Live Each Day with Purpose and Meaning

2 Corinthians 11:23-27

New King James Version (NKJV)

²³ Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. ²⁴ From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷ in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—

Philippians 4:13

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ^[a] who strengthens me

Happy Sunday everyone....... The above verses cover just about everything we seem to go through in our Christian life, don't they? Paul suffered unthinkable things and yet, through all of that, He wrote most of the New Testament, from a prison cell I might add. But you know, it would seem after reading how he was tortured, starved, beaten, left for dead, that this could not be possible; until we get to his verse in Philippians, that one little line surely packs the punch, and explanation; "through Christ who strengthens me."

If we think about our own lives, how many times have we gone through trials, heartaches, illness, and think "I can't do this God" and we ask for His help, and low and behold, not only do we come out of it, but we either, learn, grow, or change for the better because of it.

I know there are disasters and tragedies that change us forever, but when we lift it up and ask Jesus to carry us through,  in His strength, it makes it possible for us to do what we need to, whether it be for other loved ones, or for ourselves, it helps us to complete our purpose for God. It is a comfort to know that with His strength, with His instructions, guiding us through the Holy Spirit who lives within and discerns for us, the will, plan, and purpose He gave us, becomes much more possible in our eyes to fulfill.

I pray that the upcoming week is filled with the strength ,love, and comfort of the Holy Spirit. That we all continue to feel our loving Fathers embrace and direction.That through the discernment of the Spirit, in all circumstances we may face, especially during the Christmas season, God's love and promises will outshine all the darkness. I hope my below poem from my upcoming daily devotional "Poems of the Eternal Heart a Daily Devotional" inspires your week. Big Hugs, love, and prayers, Patricia

Through The Storms

Sometimes it's hard to understand,
why things happen as they do,
but the one who loves us most of all,
promised He'd see us through.

And though sometimes we can't make sense,
of the things that come to pass,
His love, strength, and comfort,...
will always fill our glass.

That's why our faith sees us through,
even in our darkest hours,
for those are the times our Loving Father,
reminds us of His powers.

For through His love and promises,
our darkness turns to light,
for we know our Loving Savior,
who is seated at His right.

He left behind the comforter,

to extend a guiding hand,
for this work address can get mighty tough,
it's not our Promised Land.

No, the Holy Spirit will fill us all,

 to help discern until that day,
when our loving Savior Jesus Christ,
will return to lead the way....

Patricia VanDenburg
12/8/13

A Countdown to Christmas . . . . . . . The Birth of our Savor Jesus Christ

Usually, when people begin a countdown it marks a goal drawing to it's completion. But not Christmas. Christmas is the beginning. It is the beginning of our possible transition. A Carnal eternal being completely separated from God filled with unthinkable suffering; or God's promise to the believer, that our Eternal being will live with Jesus Joyfully, peacefully, in beauty and love for all eternity.

 As Christians we know that God is  Alpha and Omega, no beginning and no end, but we as humans have a beginning, and yet, to our surprise, there are still many who are unaware we have no end; that we are, eternal beings. The reason we rejoice in our dear Savior's birth, is because our eternity went from dammed, full of unthinkable horror, to one of peace, tranquility, love, and bliss as a possibility, through God's grace and our belief in Him, as the one true Savior.

That is why the birth of Christ is so important. In order for Him to die for our sins and rise  from the dead at Easter, to grant us Grace and eternal  life, so that God the Father can forgive us, He must first have to be born of flesh, live a sinless life, yet know sin. He was put here by our loving Father so that He would feel, and know all the temptations, pains, and deceptions His children would face.

 He wanted to assure us that we would be fully equipped, so that we could carry out His will, plan, and purpose for our lives on earth.  He wanted to be certain that His light and Glory would be seen through all darkness. We find this in several places in God's word one of my favorites is in:

Hebrews 4:14-16

New King James Version (NKJV)

Our Compassionate High Priest

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

This is why Christmas represents hope. Hope that through our love we may not just be a believer, but a follower of Christ. He wants us to spread His love and message, witness whenever possible, share our story of Salvation, so that in the days to follow there are more of His children who have come in from the darkness and can now be a beacon as well, allowing God's love to spread as far and wide as possible.

