Keep Looking Up

KEEP    LOOKING   UP

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;

In the morning I will direct it to You, 

And I will look up.

Psalm 5:3

WE NEED GOD.

We need Him every day, in all of our lives.  

He wants us to involve Him in every part of our lives.  Are we?

He wants us to inquire of Him, to show us which direction, in our lives we NEED to go.

If left to our own devices, we are likely to go down paths that are not intended for us, where traps of hell are waiting for us.  Traps that could take a lifetime to get out of and/or to be free of the effects of them.

He wants us to ask Him to show us what He has for us.

He told us in His Word:

Jeremiah 29:11-14

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity.

He has PLANS FOR US.  Just for US.  He knew about US, the plans He has for us since before the foundations of the Earth, when He created it, He knew that you would be here, in this point of time....before we were on the globe.  God was, and still is, so looking forward to us being here, and walking and talking and fellowshiping with Him.

His thoughts towards you and are are of PEACE and not evil.  I LOVE THAT.

He would like us to defer to Him to Help us miss the pitfalls in life that the enemy of our soul has laid and continues to lay for us to fall into.

Do we ask Him about which car we need to own?

Do we ask Him about which house He's planned for us to buy for rent?

Do we ask Him about which church HE has intended for us to be a part of?

Do we ask Him about that business venture that we are considering?

Do we ask Him about which business partner He has in mind for us?

Do we ask Him about which job He has in mind for us, to bless us with?

Do we ask Him about the size of family HE has planned for us.

Do we ask Him about relationships He has designed for us to have in our lives.

Do we ask Him about when or if He wants us to marry, and if so to whom?

Do we ask Him about when and where to vacation, or travel?

He wants to involve us in every part of our lives.  Not because He wants us to miss out on the fun stuff that WE have in mind, but because He's interested in our safekeeping and how to BEST BLESS our lives.  We have NO IDEA how wonderful His thoughts and plans are towards us.

I remember when we moved to a country house quite a number of years ago.  I did NOT want to live in the country, at all.  As it would happen, this house was made available to us.  We'd been searching for a house for about three years.  While we finished moving in, I was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of hot tea, looking out the East window.  About 1 1/2 miles away I saw a group of horses frolicking in the pasture they were feeding from.  It was then that I realized, "God this was the desire of my heart, and I NEVER EVEN KNEW it. Thank You."

There are dozens of instances where I've found the same thing, only because I asked HIM to HELP us and lead us in the way He has for us.

Often we humans have such a puffed up idea about the worth of our own ideas, then go about MISSING OUT ON GOD'S BEST FOR US.

Haven't we all been there, done that?  Are we tired of our own misled, disappointing thoughts, and plans of ours, yet?

Are we tired of losing our own way, and the inexpressible lack of peace in our lives yet?  It's never too late to inquire of the Lord.  It's never to late to ask HIM what HE THINKS ABOUT IT.  What did He say?    

His thoughts towards us are of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  In Jesus' Name.

What about the SEED, any seed?

About 22 years ago, I had gone through one of the worst times in my life.  After it was all over with, I asked God where that came from, and how to avoid something like that again.  The response I got was that it was a seed that had come to my life, taken root, grew a stalk, leaf and fruit.  The fruit of it was what was trying to do me in.  It was a life and death battle.  He zeroed in on SEEDS, and I came to understand about where it all came from.,

After much prayer, fasting and deliverance, I saw the end of that thing in my life and was set free from it.  THANK GOD!!!

Matthew 16:19  tells us:  “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

This passage is some instruction God gave us, that is often used in spiritual warfare, binding up satan and his minions to cast them away from us, not to return to us or to go to another.  

THANK GOD for all the HELP He's given us.

We need not think that just binding up satan and casting him away, is ALL we need to do. 

Do we not understand that for the time any foul spirits have an advantage in our lives...BEFORE being bound up and cast away...that they don't have a "back up" plan?  

For everything that God does, He uses the "SEED" of His Word.  Everything.  Whether He's speaking the Earth and all that's in it, into existence, bringing souls into His Kingdom, bringing healing to those in need, whatever He is doing it has to do with the SEED of His Word, by the power of His Spirit.

