Christian Writers Circle

Maturity in Christ through God’s Word
by Judy Hitson

Amos 8: 11 NIV “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land– not a famine of food or a thirst for water but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

Are we living in these days? Is there a famine of hearing the words of the LORD?

The moral decline of our nation seems to be at an exponential rate. In my lifetime, I have seen the divorce rate increase and laws relax to obtain a divorce, heartbreak with broken and blended families. Throughout our land, laws passed to legalize abortion. Some states legalize same sex marriage. Now the Supreme Court decided this is the law of the land rather than leaving the decision to each state.

What does God’s word say about these things? Do we know or care as a nation? Has the enemy of deception invaded the moral fiber of our nation to deceive many?

Consider a famine of hearing the words of the LORD, does it cause you grief or apathy?

As a Christian, take a challenge with me to ponder this word from Amos and seek God’s face to know and do our part in such a famine. Take time to know God, His will, His ways and His word. I hear the call I read in Acts 6: 4 to devote myself to prayer, and to the ministry of the word, while others are called according to Acts 6: 2 to serve tables.

What is God’s calling on your life? How has He gifted you in the body of Christ?

Take time to consider Amos 8: 11-14. What are these days like in a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. See men staggering, wandering, searching but not finding the word of the LORD. Consider also, Acts 6: 1-7 when disciples increased and the word of God kept spreading.

I hear, “While there is yet time.” Here are verses that may apply to us while we have time:

John 9: 4 NASB “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming when no man can work.

Rom. 13: 11 NIV And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

2 Tim. 4: 2 NASB preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;………….

Post Note: See previous post on Christian Writers Circle blog from October 18, 2013 found in the category, Time. I wrote, Time in the Word with Amos 8: 11Consider taking time in God’s Word and maturing in Christ through God’s Word.

June 27, 2015

Journaling

Prayer and Prophecy regarding Supreme Court Decision on Marriage

by Cathy Weil

Prayer:

Good morning gracious Father! You are Faithful and True! I’m so sorry that America has brought shame on itself yet again today. Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy on us, please.

Prophecy:

++The complacency the people have in their blatant disobedience is alarming. Their hearts are stirred by self- righteous lies they comfort themselves with. Oh, but if they could see the rotting spirit within them! All fall short of My Glory, but this is an attack on Me AND My people. Rise up, My people! Cast your swords together into one voice against this apostasy! The wicked are in one accord. You must pray in one accord. Oh the irony of your President singing “Amazing Grace” in My holy place. Did I, the Lord of lords, God, the only true God witness that??? How bold our enemies are with their victories! Praise and prayer must be constant at this time. You must take dominion over your allotted area and keep it holy by your praise, prayer and thanksgiving. I will fight for you and protect you. Check your walls for cracks and repair them with My ways. Abide fully in Me. Look, listen, praise, pray and thank Me. Focus on Me, there is no time for anything else. Do not fear, you were born for this time.

Xoxo, Jesus

Scriptures to consider:

Revelation 17: 14 NKJV “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

John 17: 3 NKJV And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Maturity in Christ through Prayer by Judy Hitson

Psalm 25: 4-5 NIV Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Show, Teach and Guide. These three action words gripped my heart as I was putting to memory Psalm 25: 3-4. I prayed, Lord show me Your ways, teach me Your paths, guide me in Your truth and teach me. From the depths of my being, I said, You are God my Savior and my hope is in You all day long. May praying this Scripture passage impact your heart by the Spirit of God as it did mine.

Take a moment. Like the psalmist, ask the LORD to show you, teach you and guide you by His Spirit in His ways, His paths and His truth. We need the LORD as much today as the day the psalmist penned this prayer.

Acknowledge the LORD as God your Savior and place your hope in Him all day long. He is there. Let hope arise. He will never leave you. Pray without ceasing, I Thess. 5: 17. Wait on Him moment by moment.

