FOR.......IN?

...in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.....1 Thessalonians 5:18

As I reflect on this time of thanksgiving, I realize it is easy to thank God for all the good things in my life.  Those things I consider blessings, but for those of us who suffer, whatever the reason, giving thanks to God can be difficult or almost impossible at these times.  When we are in agony, we often wonder if there really is a God, and if so why does He let us suffer so?  I know I have in the past.

The "why" of suffering, I cannot answer you.  Many say its because we've sinned and God is punishing us.  For unbelievers this could be true, but not for  the child of God.  Scripture tells us God loves us with an everlasting love.  He does not punish us. He may lovingly chastise us if we have gotten away from Him and His ways, so that we will turn back to Him. But punish? No! That is not what the Word says. That is not what the NEW COVENANT God made with His followers Is all about.  He is the perfect Father, who only love us unconditionally.Any sin we commit  as His child. is already forgiven and cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ who died on the Cross of Calvary for us.  As His redeemed child, God the Father loves us and Jesus is with us no matter what we are going through.  Even in the worst of times, He is there, ready to give us His love and comfort and help if we just ask.

I know this for a fact because His sweet loving Presence has met me,  in many times of darkness.  He has sustained me, walked beside me, given me His peace and love, when I thought I could not take one more step in this life.

Do I know about suffering.  Oh yes!  Can I thank God while I am hurting in a difficult trial of life?  Yes, I can!  And I am learning how.  Many people think we are to thank God for the suffering but that's not what Scripture says.  I have come to know by reading Gods Word,  the above verse being one of many such verses, we don't thank FOR the trial or hurt, but IN the trial.  Whatever we are suffering, we can thank Him that He is with us, that His promises to us are true and He always, always keeps them.  That is His nature and His character.

It may not be easy, but there is always "something" we can thank Him about because His  mercies are new everyday.  We can thank Him for His love, His strength; which I know He gives me each and every time I bring my physical pain or emotional sorrow to Him in prayer.  God loves me with a love that can never take me out of His arms.  He will never forsake or leave me or you once we have become His child.

When we learn to run to God in our pain and suffering, and not away from Him, He will wrap us in His everlasting arms and hold us tight.  I know.  I have experience this love for myself and prayerfully offer you what I have found.  Giving thanks in all things brings God into whatever you are experiencing.  And that's just where He want's to be.   Scripture tells us that Gods ways are not our ways, so I have to choose to trust that even in my most trying, painful times, He will work them for my good and His glory.  He promises so.

God does what He says He will do.  Look into His Word and hear His sweet voice speaking to you.  The Psalms are full of His love.  They bring me so much comfort in my times of suffering.  Read them, see what you find.

Dear Lord, You alone know all things and have all power under heaven and earth.  You also know each and every pain and sorrow, for You, Yourself experienced them while here on earth.  You alone know the most true agony of suffering...the Cross....so You understand what suffering is.  Thank You Jesus, that I am never alone in any time of suffering and I can thank You for Your wonderful love and Presence....You my Lord, who went to the cross for me.  Thank You also that Your are not on that cross any longer but are resurrected and sitting at the right hand of the Father always making intercession on our behalf. And that You now indwell the hearts of Your children.  I'm so gratefully for Your absolute perfect love that can only come from an intimate relationship with You. Thank You Lord! Thank You!
 May You except my offering of thanksgiving and praise my Lord Jesus.    Amen

Law and Grace. What God Says.

For what the Law could not do . weak as it was in through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man and as an offering for sin.... Romans 8:3

For many who do not read or spend time in Gods Word I think the concept of these words has blurred and become confusing.  Most all of us know the Ten Commandments in some form, even if the schools and the  government have removed them from their halls and walls--another blog, another time--we have heard them.  The "do and the don'ts" I've heard them called from the Old Testament.  We know them even if we pretend we don't.  God has written them on our hearts, Scriptures says so. To many they are the measure of what it means to be spiritual.   The "Do's and the Don'ts.  The Law.