Remember the parable of the wheat and the tares in the Gospels?

Matthew 13:25 - but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

That farmer had an enemy that did not want his competition in the market place, or had a grudge against him, but much more, it's a picture of how the enemy of our soul also works in lives, looking for avenues to plant his seed in our lives.

My maternal grandparents spent their entire lives farming.  I understand the value of precious seed that is drilled into the ground, the importance of the harvest of that seed and all that their lives depended upon it.

satan (for those that don't know me, I do not dignify satan with proper grammar) knows the importance, not only of the assignments that have been belched out of the belly of hell, against the sons of men, but along with those assignments, ungodly seeds are planted to further his plan of action, and the harvest he expects from them all is paramount.  his kingdom depends upon them.

If satans' assignments are interrupted by praying, Godly people, that know how to bind and lose by God's Word, don't think for a moment that the work of hell will stop there.

satan and his minions will sow their own seed to insure the perpetuation of every assignment. his job description doesn't include cutting losses

Perpetuate - To preserve from extinction or oblivion. To save, maintain, sustain.

This is what God is all about with His Family.  It is also what satan is all about with his kingdom.

Once a person told another that I was really radical.  Another person once said that I was so heavenly minded that I was no earthly good.    Hmmmmm,  I just think I most likely take God's Word more seriously than they.

Remember in John 10:10 it says: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

If I happen to see a tormented person, a sick person, poverty, fear, confusion, pain in spirit, soul or body, etc. etc....John 10:10 earmarks where any of this comes from, right?  The thief (satan) that comes to kill, steal and destroy.

Jesus said that He came to bring abundant life.  Abundant life, is how we can earmark the work of the Lord God.

If we happen to "see" an assignment from hell, as Child of God, we're not to be winking at it, as we go our way.  That person/situation has been brought to our attention for a reason.  I understand those to be Divine Appointments.  If God brings it to our attention, we're to stand to attention and take action, submitting ourselves to God, taking His Word (which is the Sword of the Spirit) and take care of business.

Not talking about being paranoid, looking for a devil around every corner, but following the leading of God's Spirit, taking care of Kingdom business, with His Word, By the Blood of His Son, and by the Name of His Son.  And WHILE we're doing so, don't neglect the spawning from hell, don't allow it to be left behind, or allow it to be revived in any way.

Ephesians 5:13-17 -

- But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

- Therefore He says:

  "Awake, you who sleep,

   Arise from the dead,
   And Christ will give you light."

- See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

- redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

- Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Circumspect -  watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent: careful, vigilant, guarded.

God's calling card is LOVE.  He has no desire for anybody to be in bondage in any way.

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Father, I thank You for HELPING us to be led by Your Spirit and make a difference.  Help us to remember, while doing warfare, not to allow the seed of hell to remain behind in the places they have been planted.  In Jesus' Name.

  

words, Words, WORDS

A few days ago, while waking up in the morning, I found myself chuckling.  My husbands response was, "What was it?"  LOL LOL  God was reminding me of something that happened several years ago.

Quite some time ago, one of our children decided to take up smoking.  It's something that hasn't been commonplace in our home, and was never around our children.  After that one had been in bondage to that mess for a few years, and was expressing some agony over it, and not being able to "quit," this is what I said, was to FIRST, ask God to HELP....we prayed together, in agreement with Gods' Word, then suggested that this be done.......

Every time you purchase a carton of cigarettes, make the declaration, "I'm not addicted to nicotine." 

Every time you open a package, make the declaration, "I'm not addicted to nicotine."

Every time you light up a cigarette, make the declaration, "I'm not addicted to nicotine."  

When you see you are no longer addicted to nicotine.......YOU make sure you THANK GOD for HELPING you.

.....You get the picture, right?  

A week and a half later, I got a phone call telling me, "Mamma, I really am NOT addicted to nicotine, and have been able to lay them aside."  That's been about 4 years ago.

When God CREATED every thing, we're told in -----

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (That sounds familiar, right?)

Genesis 1:3 - Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

Genesis 1:6 - Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."

