Do you like fruit? God does too.

Did you know that fruit is cleansing to our bodies and vegetables are body building?  I like that idea and it really does work.  If you need cleansing, go on a fruit fast for two or three days, amazing how you will feel afterwards.  There is a plus too, you will lose one to three pounds, probably, not guaranteed of course, just a suggestion.  But fruit truly is cleansing.

My favorite fruit used to be cherries in season, but recently I have fallen in love with mangoes.  I love mangoes and could eat one every day or just have a fruit salad of mangoes, with some of my homemade crackers and that would be a wonderful meal.  How about it?

Did you know that God loves fruit too?  You say, 'how do you know that?  I will show you how I know that.  This is God speaking in Proverbs 8:19  "My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold."  What fruit is He talking about?   I believe He is talking about the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22,23  "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against these there is no law."  In other words there is nothing in the scriptures against bearing this kind of fruit.  If everyone bore all the fruit of the Spirit, what would this world be like?  It is so important for us to do all we can to make our world a more pleasant place to live and we can start in the home, then in the church and then in the community.  I know we can't change the whole world, but we can change our homes and help in changing our churches and community.  I hope my worship blog is helping to change someone and someone's home, I pray that it is.  It is changing mine.  But not those who live here, it is changing me, my attitude, my selfishness, it is making me a better person all the way around and for that I am thanking God.  As God changes me, He is changing those I love, whether near or far away.  It is far more pleasant to live with someone that God is working on and it eventually changes their heart too.

Do you see why God's fruit is better than Gold, even fine Gold.?  It is cleansing too, just like the fruit we eat. God loves His kind of fruit and has provided all the necessary ingredients for our Spiritual cleansing and has also provided our fruit for our Physical cleansing.

Yes, we like fruit and some like one kind better than another kind and God loves fruit too, but He loves all of His kind of fruit and it is beneficial to every part of us, our Spiritual cleansing as well as mental, emotional and physical because as we are transformed into His image, we are being transformed in body, soul and spirit and He will be able to put His finishing touch on us when He comes to take us home with Him.  So it is with the fruit He has created for our enjoyment, we will feel better if we eat some everyday.  We like a bowl of fruit with our breakfast or if our breakfast is to big we have a fruit salad for our evening meal if you eat one or you could even have a fruit salad for lunch on a nice warm summer day, very cooling too.

I hope you will be blessed by God's fruit of the Spirit.  I have been and I know He will bless each of us as we bear fruit to His glory.  Grandma Joan.

Have you been derailed?

This morning I sat here wondering what was wrong with me, I have had a hard time getting my thoughts together even for my time with God and all of a sudden I realized that someone was trying to control things and it wasn't God.  What could be going on and then I thought about the enemy in the camp, and sure enough he was trying to derail me into his line of thinking and I needed God's help to get back on the rails, so to speak.  Well, in this mode of thinking, I thought about how we are getting derailed all the time and some don't even know they are derailed.  Isn't that true?  I have been derailed more than once and needed brought back on the rails.  It's kind of a dead feeling if I can use that word, you can't get your thoughts together specially if it has to do with God and your way of life. You feel a little down, and don't know just what the problem is.  He (the enemy) would like to derail us to the point that we would not make it into God's kingdom, I hate his subtle ways with us poor mortals, so what can we do?

The first text that comes to mind is James 4:7,8  "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw night to God and He will draw nigh to you."  How simple does God make our life if we will let Him.

You might ask, How do we resist the devil?  One way that I do it is to get into the Word of God, he doesn't like it when we put God first in our lives or run to Him for help, we have all heaven on our side and he doesn't and he tries to use force and God uses love so it is important to let God's love prevail and satan will flee.

Psalms 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."  He is our refuge and strength, right here, right now, so flee to Him for the help we need when we are buffeted by the devil.

Psalms 124:8  "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

Isaiah 55:6  "Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near."  I know that He is so delighted to have us seek Him and call upon Him for help, our help is in His name, He is our Creator and Redeemer.  He wants us to be safe in His keeping all the time so let's let Him take care of us and let Him rebuke the devil as we draw nigh to Him each day.  Of course we must ask for His help.

This has been so helpful to me today, I believe that the devil is a defeated foe because I can trust the above promises for my life.  How about you?  I know you can do it too.  We have the power of all heaven on our side and it couldn't be better for us.  Do you believe that?  I am sure you do, so have faith in His promises and let Him take care of you.  I am ready for this day, how about you?  Grandma Joan

Before we fall

I have fallen flat on my face so many times, I can't count them.  There is a reason for this and I would like to share it with you.  I know that we all have suffered falling, I am talking about a Spiritual fall.  We all have suffered Spiritual falling, it is human nature to be lifted up and then comes a hard fall, not every time, sometimes it is an easy fall, maybe a warning against the bigger fall.  So let's check out the reason for this.

Proverbs 16:18  "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."  I think the haughty spirit comes before pride and so maybe this is a warning that we need to catch the haughty spirit before it turns into pride and we fall flat on our face.  I never saw it this way before and maybe, just maybe I could have prevented some serious falls, anyway now I know and will watch for that haughty spirit.

