ROOTED IN GRACE

30 Aug

My Beautiful Sisters in the Faith,

I write to you today to remind you that you are more than a conqueror – superabundantly, exceedingly victorious – in Jesus’ Name. The enemy may be prowling through this dispensation of time looking for a lamb to devour but you are fully clothed in the ROAR of the Lion of Judah. The God of the Angel Armies is for and not against you. You were armed for the battle at the Cross and ensured the victory at the Tomb. Tip your ear toward Glory, Sweet One, and you will recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd- speaking life and transformation. The same Jesus who welcomed Peter with agape love, changing the rooster’s crow from the sound of condemnation to the battle cry of grace, has spoken redemption over your soul.

The reality we often want to turn our hearts from is that there can be no victory without battle. Our Messiah gave proofs and evidences from the desert to the well that though the fight may be fierce the outcome has been secured in the heavenlies. Do not let this time of chaos and upset steal your vision. Fix your eyes on Jesus, embrace the Spirit and walk in the daily power of grace. It is time to arise Woman of Faith, take your position on the wall, and stand firm as the warrior of life you have been anointed and appointed to be.

We are not of those who shrink back in difficult circumstances. We are those who lace our work boots, walk strong in our spheres of influence and give every glory to the One we serve. We are those who bow before the Throne, praising before the battle, certain of the victory and celebrating the God of More. We are those who claim our Sister in Christ as our inheritance and refuse to see a single woman lost to opinion, upheaval, or disorder. We are the women God has called for such a time as this to exercise the privilege of prayer and walk in the unity of faith.

Sisters, these are the women we have been empowered to be. Women who choose to love beyond ourselves giving witness to the heavenlies that the Saints at our sides are worth the fight. Women who refuse to be seduced by comparison or competition and determine to be the one cheering every success. This is our time to rise up as one, link arms, protect one another’s hearts and declare the women of God will not be defeated. Are you ready?

If God is stirring your soul would you consider joining me for a study of the women who have come before us on the world timeline? Would you be willing to pull the deception of Eve up close and determine to gird your heart against the hollow philosophies of this world? Would you drop the scarlet cord with Rahab and visit the woman at the well knowing Christ came specifically for you? Might you be ready to travel the terrain under Ruth’s feet to see how God used Naomi to bring the Moabite outsider to her Kinsman-Redeemer? Will you consider walking, leaping, and rejoicing with Mary as she heads toward Elizabeth to be assured that even in the unexpected she is not alone? And will you be willing to look at the demons holding Mary Magdalene and trust Christ for freedom in your own life? If these are areas you are willing to explore and growth your heart desires please plan to join ROOTED IN GRACE.

Wednesday Evenings at

New Haven Church of the Brethren

6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

October 6, 2022 through November 17, 2022

COST FOR STUDY: $10

OR

Monday Evenings at

Global Coffee in St. Johns

5:30 p.m.* to 8:00 p.m.

October 3, 2022 through November 14, 2022

COST FOR STUDY: $10

*Optional Fellowship hour featuring the full Global Coffee beverage menu 5:30 p.m to 6:30 p.m.

Please plan to complete your drink purchase by 6:15 so study can start promptly at 6:30 p.m.

Please feel free to reach out to me for more information at glimpsedglory@yahoo.com.

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Dream Big

16 Dec

Sweet Sisters in the Faith,

I found myself challenged afresh this morning to define my dreams and so, I pass the challenge along to you. The challenge to open your heart and ask God what wild, holy, ambitious dreams He would have you ponder. To look into His Word and find His meaning of big as He desires to have it unfold in your life. And to continue to be present in the challenge of dreaming in Him daily.

Never cease to ask Him what sweet tastes of glory He has in the palm of His nail-scarred hand and the center of His heart specifically for you. Never shy back from pressing close to see the glory behind the veil. Continually ask Him to show you all you can take of Himself and astound you with beauty of His enormity.

Let your holy dreams transform your soul and bring you life no matter your location, your emotion or your physical condition. Nothing this world has to offer will bring you contentment, peace and joy like a growing, thriving, stretching, reaching relationship with Jesus. Gaining Christ, leaning into Him, chasing after Him is the only thing that will satisfy your heart and fill your soul. The only thing that will bring healing from the heartside out.

