because we don't have a choice but to look at the other person... we don't have a choice but to hear their voice... we don't have a choice about tending to their needs... unless we divorce them... could that be why marriage seems to be so rough for people... we want to run from the thing being used to change us... the scripture says the the church is the bride of Christ... I think that Christ uses the church to change us and purify us... the same way that marriage is done to do that same thing... we can have all the bible knowledge in the world... but unless it changes our hearts and purifies us... what has it done for us? what good is knowledge that you don't use?

hosea 4:1-10

this is a formal complaint that God is charging Israel with breaking the covenant between them and Him

MSG 1-3 Attention all Israelites! God's Message! God indicts the whole population: "No one is faithful. No one loves. No one knows the first thing about God. All this cussing and lying and killing, theft and loose sex, sheer anarchy, one murder after another! And because of all this, the very land itself weeps and everything in it is grief-stricken—animals in the fields and birds on the wing, even the fish in the sea are listless, lifeless.
NKJV 1 Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “ There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

v 1. No one is faithful, no one loves, no one knows the first thing about God... God recently has said to me that I know nothing about the love of God... that I don't even know how to love humanly... so I cannot come close to understanding the love God feels for His people... mercy is loyalty or devotion... no one has loyalty or devotion to God.. no one has knowledge of God... this is meaning that no one is recognizing God as their authority.. they are not recognizing Him as their covenant partner...we often wonder about the decline of marriage and rise of divorce... we are not keeping covenant with man nor with God... some one needs to step up and recognize the seriousness of what covenant really is... if we cannot keep covenant... then we have no business getting married at all... no one told you this would be easy... if they did, they were lying... we marry with all the wrong intentions... then we walk away when things are hard... and we carry this into our relationship with God... if He is not being the genie or fairy godfather that we want Him to be.. then we walk away and turn our back... in reality He is our authority... but since we cannot discern headship or order, we cannot understand the importance of His authority...

v2. this mentions 5 of the 10 commandments being broken by the people... how many commandments are WE breaking in our holier than thou world? how many are we taking responsibility of and seeking repentance and turning from them?
v3. when God comes in judgement it will affect ALL living things... we look at the nation around us... and we can easily wonder if we might not be in the judgement of God... as everything is falling apart.... a once prosperous and powerful nation now in debt with a large percentage of people out of work... how will we eat? how will we pay our bills? how will we have healthcare? but for the grace of God... there go I... it could be any one of us in that position... people wonder how a person becomes homeless... well, I am thinking many people are realizing just how it might happen...

NKJV 4 “ Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest. 5 Therefore you shall stumble in the day; The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; And I will destroy your mother. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
MSG 4-6 "But don't look for someone to blame. No finger pointing! You, priest, are the one in the dock. You stumble around in broad daylight, And then the prophets take over and stumble all night. Your mother is as bad as you. My people are ruined because they don't know what's right or true. Because you've turned your back on knowledge, I've turned my back on you priests.Because you refuse to recognize the revelation of God, I'm no longer recognizing your children

v 4-6. failure of their leaders have now brought about their fall... even the priests were not leading as they should.. lack of knowledge.. the priests failed to teach the people the laws of God... failed to explain to the that the wages of sin is death... instead preaching flowery messages about prosperity and God's love, but failing to explaing that there is judgement with disobedience... this type of priest would serve a special judgement for this sin... God will terminate the priestly line... they did not teach the people that the law of God is the source of life... this could be applied to any one of us... are we teaching our children the ways of God? are we living under the laws and protection of God Almighty? are we obeying His will? are our lives and example to an unbeliever?

NKJV 7 “ The more they increased,The more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. 8 They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity.
MSG 7-8 The more priests, the more sin. They traded in their glory for shame. They pig out on my people's sins. They can't wait for the latest in evil.

v 7-8. the honor of God was attached to the priesthood... sinful priests forfeit the honor of being called a servant of the most high God... they were profiting from the people's sins... are we profiting from our sin? are we forfeiting our royal background? are we living as a peculiar people separated unto God?