Proverbs 11:2  "When pride comes, then comes shame."  I can't tell you how many times I have felt ashamed of my ugly spirit or haughty spirit.  I don't know where it came from because I was always  a timid person, I guess it was when we bought a business and I was in charge of all the help and it sort of made me tough which I hated but after ten years, I guess I got use to it and in came that haughty spirit, the know everything attitude.  I was sitting one day at the dining room table, after we had sold our business and I was contemplating my character, I think it was God showing me what I had become and it was not a pretty sight.
I just bowed my head and asked Him to help me be what I use to be and it has taken a while and I still find myself catching that haughty spirit and then I read that God hates pride.

Proverbs 8:13  "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way."  I have found that in most places in the Bible where it says fear the Lord, the fear means reverence the Lord, so in this case if we reverence the Lord we will hate pride and that is my goal.  To hate it so much that it is not a part of my character any more.

Proverbs 29:23  "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor."  Sometimes God rebukes us through someone else and they don't realize they are rebuking us.  That happened to me once and I have never forgotten, it seemed I had an answer for everything, a know it all spirit, I am so ashamed to admit that but it is true and a friend asked me something and I gave her my know it all answer and she said, 'you have an answer for everything, don't you?'  I realized then that my pride was out of hand.

James 4:6  "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says; God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  So let me be humble in spirit and leave all my pride and know it all attitude behind so that I may have God's grace abiding in me.  How about you, isn't that one of our greatest needs, is His grace, so let's
have a humble spirit, if He can give me one, He can do it for you and He will, because He is working on me daily to prepare me for a place with Him someday.  Won't you join me?  Grandma Joan

I Find No Fault In Him.

I have heard so many, many reasons why people do not want to become a Christian, Here are a few:
1.  I know someone who says they are a Christian that leads a double life, so who wants to be like that?
2.  I went to church and no one even spoke to me.
3.  I know a Christian who treated me terrible.
4.  Some say that the Christians they know, lie, cheat and do all manner of evil to others.

You know what?  The word Christian means Christ like and I doubt that people that do all these bad things are really Christians.  They might be growing Christians and are in the process of being sanctified, because we all have been there in that situation.  Jesus was perfect in all His ways and we are to strive to be like Him and if we are really Christians He will be the center of our lives, Isn't that true?  And someday we will be like Him when He comes to claim us as His children.

Some people will point their finger at a so called Christian but they can't point their finger at Jesus and use His life as an excuse for not being a Christian.  He even gave up His life on Calvary to save them, what else could He have done to prove His love to us.  That was the ultimate sacrifice to save us.  Even Pilate said,
"I find no fault in this man".  So we can't look at Jesus and use His life as an excuse for not being a Christian.

You probably have never heard anyone say, 'I am not going to be a Christian because I don't like what Jesus did.  Please don't get sidetracked into looking at others.  Look to Jesus, He is the author and finisher of our faith and what He has started in us, He is well able to finish, so let's let Him finish the work in us and in others as they need it.  Grandma Joan

Experiencing Prayer

Have you ever experienced an answer to a prayer that you didn't pray?  I did one time and probably more than once but this time has stuck in my mind for almost forty years.  I have always been one to pray for my children whether they are Christians or not, I always pray for them, so in a way you could say that it was an answer to my prayer but I never thought of what was put in my mind that day.

I was sitting in church and all of a sudden the thought came to me that my son was going to ask me to quit praying for him because it was making him miserable, he was living in sin at the time.  So then I sort of put it in the back of my mind and a few days later I was visiting my daughter and my son came in and said, 'Mom I want to talk to you," so we went into the back bedroom to talk and I told him I knew what he was going to say to me and he said, 'what am I going to say?' and I told him he was going to ask me to quit praying for him, and he said, how did you know? so I told him what God had put in my mind a few days before.  And of course I told him I could never do that, and I never have, I still pray for all my children regardless of their lifestyle.

Isaiah 65:24 "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear."  I believe this is what I experienced.  God knows our need before we ask but He loves to hear our prayers and answer them.  He knew I needed to know that, to prevent me from shock and also have an answer.

Is there anything that would cause God not to hear our prayers?  Isaiah 59:2  "But your iniquities have separated you from your God, And your sins have hid His face from you, so that He will not hear."
Psalms 66:18  "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."  When it comes to these verses
I think we need to challenge our minds and search our hearts to see if there be any wicked way in us.
Psalms 139:23,24  "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."   If there is sin in our lives and we ask
God to show us, believe me He is anxious for us to know and give them to Him so He can hear and answer our prayers.  I believe He is talking about 'known sin', sanctification is the work of a life time and we would be overwhelmed if God showed us all that is wrong with us at once and we couldn't handle it, but He wants us to have pure hearts and love Him with all our heart and then we will want to get rid of the things in our life that are displeasing to Him.  Sometimes one thing at a time is all we can handle, don't you think? God loves you and wouldn't overwhelm you with something you cannot handle.  His character is love and He wants to lead us in the way everlasting.  So don't let these verses deter you from praying, because he wants us to come to Him and remember the verses that say we must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, so believe in Him and diligently seek Him.  He will hear and answer.

