The Appointed Time...

Dear Friends-

I hope you will allow me to share a Word with you from Rev. Joel Osteen.

Today's Word is about waiting until the appointed time (an issue that I've been struggling with in terms of my job search).

Friends, we all struggle with something (relationships, school, finances, etc.) but today's message is a reminder that we need to relax and REALLY TRUST that God's going to deliver on His promise to us. God is not our employee and the appointed time won't necessarily happen when we want it.

His appointed time may not occur before we lose your homes; it may not even occur until we do some self-reflection and work on our issues, but His appointed time ALWAYS occurs after we stop and trust that it will come.

And when it happens, it is always on time!

Have a blessed weekend!

K.

Today’s Verse: “For the vision is yet for an appointed time…it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day” (Habakkuk 2:3, AMP).

Today’s Word:

God is looking for people who have a made-up mind; people who will trust His timing. You may not see His promises happen overnight, but they will happen. In the Bible, Abraham waited 20 years to have a son and see his promise come to pass. Moses waited 40 years to fulfill his purpose and lead the children of Israel out of captivity.
You might say, “Joel, I’ve been waiting for a year, and I don’t see anything happening.” No, something is happening. Right now, God is working behind the scenes in your life. He is arranging the right people, the right breaks, and the right opportunities. Today’s scripture tells us that at the appointed time, the promise will come to pass, and it will not be one second late! When is the appointed time? It’s when God knows the timing is best for you. When you understand and accept this principle, it takes all the pressure off. It’s a very freeing way to live knowing that as long as we stay in faith, God will release His favor, His increase, His restoration, and His healing at exactly the right time in our lives!

Prayer for Today: Father in heaven, thank You for working behind the scenes in my life. I trust that the appointed time for me is on its way. I am content in You, knowing that You have a good plan for my future. I bless you today and always. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Remember...

Dear Friends-

There are no other words to add today.

Remember our God as the giver of all things...

K.

Deuteronomy 8

^{1 -5} Keep and live out the entire commandment that I'm commanding you today so that you'll live and prosper and enter and own the land that God promised to your ancestors. Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth. Your clothes didn't wear out and your feet didn't blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child.

^{6 -9} So it's paramount that you keep the commandments of God, your God, walk down the roads he shows you and reverently respect him. God is about to bring you into a good land, a land with brooks and rivers, springs and lakes, streams out of the hills and through the valleys. It's a land of wheat and barley, of vines and figs and pomegranates, of olives, oil, and honey. It's land where you'll never go hungry—always food on the table and a roof over your head. It's a land where you'll get iron out of rocks and mine copper from the hills.

¹⁰ After a meal, satisfied, bless God, your God, for the good land he has given you.

^{11 -16} Make sure you don't forget God, your God, by not keeping his commandments, his rules and regulations that I command you today. Make sure that when you eat and are satisfied, build pleasant houses and settle in, see your herds and flocks flourish and more and more money come in, watch your standard of living going up and up—make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God, your God,

the God who delivered you from Egyptian slavery;
the God who led you through that huge and fearsome wilderness, those desolate, arid badlands crawling with fiery snakes and scorpions;
the God who gave you water gushing from hard rock;
the God who gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never heard of, in order to give you a taste of the hard life, to test you so that you would be prepared to live well in the days ahead of you.

^{17 -18} If you start thinking to yourselves, "I did all this. And all by myself. I'm rich. It's all mine!"—well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth so as to confirm the covenant that he promised to your ancestors—as it is today.

^{19 -20} If you forget, forget God, your God, and start taking up with other gods, serving and worshiping them, I'm on record right now as giving you firm warning: that will be the end of you; I mean it—destruction. You'll go to your doom—the same as the nations God is destroying before you; doom because you wouldn't obey the Voice of God, your God.

Are you singing praises or crying the blues?

When you pray, what do you say to God?

Do you share your hopes and dreams with him? Do you spend time in praise in thanksgiving? Do you ask Him use you for His purpose? Or do you spend most of your time "crying the blues"?

There is so much that we can share with God (just like we do in our other relationships) but some of us only pray when we need something or when things are going wrong. Think of your best friend and ask yourself, "what kind of relationship would we have if I only talked to her when I needed something?" How close would you be if you only heard from her when she needed you to lift her spirits? Sometimes, we treat God like a genie in a bottle, expecting Him to solve our problems and make things right when they've gone wrong.

God is our Father and Friend. Like any other, adult child, He expects us to have some maturity and this means, not complaining or begging to be saved everytime we talk to Him. He wants our respect and love. He wants our faithfulness and our praise. He's not here to entertain us and save us from our choices. Like any other parent, He will sometimes allow us to suffer the consequences of our mistakes.

But most of all, we must remember that God is loving and benevolent. If we sow, faith, gratitude, respect and obedience into our relationship, we will reap faithfulness, mercy, grace, and joy (a thousand-fold) from God.