Commune with Him, desperate for Divine exchanges. Know His peace in exchange of anxieties or worries. Know His Spirit power, love and sound mind in exchange of any fears. Know how to walk in the Spirit and not lust after the flesh. For further meditation see the Amplified version of Phil. 4: 6-7; 2 Tim. 1: 7; Gal. 5: 16.

As He reveals His ways to you, walk in them, rather than your ways. He is worthy. Learn to follow Him more closely today than yesterday. He will teach you His paths for your life and guide you in truth as you requested.

As He shows you His ways, be blessed to show others His ways. As He teaches you His paths, learn to teach others His paths. As the LORD guides you in His truth, help others to learn the guidance of the Holy Spirit in His truth. Remember, He is the way, truth and life, John 14: 6. In the process of maturing in Christ, take part in discipleship.

Praying the word of God is a vital lesson. Is it a daily practice in your life?

It is worth the time to consider prayers through the Bible. Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, Ps. 119: 105 NASB. Discover His ways, His paths and His truth more today than yesterday maturing in Christ through prayer.

I Am Not My Own

by

Kathleen Shore

To know we have been bought at the highest price… Marking us with His signet ring of unchangeable value and worth… His blood now painted upon the doorposts of our heart and upon the canvas of our lives displaying how high, how wide, how deep the Father’s love is for us. Brings me to the question, “Why would we choose to live outside the power of His love poured out?”

“What do you mean by this?” you might ask. In answer, I will tell you of my pursuit for God’s quest within me! I will let you in on my prayer for His loving kindness to roam through every dark cavity of my soul and to make the place He gave His Son to die for, His home in me.

This place within us is the reward of His suffering. But still, there are areas we withhold His reward when we deny Him full possession of His rightful place. This snare of the flesh continues to keep me on my knees, crying out in declaration, “I am not my own…”

In this journey, I soon became aware of Father’s heartbeat, searching to find His children living in awe and wonder of their First Love…filled with an unspeakable joy in response to what He had done.

This ignited a pure and holy fire, set ablaze in my heart…and I began to charge my life with these questions:

• Is the life of our Lord Jesus Christ not enough?

Romans 5:1-5 NIV “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

• When did I decide that my thoughts were higher than His?

Isaiah 45:7-12 NIV “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it. Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands?’ Woe to the one who says to a father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to a mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’ This is what the Lord says – the Holy One of Israel, and it’s Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.”

• Where did prideful arrogance seep in and cause me to resist The Almighty God or talk back to my Creator?

Isaiah 29:15-16 NIV “Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?’ They turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘You did not make me?’ Can the pot say to the potter, ‘You know nothing?’

• Who deceived me to think, “I can do this without Him”?

Galatians 5:7 NIV “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?”

• What caused me to take my eyes off Him and sink into the waves of the enemy’s earthly rule over me?

Matthew 14:28-32 NIV “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “Why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

Drawn by His love to allow His finished work in me, I rested all that needed changed down at His feet. For the greatest misery of this life is not our earthly conditions…but the resistance of our will to the will of the Father within our earthly conditions.

Maturity in Christ Jesus marks the one who lives consumed with God’s will being done, through the power of His Son, no matter what the circumstances look like. They are not tossed about like a wave of the sea. They are not longing after something other than God’s will, accomplished.

We must live steadfast in knowing we are being transformed into His image through the earthly situations Father’s hand has placed us. He only asks that we yield ourselves to Him. He will work in us, to will and to do for His good pleasure. This all will come through His mighty power as we die to “self” so that we may live through Christ. Our part is to yield, His part is to work; and never will He give us a command, which is not accompanied by ample power to obey it.

Life from the Spirit by Judy Hitson

Acts 19: 2 NASB “and he (Paul) said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

“First things first,” I heard while considering Acts 19: 2. Assuming this was the Lord, I was impressed to read, Maturity in Christ, a devotional outline posted in this blog, February 2015. I wrote, “As Christians, we may talk about being born again, about our conversion experience or being Spirit-filled. It is vital to know Christ by His Spirit who gives life, John 6: 63; 2 Cor. 3: 6, and grow in Christ from a babe to maturity.”  Pause a moment.