Beautiful Daughter of Abraham, my prayer for us as we think on the challenge of dreaming big is that we will give God permission to define its shape and form so our own baggage ridden definition will not leave us feeling small. That we will meet with Him on the bank of the river of grace, embrace the warmth of His light and breathe in His heart for us knowing that He is the Giver of all good gifts.

And my dream is that our dreams will bring us to a place of unity in our love of the Messiah, our awe of the Father and our wonder of the Spirit. That our ponderings will lead us to see one another with our hearts and we will reach across our comfort zones to encourage and to spur one another on. My dream is that as sojourners in the faith we would believe God to be for and not against us, that we would look to Him for our worth leaving comparison and competition behind and division would have no foothold in our midst. And from that place of linked arms and connected hearts, armed with big, ambitious, holy dreams . . . we would change our world.

These are the dreams of this daughter of the King.

Tell me Child of God, what are yours?

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Don’t Settle for a Sippy Cup

13 Feb

I love the way God uses Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and whatever other app that’s out there to encourage His daughters.  The hashtag I am personally using right now is #CHOOSE.  The phrase I am using to spur my heart to gratefulness is “if you will not count your blessings Marilyn you will never be one.”  So I’m all about the quick drink of Living Water throughout my days but what I am wondering is . . .

  • If I am not careful will I find myself trying to survive on them?
  • Will I begin to believe that a pick-me-up sip of Jesus can take the place of immersing myself in Him?

I don’t think having a sweet little meme give us a nod-our-heads-click-the-share-button moment is enough to satisfy our thirst, revive our tired souls and bring life to our bones.  No, you and I will never know full refreshment apart from absolutely diving into the Living Logos, splashing around in the Holy Scriptures and drenching our hearts with the power of His Word.  Those hashtags and witty sayings are wonderful as reminders, but apart from the active muscle of the word of God they cannot strengthen, sharpen or sustain us.  They will fall short.

And what I know for certain is that the enemy loves a dry and desperate soul. He will prowl through that parched land seeking to devour and deceive us if we refuse to go to the Well that never runs dry.  The adversary of our blessed Messiah will hiss against the Will of God, the Word of God and the Worship of God in our hearts and minds every opportunity He gets.  

Our souls need the Living Water of both fresh and familiar truth flowing through them to keep the desert winds at bay.  The truth about who God is, what He does, who He makes us, and what He desires for us.  I repeat some semblance of that at every conference and I follow up with the little phrase, “you gotta know what you know.”  That little phrase has no power.  But the truth, the truth has the power to set us free . . .  from every misperception, every stronghold of unbelief and every lie we are laboring under.

“If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:31-32

No hashtag, no meme, no photo saturates our souls the way He does.  Girlfriend, enjoy all those fun things, share them on your timeline, retweet them, forward every single one to someone who needs encouragement—but don’t substitute them for the word of God.  Don’t try to quench your heart thirst with a sippy cup half-full of your heavenly reality. You find the verses to back up whatever truth that tweet or post brings to mind and at the risk of sounding indelicate, you guzzle whatever portion of the Living Water you are blessed to receive.  Be greedy for the territory God has given you on the bank of the River of Life.  Claim your inheritance of a refreshed soul and satisfied heart.  Kneel down, drink deep and trust Him to make your cup overflow.

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Lord,  Praise You for Your unfailing Truth. Allow my soul to be refreshed in you today.  May my cup overflow with an abundance of YOU. In Jesus Name Amen.

 

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Today. Live Like It!

22 Jan

Refine me O Lord, remove every idol and allow me to be shattered into pieces if that is what it takes to know You more.  Be the desire of my heart and let no trial, no temptation and no deception distract or disturb my heart.  You are good.  You are the Lover of my soul and I claim You as the love of my life.  Fill me with yourself this day.  Be obvious in Your blessing.  Let me walk in your power and rely on your love.   I need You Lord.  O, I need You.