Stay blessed dear friends and have a wonderful week!

K.

Psalm 43

^{1 -2} Clear my name, God; stick up for me against these loveless, immoral people.
Get me out of here, away
from these lying degenerates.
I counted on you, God.
Why did you walk out on me?
Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands
over these outrageous people?

^{3 -4} Give me your lantern and compass,
give me a map,
So I can find my way to the sacred mountain,
to the place of your presence,
To enter the place of worship,
meet my exuberant God,
Sing my thanks with a harp,
magnificent God, my God.

⁵ Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

Relax...step away from the problems and reconnect!

Dear Friends-

As the summer months approach and the pace changes, take a moment to check in with your family and friends.

Some of us are overworked, underappreciated (sometimes underpaid) and just simply burned out. With everyone feeling this way, it would seem that we should just retreat to our corners and not commnicate until the lazy days of summer are over. Today's message is suggesting the exact opposite.

Step away from the craziness and reconnect with your loved ones. You've been so busy dealing with fools that you barely had a chance to have decent conversations with people you really care about. If you're anything like me, you may have had the chance to connect but your calendar was so full that your time spent together was rushed. Don't neglect your relationships- even if you're exhausted and overbooked.

The Lord will provide you with a refreshment of your body and spirit when you extend yourself to those you love. Pray for strength and pick up the phone to set up that lunch date. You never know if that person is in need of a blessing. Ask God to remove your "fatigue" so you can to be that blessing to someone else. There's a gift in it for you too.

In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend!

K.

Job 11:

^{13 -20} "Still, if you set your heart on God
and reach out to him, If you scrub your hands of sin
and refuse to entertain evil in your home, You'll be able to face the world unashamed
and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless. You'll forget your troubles;
they'll be like old, faded photographs. Your world will be washed in sunshine,
every shadow dispersed by dayspring. Full of hope, you'll relax, confident again;
you'll look around, sit back, and take it easy. Expansive, without a care in the world,
you'll be hunted out by many for your blessing. But the wicked will see none of this.
They're headed down a dead-end road
with nothing to look forward to—nothing."

Say Hallelujah!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Dear Friends-

I am so thankful for today. Everything is not perfect but all is well. I thank God for life, provision and blessings. He didn't have wake me up this morning but He did. I thank God for my family and friends. I'm particularly grateful for the blessings of new life and the memories of those who have passed on.

I am most grateful for His forgiveness of sins and ability to come to Him in prayer.

I am grateful these and so many blessings in my life.

God has been so good.

Friends, let today be about gratefulness and praise. Put drama, stress and foolishness out of your minds and simply give God the glory. Now matter what your situation, find a way to say hallelujah.

Stay blessed and feel free to share your 'hallelujah report" with me!

K.

David’s Song of Praise (1 Chronicles Chapter 16)

⁷ On that day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the Lord:

⁸ Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
⁹ Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
¹⁰ Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
¹¹ Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
¹² Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
¹³ you children of his servant Israel,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴ He is the Lord our God.
His justice is seen throughout the land.
¹⁵ Remember his covenant forever—
the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
¹⁶ This is the covenant he made with Abraham
and the oath he swore to Isaac.
¹⁷ He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:
¹⁸ “I will give you the land of Canaan
as your special possession.”

¹⁹ He said this when you were few in number,
a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
²⁰ They wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
²¹ Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
He warned kings on their behalf:
²² “Do not touch my chosen people,
and do not hurt my prophets.”

²³ Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
²⁴ Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
²⁵ Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be feared above all gods.
²⁶ The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the Lord made the heavens!
²⁷ Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and joy fill his dwelling.

²⁸ O nations of the world, recognize the Lord,
recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
²⁹ Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his presence.
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
³⁰ Let all the earth tremble before him.
The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.

³¹ Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
³² Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
³³ Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise,
for the Lord is coming to judge the earth.

³⁴ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
³⁵ Cry out, “Save us, O God of our salvation!
Gather and rescue us from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name
and rejoice and praise you.”

³⁶ Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who lives from everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

A word so powerful, there's nothing more to say.

Be blessed dear friends. Serve God by sharing His Word with others.

K.

Galatians 5

^{13 -15}It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

^{16 -18}My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

^{19 -21}It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

^{22 -23}But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

^{23 -24}Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

^{25 -26}Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

Are you right with God just because you "follow the rules"

The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him (Gal 3:11)

Hello Dear Friends-

Today's message comes after a wonderful Mothers Day weekend and a return to reality. For some of us, all of our days are generally pleasant; for others, we want to escape, running to those things that make us happiest. Whatever your situation is, please read today's scriptures and relect on your relationship with God.

Are you in right relationship with Him because you attend church every week? Do you have credit with God because of the large checks you write to the church? Or, do you believe you are right with God because you're generally a good person? Whatever your lives bring, and how you respond, reflect on the status of your relationship with God right now. Where should you be and how does religion support (or inhibit) that relationship? Better yet, how do other Christians impact your relationship with the Lord?