What should our prayer habits be?  Psalms 55:17  "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice."  That sounds like a lot, but I can tell you from experience, it keeps us close to Him all through the day, He doesn't expect long tedious prayers, He just wants us to come before Him for instruction and companionship.  What better thing to do.?  He really does want us close to Him all the time, it is a very safe place to be and keeps us from lots of trials and disappointments.

Who is mentioned in the Bible as praying an acceptable prayer?  James 5:17,18  "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit."  Read Elijah's story in 1 Kings 17.  It's a good story of faith and answered prayer.

I hope you have been blessed by these studies on prayer, I have and now I have more faith to know that His answers are better than mine and He will take care of my fears and my troubles.  How about you?  We are all human and need all the encouragement we can get.  I hope and pray that you are encouraged in your Christian walk.  Grandma Joan

Back to Prayer

So sorry that I forgot to finish our Prayer Study.  Prayer is so important in our lives and do you remember the verse that says, 'pray without ceasing'?  1 Thessalonians 5:17.  Sometime back I did a study on the praying without ceasing and it means to always be in the attitude of prayer so that no matter what is going on in your life you can lift your heart up to God, at work, in a meeting, taking a walk, whatever you are doing you can talk to God and he will hear. What better friend could we have, especially One who can do anything and everything for us according to the power that works in us, remember that verse?

Remember the part in the Lord's Prayer that says, 'Forgive us our debts as we forgive others?'  We must forgive if we want to be forgiven, it is one of the hardest things to do at times but we can do it.  I had to learn to forgive someone one time that was a hard thing to do, actually more than once.  Two different people. The first one had abused me in a very bad way and I finally was able to forgive but they were gone and out of my life before I was able to forgive them.  But a weight was lifted off my heart that was even heavier to bear than what had been done to me. It is really important to forgive others when they have wronged us, even if they don't seem to care if we do or not.  Why should we let what others do or say mess up our lives and make us miserable?  It really does, they aren't usually miserable for doing it but we allow ourselves to become miserable by not forgiving them.

So forgiving our debtors is important if we want to be forgiven of our sins.  If you do not feel like forgiving, You can ask God to give you a forgiving spirit and He will do it, He did it for me.  He has done it more than once for me.  An unforgiving spirit can stand in the way of our prayers being answered.

Matthew 6:14,15  "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  We all need forgiven don't we?  So we all need to forgive.

Philippians 4:13  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  See we can have the power to forgive if we desire to do it.

Do you feel destitute?  Psalms 102:17  "He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer."  A great promise, sometimes we all have a moment or longer when we feel destitute of God's Spirit, but we have this promise that He regards our prayers when we feel this way.  I am so happy that we have an all knowing, and all loving God.  Aren't you?  I can't make it through the day without Him and I am sure He is delighted when I spend time with Him.  How about you, can you make it without Him, I mean really make it, with a heart full of peace and resting in His will?  It is something that I am learning to do and it really is a wonderful way to live, I try not to forget to spend my time with Him two or three times a day.  I like to stop what I am doing in the middle of the day and spend a few minutes with Him, I really believe that, that is what is keeping me going and able to keep up with my duties each day.  May you be blessed with these special thoughts today as I was.  Grandma Joan

Free Gifts, Very Special for Everyone.

When anyone has a chance to get something free, very few people would turn down a 'special free gift''  I think you will agree with me that these gifts are more than special, they are super special.  It will be worth your time to discover them and claim them as yours.  You won't be disappointed in them.  I  challenge you to accept them as yours and discover the happiness that they will bring you.

Spiritual Knowledge - Jeremiah 24:7  "And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." He will give us a heart to know Him, so who wouldn't want to know Him or know Him better.

A New Heart - Ezekiel 11:19  "I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh."  Wouldn't you want to exchange your stony heart for a new heart of flesh?  I do, I need a new heart and it is a very special gift too.

Spiritual Rest - Matthew 11:28  "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  If we have been burdened down with trials and or sin, we need spiritual rest, don't we.  Jesus says to come to Him for that special gift of rest.

 The Holy Spirit - Luke 11:13  "If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him."  This happens to be a super, super gift that we cannot do without, it is something that we need to be filled with, daily, hourly, it is really an important gift.

Eternal Life - John 10:28  "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."  What more could we ask for than the gift of eternal life, to be with Jesus eternally is beyond my comprehension but I believe it and truly want to be there, how about you?  What a precious promise is ours if we claim it.

There are other kinds of gifts too that are entirely different than these and maybe we can touch on them another time.  I think if we comprehend these gifts and let God fulfill them in our lives it will change our lives like nothing else can.  May God bless you as you accept these gifts as yours, you will never be sorry that you did, never.  Grandma Joan