 Even believers often  use them as a measure for spirituality level, better known be many as "salvation by works".  And we are right to believe them to know them and desire to follow them.  Gods Word is all truth...every verse, every passage, every book.  The Law was given to Gods people so they would know what sin was and how He wanted them to live their lives following Him.  All the time knowing they would never be able to fulfill it.  This was the Old Covenant, and He was already preparing for the New Covenant He God was bringing to His created ones.

Jesus Christ! Gods own Son was the New Covenant.  His coming ushered in what is called "the time of grace".  Grace is Gods Presence.  Grace is Jesus Christ.  He is fully God and fully man, He was full was grace.  Emmanuel, God with us. His life, death, burial and resurrection, fully fulfilled the requirements of the Law that man has never been able to keep himself.  When we speak of law and grace what I see with my spiritual eyes is that law is self-effort on mans part and grace is all the work of Jesus Christ.  Already done.  Nothing to do with mans effort at all. Grace is His gift to us His willingness to face the just penalty of our sins for us and then give new life to us if we choose to accept what HE DID--not we do.

Grace is what comes from the Lord living out His life in and through us.  It is loving others, even when they are difficult. It is being gentle and kind even toward those who hurt or persecute us.  Jesus did.  It is all the qualities Scripture describes in Galatians 5 as the fruit of the Spirit who comes to live within us as our guaran tee- that we belong to Him.

Jesus living within us brings His grace forth from us.  I read a statement recently, " mercy triumphs over judgement".  That is what Jesus's coming to earth is all about. Mercy from the Law through His Grace!


Oh Lord, what wonder that You knew from the very day those commandments were given that You were the only One who could fulfill them.  That You would come as the Father's Son to show what real grace is. It is unconditional love.  Sacrificial  love.  Your love bestowed upon Your children.  May we by the power of Your Holy Presence which You give us,  learn to grant grace to those around us rather than law. You are our  perfect example.  Oh what love of the Father that we should be called Your children.  I love You  Lord, I love You.

Cross of Victory

He's Alive!


I have just watched a movie called the King Of Kings from many years ago made on the life of Christ Jesus and His death and crucifixion.  As I watched my thoughts were about the dramatic license the film studio had taken through the story.  How could anyone ever truly show the story of this extraordinary Man of Scripture.
This Jesus, the Messiah, and if Scripture is true and I with all my heart believe it is, God's very own Son.

I confess I cried as I watch the story being told of what my Lord Jesus suffered on His rescue mission to this world.  The price He paid so I could have eternal life.  The horrible, awful brutally He went through before and while dying.  I cannot imagine on my worst day of pain what it would be to be nailed to a cross with spikes through my hands, bleeding until I finally died.  The crucifixion was a horrible death!  And Jesus chose to except it for the sin I have committed.  He was innocent of any wrong doing.  Perfectly God and perfectly Man.  He could have called down ten thousand angels and wiped the entire Roman empire off the face of the earth, but He choose to die so that I may live and offers that same life to anyone who is willing to except His gift.  His life for ours.   Words truly can not express what I'm feeling at the moment.

Yet, what came to me as the most awesome realization, really, really, feeling it, not just reading about it, was after Jesus death and burial, when Mary first saw Him in the Garden resurrected.  Alive.  Real. Whole.  With all the scars to show He had really died on that Cross.  Victory!  Jesus had victory from that Cross of suffering. And we have victory in Him as His beloved.  My heart nearly leaped out of my chest as I experienced the joy that knowing He arose from death, I will also have life in and with Him after the sufferings of this life whatever they be.  And I know I am not alone, ever, ever again.  Because of His beautiful love He is beside me now and into eternity when the time comes.  I have no reason to fear death, or even fear in life, because Perfect Love cast out all fear.