As Paul asked believers,  “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

From childhood, my experience was going to church every Sunday with my family, attending a church school first to twelfth grade, proclaiming to be a Christian and doing all I knew to do. Confessing my sins was a weekly practice with a fear of hell and damnation. My desire was to know God and be heaven bound. It was alarming to discover that I practiced a religion without a living relationship with Jesus Christ. I believed but did not receive the Holy Spirit until I was 36 years old crying out, “Jesus come into my heart.”

When I received the Holy Spirit, everything became new. Trees looked greener, the sky looked bluer. Under conviction, I couldn’t talk like I used to talk or dress like I used to dress. While Christian music drew me to the Lord, music I once enjoyed became repulsive to me. When I read the Bible, it was like the Lord spoke to me personally. It was a new life.

Family and friends saw a change in me but did not understand what happened. They thought I got religious because I had been in a car accident. The truth was, I received the Holy Spirit. I was born of the Spirit. John 3: 6 NASB “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

     God blessed me with Divine connections. First, an invitation to a women’s weekly prayer group that met in a home. The women impacted my life to mature in Christ as they mentored me in prayer, took me to visit a home Bible study where I embarked on my first Bible study and took me to my first Women’s Bible Conference. Revelation and understanding that God speaks to His people through His word astounded me. This new lifestyle led me to life in the Spirit.

The bottom line is, without the Spirit there is no life. If you have not received the Holy Spirit, I encourage you, invite Jesus into your heart, ask to receive the Holy Spirit who gives life. If you received the Holy Spirit when you believed, share with others life you receive from the Spirit.

The Israelites and Us by Cathy Robinson

I awoke this morning with the thought of a God who loved His people, the Israelites, so much, that every time they got themselves into a mess of their own making, they cried out to Him for forgiveness and pleaded for Him to rescue them. He did, over, and over, and over again, too many times to count.

Then the phrase, “I will be their God, and they will be my people,” came to mind, so I looked it up. I was touched at how emphatically God states this on several occasions. His tender desire to have “a people” all His own is evident in Scripture. The whole world literally belongs to Him as Creator God, and yet He yearns to have “a people” to whom He can be a Father, “a people” who will covenant with Him to love and follow Him. Yes, even “a people” who will call on Him for help when they fail to heed His instruction.

His loving heart is undeniable. He knows that His people will get themselves into messes of their own making, He knows they will be disobedient at times, and they will desperately need His help when they stray. And yet He still chose to covenant with the whole sorry lot of them. Yes, there, I said it. It’s so easy for me to think that of the Israelites. Every time I read of the miracles God performed on their behalf, I am astounded that they could continue to wander away from their amazing Father God. How could “they” be so stubborn and stiff-necked? “They” are so slow to learn, aren’t “they?”

Then just as I point the haughty finger of judgment in their direction, I am forced to look at my own hand, and I can’t help but notice that there are three more pointing right back at me. Yikes! I am suddenly and keenly aware of my own frailties and shortcomings. The conviction of God is upon me, and I am humbly shocked back into the reality of modern day. As much as I long to be perfect in my walk with Him, I, too, have wandered away from my amazing Father God. I, too, am stubborn and stiff-necked at times. I, too, am often slow to learn. Ouch! The truth hurts.

But there is more to this story, Thank God! He not only loved the Israelites, and came to their rescue over and over and over again, God does the same for His people today. The truth is that even when I am unfaithful, He is faithful. Even when I have failed Him, He has never failed me. I am reminded of Paul’s words in II Corinthians 6: 16-18 NIV “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” “Therefore come out from them and be separate. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

What a marvelous thought in which to revel! God chose to be my Father, He chose to make an everlasting covenant with me that He alone would be faithful to, and He still rescues me when I need Him…every time I need Him…over and over and over again, too many times to count. His patience and long-suffering are astonishing. What a “model” parent God is! Oh, that we would learn to follow Him more closely, to refrain from straying, to heed His instruction, “that it may go well with you,” (God’s word from Jeremiah 7:23). His boundaries are for our own good, and although consequences do naturally follow when we fail to walk in obedience, my God is a rescuer! He is a faithful redeemer! He loves His people, and He will do for each of us today, just as He did for “His people” the Israelites during Old Testament times.