NKJV 9 And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, And reward them for their deeds. 10 For they shall eat, but not have enough; They shall commit harlotry, but not increase; Because they have ceased obeying the LORD.
MSG 9-10 The result: You can't tell the people from the priests, the priests from the people. I'm on my way to make them both pay and take the consequences of the bad lives they've lived. They'll eat and be as hungry as ever, have sex and get no satisfaction. They walked out on me, their God, for a life of rutting with whores.

v 9-10. they were accepting the hypocritical ways of the people instead of calling them out in their sins... they would worship other gods.. baal was supposed to (in their mind) give them good harvest and many children... but they would not have enough to eat and would not multiply because they are worshipping baal who is nothing... how many times have we worshipped our own "baal"?have we looked to a man for love? have we looked to our jobs for money? have we looked to our government for peace? only God is the source of all things... you can have a man but his love not be satisfying... (I really wasn't talking about sex.. but wouldn't that be horrendous... sex that doesn't satisfy???) there is also religious prostitution in our day... people are not all there for God... some come for all the wrong reasons... if we are not calling them out on sin and teaching of judgement... how are we any different than the priests of Hosea's day? be sure you are in a church that is teaching the ways of God... the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph... not the god of man or god of money... looking to please the people... if the people are upset about the preaching of the pastor... he is doing right... he is a true man of God...

hosea 3

1 Then God ordered me, "Start all over: Love your wife again, your wife who's in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife.Love her the way I, God, love the Israelite people, even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy."

beginning amazing already.... go get your wife... from another man's bed... and love her.... that takes an amazing man... but... isn't that just what God did... He came up in the bar and took me home... and loved me... where did He take you from....

2-3 I did it. I paid good money to get her back. It cost me the price of a slave. Then I told her, "From now on you're living with me. No more whoring, no more sleeping around. You're living with me and I'm living with you."

I didn't really like the message bible on these two verses because in truth... what had happened was.... Gomer had become a slave... to another man... (hmmmm how many times have we been a slave to something...) and according to levitical law, Hosea only had to pay 1/2 the normal price for her... which says in the eyes of man...she wasn't worth much... yet he pays the price and he takes her home... but he tells here that she has to live in the house with him but not sleep with him or with any other man... she had to be isolated so that she could be purified... or cleansed from all the filth she had put herself in... how many times has God isolated us... purified us.. and we go right back to the filth... so sad... but this was only to be for a time... because once she was purified he would love her physically and emotionally... one thing we really don't think about it what it took for Hosea to go get her... can you imagine just how truly humiliated he would be to go to another man's house and PAY for his own wife... this is not just a woman he loved... you know how psycho we can all be and say that is my man and you can't have him... no... this is his wife... he was faithful to her... he was good to her... he provided for her in spite of what she did... she was a slut the whole time they were married... can we imagine what it took for him to go get her... and that is what God does for us... every time we stray...

4-5 The people of Israel are going to live a long time stripped of security and protection, without religion and comfort, godless and prayerless. But in time they'll come back, these Israelites, come back looking for their God and their David-King. They'll come back chastened to reverence before God and his good gifts, ready for the End of the story of his love.

we allow ourselves to go many days without our King... without God's love... but if you were called by God... if you are chosen... you have no choice but to run back to Him and get it right... one more time... hopefully this will be the last time... and we will become faithful to Him who is faithful to us.... someone had recently told me that God has me in a love story orchestrated by Him... that this love story I am in would be an example to all people of the love that God has waiting for us.. that is the truth for every one of us... God is loving us and trying to win our complete love... our complete trust... will we give God our whole heart...

hosea 2...

I am doing a bible study on line with some close friends and I chose Hosea because we are so often unfaithful to God... we expect God to constantly have our back and provide and love us special... yet what are we really doing to make the kingdom of God... much less the world... a better place? the house of God is full of people who constantly talk about one another.. tearing one another down... how often do you get a phone call when someone says something positive instead of negative... we are the children of the most high God... do we really see the seriousness of that? God did not have to choose you... He did not have to call you out of the filth you were in... and when He did, He completely forgave everything you did... we can't forgive someone for talking crazy... even if it is the truth... we allow our feelings to be worn on our sleeves... we will talk about one another... we will just refuse to speak to one another... yet we expect God to forgive us and forget all the ugliness we still engage in...

it is time for a change... I am standing up... I am done talking negative... I am done talking about people... I am done hearing anyone talking about anyone else... so if I suddenly tell you I gotta go... I guess you'll know what it's about... I want the house of God to be just that... a house where God is willing to reside... to live... to grace us with His presence... and the change needs to begin in me...