Sister in the Faith,

If you are in a place, hard pressed on every side, and crying out to your God, let me assure you based on the authority of His Word . . . He hears.  If you are in a spot, filled with pain, unable to identify let alone utter the words to give voice to your hurt, trust the Holy Spirit to lift up the groans words cannot express, lean in close and . . . hear the shout of love from Calvary.  Believe in the One that spoke the heavens into being to speak your language and spur you on toward wholeness and healing in this day.  Woman of Faith, your God is all about your full rescue, your complete redemption and your absolute restoration.

Neither this temporal world nor the prince of the air have the power to steal your joy, to kill your love or destroy your holy dreams.  Exercise the authority given to you by Jesus Christ and you stomp on every snake that hisses lies of shame.  You put on the shoes of peace, which is the gift of wholeness from God, and trample every scorpion that stings you with doubt.  You Sweet One, are a child of the King.  You have not been given a spirit of fear or timidity.  Your heart resounds with the Roar of the Lion of Judah who speaks love and courage to your soul.

Listen to Him! Be intentional in grabbing hold of the truth of you IN HIM. Trust Him to be who He says He is and know to the marrow of your bones you are who He says you are.  Dig into the Word, know your holy destiny. Let your spiritual reality match your practical existence.  Put on the full Armor of God and Beloved Warrior, you walk into this day claiming every inch of your inheritance in the Name above all names.  Not tomorrow.  Not when you are feeling stronger.  Not when things settle down.  Today.

You are more than a conqueror.  The victory is yours!  Live like it.

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HELPS Word-studies

1515 eirḗnē (from eirō, “to join, tie together into a whole“) – properly, wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace (God’s gift of wholeness).

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Let’s Change the World

9 Jan

four hands sisters 2cor1613

Beloved of God,

May I be so bold as to encourage your heart to encourage a heart today?  May I challenge you to come alongside a sister and whisper strength to her soul?  Is there any greater blessing than the Sisterhood of Faith when we live it well?

Blessed by the unity of the Spirit.  Connected by the love of Christ.  Daughters of our Father in heaven. How beautiful we are when comparison and competition are left behind and we choose to applaud one another at every turn.

Oh, Sweet Woman of God, how might it change our world if we encouraged one another to be alert not only to the tactics of the enemy and the temptations in our midst but even more so to the unlimited, holy possibilities all around us?  To step out in faith and obedience toward what could only be described as the impossible?

What might it be like if we didn’t wait to be invited to hold one another up but simply began to pray for the victories of our sisters?  Her conquering of unbelief?  Her standing strong on the foundation of Jesus?

How would life look if ours were the loudest voices in the crowd spurring our sisters on toward courage and strength?  Toward bravery in the battle?  Determination when life is difficult?

What if we committed to be one another’s loudest, most fervent cheerleaders?  How might it be if we choose to love one another well?

It is time to stand arm-in-arm and shoulder-to-shoulder as the family we are called to be Sister.  Time to be the voices of encouragement, edification, and strength for one another.  Time to stand firm together, celebrating every victory with unabashed joy.  Time to be strong in our love for one another and quick in our grace.  Time to live by the notion that no amount of authentic applause is enough, no genuine accolade can be shouted too loudly, and there can be no excess when it comes to celebrating our Sisterhood.  Rejoicing in one another simply cannot be overdone.  We are bravest, we are strongest, we are our best when we’re together.

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What if . . . ?

3 Jan

What if victory is found not in the declaration of achievement at the end of the battle but rather in the choices we make to fight well? The choice to listen closely to the Voice of the Good Shepherd when our own flesh, the world and the enemy tries to scream louder in our souls. The choice to intentionally walk in the footsteps of Jesus when a myriad of other paths tempt us to go our own way. The choice to have wild expectations of God’s beautiful intervention—expectations of hope, goodness and action, despite our circumstance. The choice to believe the More of God in the midst of it all…more love, more affection, more attention…specifically for us. What if these are the things that bring the beauty of Romans 8:37 to life?

Lord, may I #choose this day to live, fight and move through the battle well. May I face each crossroad with determination to choose you.  In Jesus Name Amenchoose 74532_pinecones_in_snow

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List of Love

14 Jul

I had a wonderful conversation with a young woman who loves Jesus with all her heart but was struggling with feeling guilty about putting God on her daily list of things to do. Where do our sweet minds come up with these things Sisters?

