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As a moderator on a Christian writing site, I have experienced the site’s occasional hiccups, which happens at one time or another on all sites on the internet.

The other day, when trying to access a certain area (that I had permission to enter), I got this message...

FORBIDDENYou don’t have permission to access /group.php on this server.
The words practically slapped me in the forehead! I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if, before we decide to succumb to some God-forbidden temptation in life, a huge FORBIDDEN warning sign popped up in front of us?

When the seductions of the world beckon with a come-hither finger to woo us from our faith and principles, wouldn’t it be reassuring if a warning sign materialized in front of us that said: FORBIDDEN...you don’t have permission to access that!

But we do have that warning sign...the Holy Spirit!

Jesus said He would leave His peace to the world. That peace comes to us through His Spirit, which rules in our hearts as an umpire.

Colossians 3:15 in the Amplified says, “Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live].”

When those wrong passions tempt, we can rely on the Spirit to act as umpire to restrain them, as “God’s peace...shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:7 Amp)

Rely on the Spirit’s guidance and you will always have peace about all you decide to do.



Linking up today with Beholding Glory

I love the old Andy Griffith Show. A gentler time...then.

In one of the first season episodes with the new regular star Elinor Donahue, Ellie, Andy, Opie, and Aunt Bee are enjoying a picnic out in the woods. Opie and Aunt Bee decide to go for a walk, while Ellie cleans up and Andy lies back on the blanket, covering himself with the local newspaper.

An article catches Ellie’s eye: those running for city council. Ellie wonders why there are no women running. She gets huffy trying to defend womanhood as Andy tells her she’s taking it too personal.

“That’s a silly attitude!” he tells her.

“Silly?” she retorts.

“Ooh...ooh...I didn’t mean to say that. No, I didn’t mean to say that a bit. It just slipped right out of my mouth. Here, give it right back to me. (pretends to put it back in his mouth) (slurp!) It’s back. And it had a ba-a-a-ad taste. A whole lot of times, we do things and say things even though deep down we know they’re just plain silly.”

Ellie glares at him.

“Ooh, did that bad tastin’ word slip out again?”

How often do we let those bad tastin’ words slip out of our mouths?

Sometimes, we speak negatively, spewing out empty, worthless words, like death, fear, doubt, unbelief, defeat, hate, depression, and discouragement when we should be speaking Life-giving words, like peace, faith, hope, love, encouragement, and blessings?

Jesus said, “On the day of judgment men will have to give account for every idle (inoperative, nonworking) word they speak…Your words now reflect your fate then: either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36 Amp, Matt. 12:37 TLB)

Whew! That’s a lot to think about!

He also said, “Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech.” (Luke 6:45b TLB)

What overflows your heart into speech? Do you have to say, “Ooh...did I say that?”



Linking up with...

Ever have a day like this?

The kids are fighting and yelling.Your husband is late for dinner, again.You just found out your best friend spread rumors about you.The phone rings and so does the front doorbell;you answer the phone and it’s the electric company about to turn off your electricity because you forgot to pay the bill.The guy at the door is there to repossess your car!Oh, you also forgot it’s your mother’s birthdayand one of the kids has a school project due tomorrow!
Ever just want to throw your hands up in the air and scream, “I surrender”?

I love the old M*A*S*H series, which takes place during the Korean War in the early 1950s (if you’ve never seen the show). I watched one episode the other day where Hawkeye and BJ (doctors) drove to get a supply of penicillin. On their way back to camp, they wreck the jeep, so they start walking.

A lone, enemy soldier appears and bows to the ground before them. Mystified, the two doctors keep walking. However, not ready to give up his efforts, the man picks up his trusty rifle, points it at them, and starts spouting something they do not understand.

He then drops the rifle and throws his arms up in the air, waving his hands, and yells, “Hulio, hulio, hulio!” (Well, that’s what it sounded it.) In essence, he said, “I surrender! I surrender! I surrender!”

That’s my new hand signal now: arms thrust in the air, yelling, Hulio!

When you have one of those days, when everything comes at you at once, do you ever feel like doing the same thing, screaming, “I surrender”?

But who or what are we surrendering to? Our circumstances? Certainly not the enemy! And we can’t surrender to ourselves. So what is left? We surrender to the Lord. Which should be the action we take in the first place!