So right now, if you think you are too far gone for God to reach and restore you, if you believe that God’s patience with you has run out, if you imagine that God would no longer care to deliver you from a mess of your own making, I am here to tell you that is a lie from the enemy, and I would urge you to give God more credit than that! Just as His “people of old” did, I promise you, you can cry out to your Father for forgiveness, and plead with Him to rescue you, and He will, over and over and over again, too many times to count. Today, I pray you will let Him pick you up out of the ash pile of life, and allow Him to bring beauty from those ashes. You can trust that when we give God an opportunity to show off, He definitely takes it and runs with it. Read Isaiah chapter 61, if you don’t believe me.

I don’t know about you, but I know I am SO grateful for God’s faithfulness to His people today. Say, Amen if you feel the same. <><

Early Morning Communion with God

March 23, 2015

Prophetic Journaling

Cathy Weil

–Father, thank you for the gorgeous early morning display of stars.  I really, really enjoyed them!!!  I love You sooo much, Father, Son and Holy Ghost!!!  I thank you for getting me up early (4:30) so I can really be with You.  Thank you for all the precious times we’ve had all these years in the early mornings and other times too.  You are my all.  Thank you so much for being You.

++The vine is ripe, the dew is thick (I’m seeing grass loaded with dew) and that the grapes are dark, round and taut.  New wine is made from those who are crushed by the hands of iniquity.  Awake and see my saints marching to their death for My sake.    It is time to blow the trumpet.  The body must stand together under My Banner and occupy the land.  This is war!!!  Draw your “Swords” and shout them into the heavens!!!  My angels await My command.  Behold the Lamb of God at all times.  Gather in close to My Banner and edify one another.  Revive the faint of heart and encourage the young with stories of My power, goodness and Love.  Do not be deceived, do not fall back into a stupor, or you will be caught unaware.  Satan seeks to destroy you and yours.  Look to Me for all things.  These are the times they prophesied about long ago.  You have been trained.  Stand in the land I have given you!  Do not be distracted by the rising commotion around you.  It is meant to distract you from your true focus.  Remember I AM with you at all times.  We are one in this endeavor.  “IF GOD IS WITH YOU, WHO CAN BE AGAINST.” Xoxo, Jesus

A  Peaceful Place to Dwell

(Growing Takes Time)

by Brenda D. Flowers

During my morning quiet time, I was praying and doing two way journaling. The following words I wrote in my journal as I listened to God’s message for me that day, May 25, 2015. These words I shared at our May Christian Writer’s Circle meeting. The ladies at that meeting encouraged me to post the words I shared with them. I pray these words encourage you too as you walk on your life journey to mature in Christ.

It is time to organize. As you do, think of Me. Prepare a peaceful place for me to dwell. Love well as I love through you. Speak the words I give you to say. Let the rain wash over your home and wash away the bitterness. Love me and I will love through you. Lean not on your thoughts but put full trust in Me. I Am. . . .

Refreshing Rain,

Refreshing rain poured down on me,

Washing away my doubts and fears.

Refreshing rain,

Poured down on me.

Bringing renewed hope for more years.

Growing takes time.

Nurturing takes work.

Loving is a verb, caring for the hurt.

Looking past the sins to the hearts of men.

Loving ‘til they feel Me.

I am the One they’ll see.

Glorious splendor, gracious God.

Powerful promise, redeeming Lord.

My Daddy in heaven, my Brother, my Friend.

O Happy Day! I am chosen to be His

I choose to enter that special place,

The Holy of holies, to commune with Him.

I rejoice. I am in Your presence there.