What could possibly be offensive to God about our planning to spend time with Him?

♥ Beloved, God is the original planner. ♥

Why would we believe that taking our spiritual disciplines, time in His Word and time in prayer, seriously would be received with anything but JOY by the Lover of our souls?

♥ God planned to call you near before the creation of the world.♥

I don’t think He minds a bit when you plan to answer that call and draw close. I think “lists” have gotten a bad rap because we have equated them with a heart that is done with God once you’ve put a check mark by your daily devotions, worship or prayer time. That’s a whole different issue. Compartmentalizing and sequestering God has nothing to do with the list of things you need to get done today.

Don’t let the enemy convince you that God doesn’t enjoy seeing your determination to spend to time with Him take written form.  Don’t give the joy of  scheduling time to talk with Him away to the voice of guilt inside your heart.  Those whispers do not come from your Father.

You hold onto wanting time with Him that badly. You keep organizing your chaos to include Him. You put His Name down on that list and you make that big red check mark for all the heavenlies to see.  Sister, your written intention may look like a to-do-list to you, but I believe that to the God who wrote your name in the Book of Life and checked it off with the bright red blood of Jesus . . . it looks like love.

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Let Your Cape Fly!

4 May

“Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.  1 Chronicles 28:20

 

Superhero Shadow

We kneel before the Mighty One and ask that He empower us to be Grace Warriors.  That He fill us with the courage necessary to lay hold of the holy destinies He has called the Daughters of the King to live out.  We pray for the humility of the Lamb and the power of the Lion to fall upon us in perfect unity to conquer with love the spheres of influence He has placed us in.  O Lord, let us stand firm in our Kingdom Sisterhood as our capes fly in the hurricane winds of the Spirit to fully apprehend and decisively lay hold of the width, length, and breadth of the love of Christ Jesus.  May we understand the measure to which you have equipped us and comprehend the super abundance of love, compassion, tenderness and joy that flows within, through and about us.  Open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to live for you. 

In the Name of our Mighty Messiah we pray. 

Amen

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:17-19

#grateful

 

 

 

 

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Uncomplicated Love

2 May

JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW

FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO. . .

Gospel love is choice.

Biblical love does not flinch.

It is messy, it is bloody, it is relentless . . .

but it is not complicated.

 

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2

#grateful

 

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The Testimony of God

13 May

Have you ever considered that God has a testimony?

A formal statement spoken in the court of the heavenlies regarding YOU?

A written recounting of His story specifically with YOU?

creation swap 31468_Book_&_Key ribbet

This was the verse that ran through my heart recently as I listened to two beautiful Sisters share their heartfelt desire to make the transforming work of their Father and the limitless goodness of His love known to their community.  It struck me as these Beauties spoke about the tenderness and compassion of God that the enormity of His testimony, the magnitude of His story, is too much for one person to tell so He etches Himself across our hearts in unique and personal ways to give us each a portion to share.

Our testimonies are His pages and His chapters unfolding across time and space to speak the fullness of Him into the very place and appointed time He has determined we should live.  You, Sister, are here and now to live His story to the full. To know and enjoy the One who has spoken the formal statement of His love over you with one Word:  Jesus.

And praise His Matchless Name, the Author of Life continues to write His life story over our hearts.  He continues to weave the beauty of Himself over our days and He splashes His unending love across our pages.  He performs personal wonders in our lives as we live out the testimony of His miracles side-by-side.  He brings each of our short stories into a seamless novel of redemption and invites us to share His glory with the world. O Lord, may we never shrink back.  May we always announce through word and deed that You still etch Yourself on hearts today, that Your testimony is salvation, and the ultimate triumph, the final miracle of the Messiah in our day, is yet to unfold.

Jesus did many other things as well. If everyone of them was written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.   John 21:25

A young baby girl reads a Bible.

O Sister, Rejoice! and again I say rejoice! YOU are a portion of the testimony of God, a piece of His story! YOU are a beautiful page in the Lamb’s Book of Life and your most magnificent chapter is waiting in Glory!

 

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