So from now until Christmas I would love for everyone, including me, to share one thing a day, that the Holy Spirit, through His discernment, shared with you that touched someones day in even the smallest of ways. May God bless our week, may we continue to feel His loving embrace in all circumstances, and may our prayers for divine healing continually be lifted, for all those in pain physically, emotionally, and spiritually, in the blood and name of our precious Savior Jesus Christ amen.

Today the Holy Spirit shared with me the importance of being not just a believer, but a follower who is not ashamed to witness or profess His or Her love of Christ, and that I should share that with all of you. Love, hugs, and prayers Patricia xox <3
 

I Wish Us All a True Thanksgiving in All Circumstances

<sup>Happy Thanksgiving to all: As you all Know I usually end my post with an original poem, however on this Thanksgiving I will be ending it with a precious poem of David's, in Psalm 34. It is such a beautiful reminder that our Heavenly Father knows all His children and their needs and wants all His best for us, and no matter how hard the trial, He has His reasons and never leaves us. There are many hills and valleys on this planet, but as God's Children we know that trials are God the Father's way of strengthening us, not making us weak.

 A lot of the time I myself, as do we all, find it impossible to conceive the reasoning for such heartaches, but when we give Glory and reverence to Him in all things, we are storing blessings, some for here but some are for Heaven, as they would do us no good down here at our work address. I have had many dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ lose their loved one's very recently, even a few children, and loss is the one trial as humans when our Carnal being seems to hold that control before lifting it up and asking the Holy Spirit to carry that burden and pain. But we must remember that we have our memories, that we live for eternity, so it is not good-bye, they are truly home and waiting for us to join them. I am continually praying for all my Brothers and Sisters, for their families, over their health, over their battle with the deceiver.

On this Thanksgiving Day, may we appreciate the time we have to slow down and get together with those we love, open our heart and homes to those who have no family, and to remember that everyday we get to share God's love, light, forgiveness, and wisdom. We get to allow the Spirit to Shine God's love through us, keep us humble and on our knees, that by His grace our eternity will be Joyful, without pain, or hatred or ugliness, may we pray for those who's eternal life without God will be full of unending inconceivable pain. We must remember why God saved us and gave up His only Son, He died and rose again for ALL sin, for ALL people, He wants GLORY from all His children. So may we walk in a way that the non-believers can see our God, who uses us as His vehicle to shine His unconditional love. Thank you Jesus, we praise you for this and all things in your blood and precious name, amen. Love, hugs and prayers Patricia


PSALM 34
1</sup> I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
² I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
³ Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
⁶ This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
⁹ Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
¹¹ Come, my children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
¹³ keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
²⁰ he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

²¹ Evil will slay the wicked;
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
²² The Lord will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

 

In Jesus name amen <3

We Need to Be God's Vehicle for His Beacon of LIGHT

John 14:6

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Good Morning my precious friends, may we all lift up those we love and care about, those who are searching, those who have lost their way, and those who are suffering unimaginable things. Remember, "Faith is the things hoped for, and the evidence of things unseen." God gives us discernment and wisdom through the Holy Spirit because we can not understand very much in our human capacity, it limits us, tricks us, and convinces us that things happening can be explained away, but this is Satan's world, Satan's backdrop, movie, and script.

But when we walk in God's light, we can than see that without it there is only darkness, we can see right through the devil's deceptions. When we get down on our knees daily, and thank God for the clarity and understanding He left us, we know it is because the Holy Spirit  dwells within us, and  we have the certainty that our loving Father who never breaks a promise, will never leave us nor forsake us, no matter what.

So many things  we go through seem senseless and cruel. God knew we could not rely on ourselves, or our carnal knowledge. The Lord calls Satan a great deceiver who makes things enticing and logical to trick us, if  he showed us the whole picture including the consequences, than no one would follow him, live in the dark, and there would be no destruction or hatred.