Genesis 1:9 - Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear

Genesis 1:11 - Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.

Genesis 1:14 - Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years

...and it goes on and on, but you see HOW He created.  Without a doubt.

In Genesis 1:26 He said that He made US in His image.

In John 4:24 we're told: "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

When God created us in His image, He IS a Spirit, and we, our spirit is what He created to be just like Him.  You know:

1. we ARE a spirit

2. we live in a body

3. we have a soul (the seat of our emotions, intellect and where we make our decisions.)

Romans 4:17 tells us:  .......God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did

Remember over in Genesis 17, where God was establishing His Covenant with Abram, the first thing God did was to change his name from Abram to Abraham, which means "father of many nations." God told Abraham that his wife Sarai would also have a name change to Sarah which means "mother of nations."

Here these two old people are, they'd had no children, Sarah as been barren, and God is starting a plan with them to bring them an heir,  through them, the lineage that would bring to us JESUS.  To everyone around them, that was laughable.  Actually, Sarah, at one point, did laugh when hearing that she was going to be giving birth within that year....she was already in her 90's.  It was like, Yeah, right.  LOL LOL

So, for years, whenever people called for Abraham they were calling him "father of many nations" the flock of sheep need to be taken to the back 40 to graze for a while, do you have a problem with that, or will we be moving soon?

When Sarah was called, it was like "mother of nations," what shall we do with all this extra cheese that's been made, there's no room in storage.

All through God's Word there are examples of what God did through people using the WORDS that He wanted them to.

Remember in Proverbs 18:21 we're told:  Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Ecclesiastes 10:12 - The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up. 

Proverbs 12:13, 14 says: The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
But the righteous will come through trouble.  A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth

Matthew 12:35 - A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things

Ephesians 4:29 - Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

For just a FEW...there are literally hundreds of places in God's Word that teaches us these principles.

Romans 10:8-10 tells us: 

8. But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):

9. that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

10. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

We even receive salvation by SPEAKING WORDS, the power of Gods Word, and the power of our own words.  That's how we receive ANYTHING from God, is speaking, and agreeing with His Word.

Then in Daniel 10:12 says: Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.

SOOOOOOO.......here we are back in my bedroom, while I'm chuckling, my husband asking me what I was laughing about.  I said God was speaking with me.  He was reminding me about what happened with our child that quit smoking, and told me I need to do the same with some issues in my own life.  I just laughed out loud, He knew how to get my attention and how to get me HELP.

There's always great VICTORY, overcoming victory when we follow God, His principles, His Word and His Words to us.  It's a done deal, always a "win-win" situation when we FOLLOW Him.

Revelation 12:11 - And they overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (our agreeing with God's Words), and they did not love their lives to the death. 

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Father, HELP US to sincerely take Your Word into our lives, to make a difference IN our lives and in the lives of those around us......Our spouses, our children, our grandchildren NEED your HELP that we can offer them all with the attention we give to what we speak.  Remind us of the power of our own words, but especially the power of Your Words IN our mouths.  In Jesus' Name.

Repentance - God's WONDERFUL Provision

What a compassionate reminder, of the LOVE of Jesus, always willing to receive us when we have a humble, repentant heart.

One of my favorite Scriptures is found in Isaiah 57:15 that says:
For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.



It's the precious Blood of the Lamb of God that cleanses us from sin.
God told us in I John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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Father, HELP US, not to be ashamed or reluctant in any way to come to YOU to make
things right in our lives. It cost YOU TOO MUCH for us not to come boldly to YOU. I want to be one of the ones that finds sanctuary in forgiveness, and peace in my life, in Jesus' Name.

Thank YOU, Lord, for bringing to us Rain.

We need rain. Father, I thank You for bringing not only the cloud cover to cool our land, but clouds that bring "showers of blessing." I speak to the wind to redirect clouds to us, clouds that are full of rain, without a storm, hail, damaging winds or tornados. We need slow soaking in rain, our ground is thirsty. We can water and irrigate, but, for some reason, the moisture never means as much to the land as when it comes from Your rain. You are our Great and Mighty God, and are mindful of what we need. So, clouds, come, in Jesus' Name.