Oh Lord, how much my heart overflows in loving gratitude to You for the gift You have given me.  In my self-absorption and mourning and groaning over how hard life is at times; at how much it hurts,  You understand and love me even more than I can imagine.  I love You Lord with all my heart,  Thank You! Thank You that You God Almighty Creator of entire Universes, could love any of us, yet You do and even desire to have a personal intimate relationship with us, with me.  You are truly King of Kings whether we believe or not  one day every knee will bow before Your Majesty.  Praise to You Lord.

Sanctification...Saying Yes or Saying No

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer...Let the meditations be pleasing to You; as for me I shall be glad in the Lord.
Psalms 19:14; Psalms 104:34

I started writing this blog  because of a persistent, prompting I was feeling in my spirit. I could feel the Lord saying to my heart, "Are you listening? If so, I want  you to share what your hearing." Me? Write?  And not just in a journal which I have been writing for His and my eyes only for some years, but on a computer blog, where anyone who wants too can read them. No way! I can't do that.

At first, I just tried to ignore His prompting. I didn't want to write down my intimate moments with Him, in a  blog so others could read them. They were personal. The words of my journals had always been  written for His and my eyes only.  It was our intimate conversations. Besides, I argued back, "You know how much I hate to write anything someone else is going to read. Remember Lord,  when  I was in college, I fussed and fretted, even cried , when I had to do writing projects.  It would take me days to get my thoughts on paper.  I would write and rewrite and rewrite..  It was painful to even watch me, my family has told me since.  No can't do that; I never want to do that again.  Nope, not me. No way!

Yet that sweet, soft Voice, kept prompting my heart until I finally got online and did some checking out what blogging  was all about. I read and I searched the information relating to this blog site. Searching through the helps and guides. Reading to see what others had to say about doing a blog. I had already gained some understanding from reading several other blogs I had been subscribing to daily and knew how much what they shared has meant to me.  How encouraging their transparency about their own Spiritual journey  has been to me personally.

The Lord God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth was asking me to share our relationship with others. No matter how scared or unsure about this I was, the choice for me was whether I would trust Him even though I did not understand why, or would I refuse.  I said yes, Lord, show me and I will follow.
 After that, things simply fell into place. I was totally at  peace because I knew for sure this was what God wanted to do, in and through me.  So here we are.  I'm doing my best to write what I hear Him speaking to  me to share.   What He wants me to say.  May that always be the end result...His Words, His Thoughts, His Ways and how that applies to my everyday life and walk with Him.

Now some of you reading this might ask, "How does starting a blog fit in with  sanctification.
Scriptures says, as a believer I am sanctified.  "Sanctified," when I looked it up, means to be set apart for something.  God has set each one of His children "apart" to hear and share His ways and thoughts when we learn them. "Go into all the world and make disciples ...teaching them to obey everything I  have said.  (Matthew 28:17)  I always thought of being sanctified as something only the really spiritually were, but now I'm understanding that it means I, Lola, with all my stumbles, falls and even at times disobedience, am set apart with the Lord Jesus Christ because I have a relationship with Him. He  wants me to know Him and to know how very, very much He loves me.  He wants me to seek Him and follow Him. To let Him live out His life in and through me, by His Spirit;  revealing more and more of Himself as I learn to hear Him. And now, he's asking me to share with other's how anyone can have this same personal relationship with Him.  Share how He speaks to me through His word,  not just to pastors and  Bible scholars, those whom I see as so much spiritually bigger than me. No just to me,  a plain everyday struggling woman who has now become His child. He wants to meet with me and speak to me from His word everyday as He "sets me apart for Himself.

As I quietly wait, pondering what this means, The Lord  again gently says," My child sanctification is not what you achieve, not something you do.  It's what I Jesus Christ do in and through you as you listen to and obey My Word.  It is our relationship that sanctifies you and makes you whole.

Oh dear Lord, How thankful and grateful I am that You Almighty God, would reveal Yourself to me.  Would even want a relationship with me.  Lord Jesus Your love is beyond anything that I could try and describe in mere words.  But may the joy I experience in Your awesome presence fill You will please.  I love you Lord and only because You loved me first.