 Jesus died so that we would know light, for before His death there was only darkness, it was in His resurrection that we received His Grace and received His light and love. He is the light that shines through us, we are just His instrument, His beacon.

My prayer for us all today is that we see the panoramic view and not the tunnel vision view, we miss to much that way, and we certainly miss what God needs us to see. God doesn't want to hide ANYTHING from us, He wants our choices to be made having all the facts.

 Satan on the other hand counts on the fact that he only shares partial pictures, and partial truths, but there is no such thing as partial truth, for partial truth is a fancy term for a lie.

 We thank you for this wisdom and clarity Father, for this opportunity of blogging, so that your  loving children, who understand the strength of prayer and your word, can use this avenue to give thanks and glory to You.

 We thank you for our full armor that we get to put on daily to protect us in the world of darkness. May the tricks and trials that the deceiver uses hold no power over us, may we lay our burdens on you as in
Matthew 11:30
New International Version (NIV)

30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you. We praise you and ask this and all things in the blood and name of our Savior Jesus Christ Amen....  I pray we all have a week filled with love, light, and wisdom and that we all continue to feel the loving embrace of our Heavenly Father. Love hugs, and prayers Patricia

I hope the below poem brings you inspiration for the week ahead from my upcoming book " Poems for the Eternal Heart a Daily Devotional"


                                                        My Ray Of Light

               Through all the hard times in my life,

        Through all the good times too,

                     There's been one constant, solid source,

My ray of light...You.

                         You guide me through life's valleys,         

             You protect me from life's wrath,

               You lead me in the right direction,

      Along life's bumpy path.

     For I am just a tiny piece,

       In a puzzle that's so grand,

              But still in all I'd lose my place,

            Without Your guiding hand.

                 So though I cannot see at times,

                 And I stumble through the night,

                  I'm always sure I'll find my way,

                For I have my ray of light....

Patricia

Celebrating the Resurrection

Romans 3:21-25

New International Version (NIV)

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

When I see a cross I am so moved and humbled, but not only for my salvation but because of the pain our Savior Jesus Christ endured for us. When I go against my Eternal being and the voice of the Holy Spirit the pain is overwhelming and that is just my sin for that moment. I can't even comprehend the excruciating pain of  EVERY single SIN of every single person who will ever be born, to be felt by one man, though God, He was in human form and asked to feel just as we would feel, can you fathom that much pain at one time, unimaginable in our realm of human understanding.

How much love our Father has for His children, that He would ask such a insurmountable task to be endured by His only Son. I pray that on Easter Sunday as we rejoice in the Salvation and Grace shown to us, that we also remember the pain and loneliness our Savior must have felt, even for those few hours, having been separated from the Father when Jesus said:

Matthew 27:46

New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[b]  until the prophesy had been fulfilled.

How grateful we are that our Savior loved us so, that He took on all the sins of the world so that we could be with Him and the Father in Heaven for all of eternity, never to know pain or sin again. May the Love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit fill your hearts this Easter Sunday and everyday, knowing that no matter what we endure or suffer, is so pale by comparison, not just to what our Savior suffered, but for the blessings and riches that still await us in Heaven.

I hope the below poem from my upcoming devotional "Poems of the Eternal Heart A Daily Devotional" will fill your week with love, comfort, and strength. May our Loving Father's embrace surround you always and may the strength, comfort and wisdom of the Holy Spirit direct you're every thought and action, and may our petitions for all those we lift up, be heard in the blood of our Precious Savior Jesus Christ, amen. Love, hugs, and prayers Patricia <3

Because of Jesus:

 

   Rejoicing

Everlastingly     

Spiritually

     Unified with our

        Rectified Spirit to be

        Reunited

        Eternally

        Connected

        To the Father,

        In His Kingdom

       Overflowing with joy

       Never to be separated again.

 

Patricia VanDenburg

3/25/13