For further edification, read Galatians chapter 1-4 and invest the time in completing this exercise.

No matter how long this review and reflection takes, I pray that you will stick with it and allow it to spark your creative and spiritual energy. Spring is the time for sowing and charting new territories. Even though some of us are in the desert, please remember that new life grows there too. Allow this time of transition to refine you for the next stage of your life.

If all is well, and you are in the harvesting stages of your life, praise be to God! Serve Him by sharing this Word with someone else. Save a copy of this Word for your files because our lives occur in seasons and cycles. As we experience spring in one aspect of our lives, the onset of winter to can occur in another area. Keep this Word for encouragement.

In the meantime, stay Blessed,

K.

Galatians 3: 5-14

^{5 -6}Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God.

^{7 -8}Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith? It was all laid out beforehand in Scripture that God would set things right with non-Jews by faith. Scripture anticipated this in the promise to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed in you."

^{9 -10}So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: "Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law."

^{11 -12}The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: "The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that's the real life." Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: "The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them."

^{13 -14}Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God's life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it.

Mothers should live fully and happily too. Seek God!

Dear Friends-
I was particularly inspired to send this one for Mothers' Day weekend but I realize that everyone can benefit from this word.

When you have confidence in God's promises, you have peace. When you have peace, your thoughts and emotions are steady. Start today by making the decision to be at peace, then do the work to stay there. Resist the urge to complain and replace negative feelings with "an attitude of gratitude".

Motherhood, like life, can be our greatest joy or our greatest challenge depending on our attitudes. As we exalt our mothers (and mother figures) this weekend, pray that she will seek the Lord's guidance and choose to be happy. Also pray that she will receive the peace and confidence that comes about from a trusting and mature relationship with the Lord. Take extra special care of yourselves and the mothers in your lives this weekend.

Stay Blessed and enjoy the Word to follow,
K.

Proverbs 31 (NIV) The Virtuous Woman

10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Stay the course!

Dear Friends-

Spring has sprung and now is the time for renewed energy and "fresh" faith. No matter what your plans, don't become fatigued. Keep working and keep planning. The Lord is faithful and He will be with us as we cross the finish line.

Keep going. Someone is watching you for inspiration and God is using you as an example.

Stay the course!

K.

Psalm 37

23 -24 Stalwart walks in step with God;
his path blazed by God, he's happy.
If he stumbles, he's not down for long;
God has a grip on his hand.

^{25 -26} I once was young, now I'm a graybeard—
not once have I seen an abandoned believer,
or his kids out roaming the streets.
Every day he's out giving and lending,
his children making him proud.

^{27 -28} Turn your back on evil,
work for the good and don't quit.
God loves this kind of thing,
never turns away from his friends.

^{28 -29} Live this way and you've got it made,
but bad eggs will be tossed out.
The good get planted on good land
and put down healthy roots.

^{30 -31} Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone,
rolls virtue around on his tongue.
His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins;
his feet are as sure as a cat's.

^{32 -33} Wicked sets a watch for Righteous,
he's out for the kill.
God, alert, is also on watch—
Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.

³⁴ Wait passionately for God,
don't leave the path.
He'll give you your place in the sun
while you watch the wicked lose it.

^{35 -36} I saw Wicked bloated like a toad,
croaking pretentious nonsense.
The next time I looked there was nothing—
a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.

^{37 -38} Keep your eye on the healthy soul,
scrutinize the straight life;
There's a future
in strenuous wholeness.
But the willful will soon be discarded;
insolent souls are on a dead-end street.

^{39 -40} The spacious, free life is from God,
it's also protected and safe.
God-strengthened, we're delivered from evil—
when we run to him, he saves us.

Step one to a rich and satisfying life...

....My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life (John 10:10)

Dear Friends-

I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful weekend. Today's brief message is inspired by a message in season from Christian Cultural Center. Jesus came to give us a rich and satisfying life but there are things we must do in order to position ourselves and fulfill His purpose.

As followers of Christ, we must live our lives in ways that exemplify the essence of His goodness. One of these ways is to practice holiness. Now, before you get too nervous, pause. God already knows we're not perfect. He already knows that we WILL fall short.

Holiness is not about being perfect or sinless- that's impossible. But holiness requires separation- separation from anything that is negative, evil, destructive, or obscene- anything that does not represent the character of God.

Separation means not allowing your body, your mind, your spirit, or your tongue to engage in ANY activity that goes against the character of God. Set this boundary and don't cross it. Resist the urge to cross the line. Remove yourself from any activity, family, friends, or situations that will cause you to cross the line. Separating yourself spiritually, morally, ethically, and (sometimes) physically from things that are destructive is the first step to the rich, satisfying life that God promises. Holiness brings order and freedom from the distractions.

Understand the role you play in God's family and separate yourself from nonsense. Have a wonderful and blessed life.

K.