1 "Rename your brothers 'God's Somebody.' Rename your sisters 'All Mercy.' Wild Weekends and Unholy Holidays 2-13 "Haul your mother into court. Accuse her! She's no longer my wife. I'm no longer her husband.Tell her to quit dressing like a whore, displaying her breasts for sale.If she refuses, I'll rip off her clothes and expose her, naked as a newborn.I'll turn her skin into dried-out leather, her body into a badlands landscape, a rack of bones in the desert.I'll have nothing to do with her children, born one and all in a whorehouse.Face it: Your mother's been a whore, bringing bastard children into the world.She said, 'I'm off to see my lovers! They'll wine and dine me,Dress and caress me, perfume and adorn me!'But I'll fix her: I'll dump her in a field of thistles, then lose her in a dead-end alley.She'll go on the hunt for her lovers but not bring down a single one.She'll look high and low but won't find a one. Then she'll say,'I'm going back to my husband, the one I started out with. That was a better life by far than this one.'She didn't know that it was I all along who wined and dined and adorned her,That I was the one who dressed her up in the big-city fashions and jewelry that she wasted on wild Baal-orgies.I'm about to bring her up short: No more wining and dining! Silk lingerie and gowns are a thing of the past.I'll expose her genitals to the public. All her fly-by-night lovers will be helpless to help her.Party time is over. I'm calling a halt to the whole business, her wild weekends and unholy holidays.I'll wreck her sumptuous gardens and ornamental fountains, of which she bragged, 'Whoring paid for all this!'They will soon be dumping grounds for garbage, feeding grounds for stray dogs and cats.I'll make her pay for her indulgence in promiscuous religion— all that sensuous Baal worshipAnd all the promiscuous sex that went with it, stalking her lovers, dressed to kill,And not a thought for me." God's Message!
To Start All Over Again 14-15 "And now, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to start all over again.I'm taking her back out into the wilderness where we had our first date, and I'll court her.I'll give her bouquets of roses. I'll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope.She'll respond like she did as a young girl, those days when she was fresh out of Egypt. 16-20 "At that time"—this is God's Message still— "you'll address me, 'Dear husband!'Never again will you address me, 'My slave-master!'I'll wash your mouth out with soap, get rid of all the dirty false-god names, not so much as a whisper of those names again.At the same time I'll make a peace treaty between you and wild animals and birds and reptiles,And get rid of all weapons of war. Think of it! Safe from beasts and bullies!And then I'll marry you for good—forever! I'll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness.Yes, I'll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go. You'll know me, God, for who I really am. 21-23 "On the very same day, I'll answer"—this is God's Message— "I'll answer the sky, sky will answer earth,Earth will answer grain and wine and olive oil, and they'll all answer Jezreel.I'll plant her in the good earth. I'll have mercy on No-Mercy.I'll say to Nobody, 'You're my dear Somebody,' and he'll say 'You're my God!'"

what God wants from us...

we want our prayers heard and answered... we want God to be doing everything that we want Him to do... but what does God want from us... aside from the 10 commandments... what does God want from us...

if we read this scripture... it seems to me... that God basically wants us to show love at all times... He wants us to care for those in need... He wants us to stop judging, stop gossip, stop complaining, stop all negativity...

we do not have enough love in our human heart to do the will of God in this area... we need to be full of the love of God, not the love of man... I have begun to daily ask God to fill me with the Spirit of Love... I have accepted that the love I feel in my own power is not enough to sacrifice my own comfort... it is not enough to be truly kind in my heart toward those who hate me or persecute me... I would still be witholding some sort of hostility... only with God's Spirit are we able to do His will...

Father empty me of all unrighteousness... fill me full of the Spirit of love continuously as a running well flowing to me and through me... I give you all glory... all honor... all adoration... in Jesus precious name I ask these things... amen.

Isaiah 58:8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. 13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

the past...

we all have a past... I don't care how righteous you are now... because man is born into sin... you still have a past... your past may not be as shady as someone else's... but it is not clean either...

do you realize that God does not see degrees of sin... the bible tells us that if you have committed one sin then you have committed them all... He sees murder the same as He sees a lie... He sees adultery... the same as slander... there are no better sin or lesser sin... we ALL have fallen short of the glory of God...

the bible tells us that David had a heart after the heart of God... he had a heart LIKE God... yet David committed murder and adultery... and he had a heart like God... bigger than that... when he confessed his sin and turned from it... God was gracious and forgave him...

what is it that makes us judge someone else? what is it that makes us decide someone should be this or should not be that... what is it that makes us keep dragging up someone's past when we don't see it as their present? just like you want your past to remain in the past... so does everyone else...

Job was a righteous man... and when He questioned the authority and plans of God... God said to him... WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE??? did you form the earth... did you make man? can you stop the day from going forth?

if God has allowed you to be placed in authority... allow God to order your steps... if you are not in authority and cannot make decisions... there is a reason God didn't put you up there... know your place and stop trying to do someone else's job... because I promise you that 'VENGANCE IS MINE SAITH THE LORD...' and the wrath of God is no joke...