When a multitude of voices scream for your attention, when so many scheduled duties clamor for you to perform them all at once, when chaos invades your space, and you want to pull out your hair, then throw up your hands and yell, Hulio, hulio, hulio!

Tell the Lord, I surrender! As the old hymn says...

I surrender all,I surrender all;All to Thee, my blessed Savior,I surrender all.
Surrender it all, and when you do, peace will flow like a river...

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,When sorrows like sea billows roll;Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Is it well with your soul on those harried days? As David said, “He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.” (Ps. 55:18 NKJV)

I love The Message’s take on Matthew 11:28-30, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Wow! Learn to live freely and lightly! Does that resonate with you like it does me?

The Lord says, “Only in returning to Me and resting in Me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.” (Isa. 30:15 NLT)

Circumstances may still be the same. But you? If you have surrendered it all to the Lord, you will know peace and bring a calming influence to all you do and to all those around you. You will live freely. Lightly. In quietness. With confidence as your strength.

I have hulio-ed!
Ah! Peace. Like a river. It is well with my soul. Living freely and lightly. How about you?

Last year, I read a post and the last sentence made me think, “And the empty pot awaits, ready for a fresh batch.”

It reminded me of the story of Stone Soup. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s a synopsis of this version of the story:

Many years ago in Eastern Europe, people hoarded their food in a time of famine. One day, a soldier wandered into a village and asked to stay for the night. The people told him to move on as there was no food.

“Oh, I have everything I need,” he said. “In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you.”

Pulling out all he needed from his wagon, he filled his cauldron with water and built a fire for it. Then, he took a velvet bag and drew out an ordinary stone and dropped it into the water.

The rumor of food spread and the villagers came to the square to find out.

As the soldier sniffed the broth, he said, “Ahh, I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage – now that’s hard to beat.”

Soon a villager brought him a cabbage he’d been hiding and added it to the pot. Then, the soldier said, “You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit for a king.”

The village butcher brought out some salt beef and added it. Over and over, the soldier raved how good the soup is with added potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on.

Villager after villager brought out the necessary ingredients until there was indeed a delicious meal for all.

With all the added ingredients, the soup turned out to be delicious.

If your year was anything like mine, the cauldron of 2011 contained a variety of ingredients, some positive, some negative, and flavored with a dash of hope and a soupcon of joy or maybe even en grande quantité.

Now, the kettle for 2012 is empty and sits waiting to be filled, ready for all the ingredients of a new year.

What ingredients will fill your New Year? What will fill your heart?

I pray the Lord will fill your New Year with hope, peace, comfort, joy, and an abundance of blessings.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15:13 NKJV)

Today, I’m hooking up with Bonnie Gray of FaithBarista. The topic: What season of faith are you walking through? Fall (letting go) – Winter (loss/waiting) – Spring (new starts) – Summer (embrace and celebrate).

I’ve experienced many winters of faith. Sometimes feeling imprisoned by faith...waiting, longing, wondering what will happen next. But there is one thing I have learned in the midst of it all...praise changes things, even if it is only my attitude! My praises show my trust and faith that the Lord will work out His purpose. Just as Paul and his companions...

Paul. Asleep. At night. A man appeared to him in a vision. The man pleaded, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” (Acts 16:9b Amp)

Immediately, Paul, Silas, Timothy, Luke, and possibly others set sail for Macedonia. Confident that God called them to go there and proclaim the gospel. Landing in Philippi, they stayed for several days.

And were they welcomed with open arms? Well, yes and no.

After preaching, the men baptized Lydia, a seller of purple, and her household. But then...

One day, on their way to the place of prayer, a demon-possessed slave girl, who earned money for her masters by fortune-telling, kept shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” (Acts 16:17 NLT)

After several days of this, Paul became so annoyed that he turned to her and commanded the spirit to come out of her in Jesus’ name. And it left her.

Seeing their hope for profit suddenly disappear, the owners of the slave dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities in the marketplace, charging them with troubling the city and teaching unlawful things.

Their obedience got them flogged, imprisoned, and shackled.

And what did they do? Moped, whined, complained, questioning God and shaking their fists at Him? No?

In the dark hours of night, shackled behind bars for their faith and obedience, the men lifted up sweet prayers and hymns of praise which echoed throughout the prison walls.

And what did God do? Leave them there to suffer and die? No? What did He do?

“Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.” (Acts 16:26 Msg)

Hearing the men’s praises, God released His power. He delivered them, brought them out miraculously! And sent them on their way to finish carrying out His call.

And what do I do?

Though we step out in faith, God does not always release us. He has not released me. I am here, confined in my faith, in peace, obeying what the Lord has called me to do.

The Lord showed me a long time ago that praise is the devil’s death-knell, which defined means any warning sound of death, or to ring a bell slowly, solemnly, especially at a funeral.

When praise rings its death-bell toll for the enemy, the Lord goes to work. The shackles of confinement fall away; the bars of imprisonment break apart.

No matter how things appear, if we obediently follow God’s desires, He will work out all things, for “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28 NIV)

Confined but not shackled, I praise the Lord right where I am. Imprisonment is a condition of the heart, not circumstances. Why do caged birds sing? Because their hearts are free. Songs of freedom come from the heart, not circumstances.

And what do you do?

Have you ever stepped out in faith and obedience to a command of God and all chaos broke loose? Or had some trial or unsettling condition surround you with bars of confinement?

Maybe your peace and confidence deflated like a punctured balloon. Maybe you felt shackled and held hostage like Paul. You probably doubted hearing the voice of the Lord. However, encountering contrary circumstances does not mean you misunderstood the Still Small Voice.

No, my friend, you just encountered the headwind of the enemy. In fact, that opposition can confirm a right choice. That ol’ enemy desires to thwart your obedience to God’s call whenever he can.

Peace is in your heart, not in your circumstances. So, whether you are like Paul and released or like me and still confined, begin to praise the Lord in those dark hours and watch Him go to work.

Let your imprisoned faith sing above your circumstances.

Photo by Rachael Taylor @Weheartit.com

*I felt led to rework this old post and repost it. I pray it blesses you...

“Come to Me,all of you who are wearyand carry heavy burdens,and I will give you rest.”(Matt. 11:28 NLT)
“Come to Me...” Do we heed those words? Do we go to the Lord to drop all our burdens at His feet? Or do we usually carry those heavy loads all by ourselves? Or do we give them to Him and, then, snatch them back again?

Peter said, “Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.” (1 Peter 5:7 TLB)

“...all of you who are weary...” Don’t we weary ourselves with worries, even though Jesus gave the command to “not worry about your life”? (Matt. 6:25a NIV)

You know how the dictionary defines worry, don’t you? To torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts, fret, or be in a state of anxiety and uncertainty over actual or potential problems.

Hmmm...actual or potential problems. How often do we torment ourselves by fretting over those problems, whether real or the imagined what-ifs? Instead of focusing on the Lord, we permit those worries to divert our focus, causing ourselves more anxiety.

“...and carry heavy burdens...” David said, “Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is distressed.” (Ps. 143:4 NKJV) Overwhelmed is defined as to envelop oneself, be feeble or faint, or grow weak. Distressed is defined as to be desolate, grow numb, appalled, devastated, ravaged.

David said he was overwhelmed and distressed because “the enemy has persecuted my soul.” (Ps. 143:3 NKJV) Sometimes, we walk around hunched over like a question mark, bent from the burdens we let the enemy pile on us.

Allowing worries, whether real or imagined, to envelop us produces a mist of care, concealing our view of our precious Lord. Our path becomes fogged, our spirit suffers, our prayer languishes, and our relationship with the Lord deteriorates.

Jesus said, “Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?” No, of course not. “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow.” (Matt. 6:27 TLB, Matt. 6:34a TLB)

“...and I will give you rest.” Rest. Refreshment. Such as, “He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” (Ps. 23:2b-3a NKJV)

When we keep our minds focused on the Lord, “[He] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in [Him], all whose thoughts are fixed on [Him]!” (Isa. 26:3 NLT)

Do we fix our thoughts on Him or on our worries and cares? Do we release our grasp on them to receive what He offers us?

No godly soul ever grew in intimacy with the Lord or gained spiritual sight of His presence by carrying a load of burdens or worries. When difficulties blur our vision of our Beloved, we relinquish the very thing we seek: hearing the whispers of His heart, feeling the comfort of His arms, and knowing the peace of His nearness.

Therefore, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers.” (Phil. 4:6 TLB)

Is there a mist of care obstructing your view of your Beloved? Walk through that mist of care and you will see the image of your Beloved with His outstretched arms. Drop your burdens there at His feet. And as the old song says, “You’ll never walk alone.”

“Come to Me...and I will give you rest.”